A simple, wordless picturebook filled with colored pencil drawings. It tracks the practical and imagined cycles of tree to pencil, pencil to tree and people to nature, nature to people. The drawings are beautiful. The self-directed story has shades of Where the Wild Things are and the child depicted drawing the world evokes Harold and the Purple Crayon.

This would be a great book to spark discussion, to occupy a child during quiet time, or wind down for bed.

Thank you to Astra House for an advanced copy.

Netgalley ARC- Simple but poignant. Though I enjoy them, I struggle to rate wordless picture books sometimes when the art doesn't sweep me off my feet. But I really liked how the birds moved with the trees.

The cover's vibrant colors and distinctive art style immediately captivated me. It's remarkable how such a simple subject—the creation of a pencil—can be conveyed so beautifully and completely without a single word.

This book possesses a rare ability to engage readers of all ages. Young children will be sparked with curiosity, while older readers and adults can simply appreciate the exquisite visual narrative.

Thank you for sharing this lovely book with us. It's truly perfect as it is.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

It’s always nice to come across a book without words and comforting drawings. Sometimes you just need to get back to basics and enjoy the simplicity of things.

You get to see all sorts of artistic techniques as you go through the pages to see the life cycle of a pencil. The colors are calming and arranged so that there is an order to things. Sometimes there is just too much going on in other picture books - too much color, too much movement. There is something calming about the stillness of the pictures in this book. Looking at the pictures also made me want to pick up a pencil and do some drawing myself.

I don’t know if it’s because of the layout of the review copy, but at the end there is a guide on “How to Read a Silent Book”. I think it would’ve been helpful to have that at the beginning of the book.

Mother of two here, and this was a beautiful book! My kids and I enjoyed looking through the book, at the pictures, and pointing out different elements. The illustrations are so detailed and gorgeous but I do not feel a book without words would get much use in our household. We own 1 book without words and, although that too is beautifully illustrated, it does not get any use in our home. I do love that the illustrator gives a “How To” guide at the end of the book, helping families walk through a silent book. That is helpful but a tough concept for children to grasp.

Thank you to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for this eARC!

What a colourful and creative text that has so many layers within it. As a reader you interpret different aspects due to there being no text to follow. You see the journey of the pencil but you are also reflecting on the impact on the environment and considering how pencils give us unique opportunities to make the world more vibrant and beautiful. It gives you so much in terms of a story journey but there is still a plethora of perspectives to explore as there is no text to limit your imagination.

I loved how this book progressed showing how the pencils were made. The art work is gorgeous. The end…. Divine! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pencil!

I must admit, this wasn't for me. I wasn't jibing with the drawing style, which, in a silent picture book is not ideal. I wish there had been more variety in the scenes of trees etc. It felt a bit repetitive to me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gorgeous, thought-provoking story told in pictures. This is the life of a pencil, and all the places it goes, told through bright, detailed illustrations. I enjoyed the questions at the back encouraging readers to think about other common items and their life cycle.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

⭐️ 5/5
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Children’s Wordless Picture Book

This was a beautiful, wordless picture book full of detailed, colorful, impactful illustrations of what the life cycle of a pencil could look like. I appreciated the “How to Read This Book” section at the end too for teachers/care givers to use as a guide when going through the book with children. This was helpful when going through the book with my 4-year old daughter.
I admire what this book can offer, helping little ones build their creativity. I look forward to recommending this to my parent friends and daughter’s teachers and educators.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Astra Publishing House, and Toon Books for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a beautifully illustrated book! The pictures are so aesthetically designed and the colors so vivid.
I especially liked the idea of a wordless book which will inspire my younger elementary school students to eagerly pick this book up and let their imaginations run wild. For those of my more advanced readers, the section entitled "How to Read a Silent Book" provides a backdrop for enriching their reading experience.
It's a sweet story that lends itself to providing a creative and satisfying reading encounter.

Some people may have never read a silent book before so I appreciate the "How to Read a Silent Book" section at the end..
This is a BEAUTIFULLY illustrated book with magical story telling through the imagery. The storytelling is creative and the colour so vibrant and attractive for a young audience!

A nice way for children to learn a creative interpretation of the life-cyle of a pencil.

Thank you NetGalley, Astra Publishing House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a beautifully illustrated wordless picture book! This story shows us how a pencil is created by showing us the tree, then going to the factory, to the store, and then finally back to a tree. It makes one appreciate and really see how nature is around us and what it can become.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are mine.

I got a digital copy of the book via NetGalley and loved the book. I loved the concept and the images which are a part of the book are nicely done and explains the lifecycle of a pencil. Really loved reading this.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. I love a wordless picture book, especially one like this that says so much with so little. It’s the life cycle of a pencil. Great for early readers as they can tell you the story and helps create good future reading skills.

Pencil is such a delightful, wordless picture book. The cover had me at green. Green is my favorite color and I was drawn to the cover and the message. The illustrations were colorful and detailed. From the trees to the pencil making factor to the store that sold the pencil, I was was struck by every line, swirl, and color. Despite being about the process of making a pencil, the illustrations paint a picture about being aware of our environment and where our products come from. Without the grandiose statement of human’s need to take care of earth, the growth of a future pencil, the use of the pencil, and it’s return to earth reminds us to recycle what we claim from our environment.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a silent book, no words, just pictures. The pictures are fabulous and very nice to look at, but I struggled to understand at times. I do feel that by adding the authors words to this book, it would help those that don't understand a silent book. This could be great for creativity in children, but this is not a book that I would gravitate to. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

This book was beautifully illustrated and had a good message. Typically I am not a fan of silent, wordless picture books, but was pleasantly surprised with this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For more reviews and discussions, listen to my podcast The Honest Book Reviewers with Nate and Emma.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4xlzvjMXuUo1Lyvh?si=ewdzfkUnSVKyDmAvHMHIPQ

Without a single word, this picture book traces a pencil from the forest to an artist drawing a picture of a forest with colored pencils. Sounds simple, but Hye-Eun Kim’s detailed pencil illustrations speak a thousand words. There’s even instructions for how to read a “silent book.” Five stars, for sure.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Astra Publishing House and TOON Books in exchange for an honest review.

This is a whimsical wordless story with beautiful, colorful illustrations. I liked the quiet pacing of the wordless story, as well as watching the pencil go full circle. I may have appreciated the story and themes more as an adult that my preschooler did, but she still was mesmerized by the illustrations and she enjoyed telling her own interpretation of the story. Excited to read this again and again.