THE GREAT PENCIL ESCAPE A coloring book Story by Lola Skipper Brought to life by The PARAGRAPH Project
THE GREAT PENCIL ESCAPE Story by Lola Skipper Brought to life by The PARAGRAPH Project
Text © 2008 Lola Skipper Illustration © 2008 The PARAGRAPH Project © 2008 All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Published by The Brier Creek Publishing Hangar Editorial Director: Valerie Hemmerly 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First published in 2008. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission from the publisher. FIRST EDITION
This book began in the mind of a third grader and was brought to life with the help of her teacher and The PARAGRAPH Project. As a company that rejects the notion that only specialized degrees and years of industry experience lead to brilliant ideas, The PARAGRAPH Project was honored to help turn a little girl’s imagination into a fun storybook that can be shared with people throughout the world. This book is a testament to the creative spirit that lives within all of us. We hope you enjoy it.
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
My name is Lola and I’m in the third grade. I want to tell you a story about my favorite pencil, Wilson. Of course, I didn’t always know his name was Wilson. In fact, I didn’t even know he could talk.
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It all started one day last fall when I came home from my aunt’s house and sat at my desk to do some homework. It was just like any other normal day. But this day I realized my favorite pencil was gone! I wondered aloud, “Where has that pencil gone? Has it grown arms and legs and run away?�
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
It was my favorite pencil because it looked different from any other pencil in my pencil cup. It had bright, swirly colors all over it. All the other pencils looked plain and boring but this one looked fun and free-spirited.
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Ha! Ha! 10
Suddenly, I looked out my window and caught a faint glimpse of my pencil dancing in the sunlight. He yelled, “Ha, ha! You’ll never catch me!” I was shocked! Not only could my pencil run but he could talk! Quietly I raced down the stairs, my heart pounding, flung open the door calling to mom saying that I was going out to play. To the pencil I shouted, “I’ll catch you!” 11
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
I chased him all over town and into a bakery. I asked the chef behind the counter if she had seen a pencil running around. She looked at me as if I was crazy, shrugged her shoulders and said, “no.� Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw him standing on top of a birthday cake pretending to be one of the candles. Once he saw me look at him, he jumped off and ran out the door. 13
I followed him into a doctor’s office across the street. He ran past the woman at the counter looking for a place to hide. I lost sight of him for a brief second. I went down the hall and peered into one of the rooms and saw him. My favorite pencil was sitting in a glass jar with all the tongue depressors. He was way too colorful to hide in there. 14
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So he climbed out and ran as fast as he could down the street to the Chinese restaurant. There were lots of people eating dinner and with all the commotion I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find him. I thought I had lost him for good. All of a sudden, I heard a loud scream. A man just realized that one of his chopsticks was actually a pencil‌ my pencil! He dropped the pencil on the floor and it rushed out the door. 16
The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
I screamed one more time, “Come back, come back!� It was too late. My pencil had hopped onto the bus and it sped off into the distance.
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
A few weeks later, I got a letter in the mail. It was from my pencil. He told me he was sorry he ran away. Wilson was tired of being stuffed into a pencil cup all day and wanted to find a place where pencils could run around and be free. I don’t know the name of that place, but it sounds like fun. He gets to play with other pencils all day long. His favorite game is hide-and-seek. But he’s still not very good at it. 21
I’m sad Wilson left but I’m happy he is having fun. I also realized that I shouldn’t have chased after him. I have lots of nice pencils at home. I should enjoy all of them. Spending so much time chasing one pencil was foolish.
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The Great Pencil Escape by Lola Skipper
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The End.
THE GREAT PENCIL ESCAPE Story by Lola Skipper | Brought to life by The PARAGRAPH Project
This book was produced in partnership with The Brier Creek Publishing Hangar and Lulu.com. The Brier Creek Publishing Hangar is a pilot program at Brier Creek Elementary that affords its students the opportunity to publish professional quality books. For more information on how to set up a similar program in your child's school, please visit www.lulu.com/aspiringauthors.