DISCLAIMER:  This site contains product affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you click on or make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.

In this post, you’ll read another favorite crayon book. This post is our book review of “The Crayon Man”. You won’t want to pass up this extremely vibrant book of colors, science, and history!

What is this book about?

“The Crayon Man” is a true story about Edwin Binney’s invention of Crayola Crayons. Mr. Binney had a love for the world of color and specifically admired natures vibrant colors. The crayons available before Crayola Crayons were made from materials that broke easily. And they only can in 3 colors: black, gray and white.

This book beautifully depicts Edwin’s experimentation journey. He worked to create the top secret formula for what would eventually become a wax crayon named Crayola.

Who is the Author / Illustrator?

This book is written by Natascha Biebow. Natascha grew up reading, loving books, and writing. She eventually became a children’s writer and editor. Her inspiration to write this book came during an episode of Sesame Street. She was watching it with her young son when they saw a video of Crayola crayons.

This book was beautifully illustrated by Steven Salerno. He is an illustrator and children’s book author based in New York City (NYC).

What we LOVED about this Book:

• The illustrations in this book are absolutely stunning. They are as beautiful as the rainbow of color found inside a box of Crayola Crayons!
• The book includes several educational chemistry facts on waxes, pigments, clays, and minerals. It was so fun to read about and learn with the kids.
• Trial and error and perseverance are themes in this book. The end result is something truly stunning and beautiful. The story is truly inspiring!
• The historical elements in the book transport readers back to the time period when the crayon was being developed.
• At the end of the book there are photos and descriptions of the actual Crayola crayon manufacturing process today. There are also real life images of Mr. Binney himself. We found both to be extremely educational and fun for the children.

We’ve added this book to our own home library. It is a book that my children pick up to read again and again! I hope that you are inspired to check out this book as well!

If you would like to purchase this book too, use this link! I also have some fun crayon experiments in the STEAM activities section of my website. You can find all the crayon activities here.

-Kristen