My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil Read online

  Copyright © 2010 by Hanoch Piven

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Schwartz & Wade Books and the colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Piven, Hanoch.

  My best friend is as sharp as a pencil: and other funny classroom portraits / Hanoch Piven.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: When her grandma asks her about school, a girl draws a class portrait, adding details that show what makes each person special.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98278-1

  [1. Portraits—Fiction. 2. Schools—Fiction. 3. Individuality—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.P68943Mw 2010

  [E]—dc22

  2009025064

  The illustrations are rendered in gouache on paper adorned with glued-on objects.

  Photography by Cristina Reche

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  TO QUELA, MY SISTER

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  First Page

  Afterthought

  About the Author

  When Grandma comes to visit, she asks so many questions about school.

  This time, instead of giving her the same old boring answers, I have an idea.…

  I’ll show her!

  Now, Grandma, let’s see. You asked about my teacher, Mrs. Jennings.

  Mrs. Jennings talks in a voice as sweet as candy

  (except when she is very excited).

  She can spell anything,

  without making one mistake!

  And she smells soooo

  lovely—as lovely as flowers.

  But you gotta be careful:

  she notices everything,

  just like a pair of glasses.

  Mrs. Jennings,

  I am giving you an A+!

  At recess I like to play

  with my best friend, Jack.

  Jack knows everything about every country in the world.

  Jack is as sharp as a pencil,

  as curious as a magnifying glass,

  and as precise as a microscope.

  Is he a genius, or what?!

  What is the most fun

  part about school?

  Going to the library!

  (See? I’m smart, too.)

  Listening to Mrs. Sheila, the librarian, is as exciting as rubbing a magic lamp.

  She is as interesting as a book full of stories.

  When she reads them, her eyes shine like marbles.

  She can be as funny as a clown

  or as scary as a monster.

  Shhhhhh!

  There’s a story

  starting now!

  And who is my

  favorite teacher?

  My favorite teacher is as

  mysterious as dark glasses

  and as artistic as

  a paint palette.

  He’s as relaxed as my

  favorite pair of jeans

  and always so colorful,

  just like my new set of

  crayons.

  He is Mr. Christoph,

  my art teacher.

  (Isn’t he cool?)

  There is one person

  in my school

  who is so much fun!

  She is as happy as a balloon,

  as graceful as a ballet slipper,

  as jumpy as a million rubber bands,

  and as loud as jingling bells.

  She is…

  She is…

  Sofia

  (the wildest girl in my class).

  It’s PARTY TIME!

  My second-best friend

  in school is someone

  very quiet.

  Someone who is

  slower than a snail.

  Someone who is

  as hard as a nut

  (and has a shell, too),

  someone as green

  as lettuce leaves.

  Can you guess who it is?

  Mildred, the turtle

  (our class pet).

  There are so many

  other kids in my class.

  One is as playful as a bowling pin,

  and one is as smart as a computer part.

  One is as happy as gummy worms,

  and one is as fancy as lipstick.

  One is as loud as a kazoo,

  and one is as quiet as a fish.

  One is as strong as a bulldozer,

  and one is as delicate as the sound of a violin.

  Then there’s one girl (who looks a lot like me) who is as clever as LEGOs.

  I can’t show them all to you, but…

  Here are just a few.

  (Can you tell which one is me?)

  Does that answer all your questions, Grandma?

  A LITTLE AFTERTHOUGHT

  During the past ten years, I’ve visited many schools in the United States and other countries, including Guatemala, Brazil, Israel, Spain, Costa Rica, and Argentina.

  In each school, once I showed the children my object art, they immediately got to work. They all made the most magnificent pictures using objects they had collected ahead of time.

  I noticed that making collages with objects helps kids (and grown-ups) realize that they can create art even if they are insecure about their artistic abilities.

  More important, making pictures out of objects helps to tell stories that might be too long, difficult, or boring told in just words.

  Gather as many old and unused objects as you can and start playing with them. Before long, you’ll find yourself making art.

  —Hanoch Piven

  Hanoch Piven has received from kids countless portraits inspired by his book My Dog Is As Smelly As Dirty Socks: And Other Funny Family Portraits, which was called “delightful” in a starred review by School Library Journal. Hanoch is also the creator of What Presidents Are Made Of, a Time Magazine Best Book, among others. His portraits have appeared in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Barcelona with his family. Visit Hanoch on the Web at www.pivenworld.com.

  WWW.RANDOMHOUSE.COM/KIDS

 

 

  Hanoch Piven, My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil

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