Chalk

Chalk by Bill Thompson

Published: 2010

Chalk is a wordless children's book that leads readers through a world of imagination. When a group of children discover a bag of chalk at the park, they determine that it holds magical powers that enable anything they draw to come to life. They turn their rainy day into a sunny day, create a park full of butterflies, and even stir up trouble when one of them decides to draw a dinosaur.

Response: Chalk is such a fascinating wordless story. I love the detail and realistic elements found within the illustrations. The attention to facial expression, setting detail, and shading creates a world that the reader is able to enter and experience. From this book, the story is clear. The illustrations create a clear plotline that readers can follow and understand. Within the classroom, students can use this book to determine the story, or even to identify story elements. I utilized this book twice this year so far. I have a student with autism, who is a very low reader. Each student was given a book and they were to identify the story elements within the story. This student was self-conscious about recieving special accommodations, and they were thrilled when they were able to understand the assignment and identify the story elements within this story without getting frustrated with tricky words.  Since this book is so well crafted, this student was able to succeed and grow their confidence in reading. This lead to a discussion about the importance of reading pictures and illustrations, not just the text. This book was also a great addition to my wordless book study. When my students were studying illustrations, they were assigned a partner and they were allowed to select a wordless book and each tells their perspective of the story. They would each share, then discuss where their stories took a  different direction. This book was a great text for that because the students were able to identify and discuss the strong details and develop a strong plotline for the story. This book also encouraged their creativity so much that I then decided to do a picture walk/read-aloud of the book, and gave the students an option to form their own version of this story within their writer's notebooks. They loved this activity and were able to learn that they can seek inspiration from illustrations to create their own pieces of writing. 

The children hide from the dinosaur they created

Analysis:  The illustrations in this wordless picture book are exquisite. Bill Thomson, the author/illustrator, used acrylic paint and colored pencils to create incredibly realistic illustrations to tell the story. Within this wordless book, readers are introduced to a new twist on every page. Chalk is a beautiful example of realistic illustrations used to envelop all readers into the story. The book begins with a foreshadowing of the problem within the story. The first page shows a rocking dinosaur within the playground. This reappears consistently throughout the story as a motif. The dinosaur was intentionally placed in the background. As readers progress through the pages, they see that the boy gets inspired by the rocking dinosaur to draw a dinosaur with the magic chalk. This brings a dinosaur to life, and the children have to run and hide, as shown in the image to the right. Using this, the illustrator is able to bring the story to a close. The children realize that the chalk did not work until there was sunshine, and therefore they needed to create rain again. Once they draw the rain, the dinosaur melts away, and the children are seen leaving the park with the chalk and rocking dinosaur behind them. This storyline is important to highlight with students and discuss the appearances of the dinosaur. The dinosaur can spark a discussion about problem and solution, and how strong illustrations can guide a story. Also, using this story, teachers can encourage their students to create a story where they find magic chalk, and either create a wordless book, or a written story where they complete their own adventure with the concept within this story.