THE MAGIC PENCIL

Imagine what you would do with a magic pencil.

Margarita, who lives with her two dads, has a play date with Daniel and Charlie, who have two moms. On the way to the park, they see their neighbor Mrs. Cranky’s hungry cat and feed it even though it means buying milk and jumping over Mrs. Cranky’s fence. They expect Mrs. Cranky to be mad at them, but she rewards their kindness with a magic pencil (for Margarita), a sharpener (for Daniel), and an eraser (for Charlie). The trio soon learn that whatever the pencil draws becomes real. Thankfully, the magic eraser solves the problem of a castle in the middle of the road that blocks traffic. Too soon, the pencil wears down, and the children realize they’ve drawn only things for themselves. After some resharpening, they quickly begin drawing houses, hospitals, and schools for people who need them. With the pencil’s stub, Margarita draws lots of hearts so that “everyone would love one another, even if they were different, from different countries, of different skin colors ….People with two moms or two dads.” While a little didactic, the story, translated from Spanish, raises thought-provoking questions: What would a reader do if they received a magic pencil? The book’s illustrations make inspired use of collage, mixing cartoonish images of the children with photos of cats, fences, a lawn, and more. Margarita has light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes, while Daniel and Charlie have brown skin and black hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) 

Though preachy, this simple, creatively illustrated story encourages empathy and compassion.