My Pen

Starred review from January 12, 2015
A graceful boy with a fedora and soft curls talks about the power of making art, as finely detailed black-and-white images surround him, like a sketchbook brought to life. Deep in thought, the boy compares himself to people who are rich or famous. “Sometimes I feel small,” he confesses. “But then I remember I have my pen.” Instead of imagining fortune or celebrity, he pays homage to wisdom and strength, drawing a farmer in overalls who towers over him like a stone monument (and who bears a strong resemblance to the author’s late father, Walter Dean Myers). “My pen,” he says, “makes giants of old men who have seen better days.” His pen creates adventure (“My pen sails to Africa in a newspaper boat”) but carries grave concern, too (“My pen worries about all the wars in the world”). Throughout the book, faces—young and old, with dark skin and light skin, with dreadlocks and pigtails—assure readers that this is a book meant for them, as are the freedom, power, and unlimited possibilities that drawing offers: “Let those worlds inside your pen out!” Ages 3–5.

Author, illustrator, and narrator Christopher Myers celebrates the power of his pen, the pen that has won him Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor Awards. In a gentle but firm voice fueled by his imagination, Myers creates thought-provoking scenes with his pen--from an elephant in a teacup to worries about the wars around the world. This is a pen that creates in the margins-- "All you need is your imagination"--and encourages creators everywhere to follow suit. Woven into the narration and musical score are vignettes delivered by Dion Graham, which, interestingly, if one listens carefully, give voice to the animals in the margins and kudos to Myers's mother, who taught Christopher to draw. The companion illustrated text is essential. A.R. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine