Pencil & Eraser: Lost and Frown!

by | Jun 19, 2025

The adorable duo, Pencil & Eraser, are back again in their second adventure! This time, Pencil is super excited that they will be joining their human Stella for her karate class. Joining… as in being along for the ride in Stella’s backpack since they’re her school supplies. While practicing some ninja moves, Pencil performs a jump – right out of Stella’s backpack and onto the sidewalk. Of course, Eraser won’t abandon Pencil and is right behind her. Now, they need to find the dojo in order to reunite with Stella. Luckily, Eraser brought along a map…

Pencil & Eraser: Lost and Frown! is the charming sequel to Jenny Alvarado’s Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-emma! While in the first story, readers were introduced to Pencil and Eraser with an adventure in the classroom, in Lost and Frown!, Pencil and Eraser must navigate the outside world. They encounter a couple of helpful squirrels who are very curious about what type of wood Pencil is, escape a shiny arcade, and navigate the karate class to make it back to their beloved Stella, though they face one last unexpected twist!

The structural and narrative formats of Lost and Frown! are similar to We Have a Dull-emma!, which is a good thing. Alvarado had a winning formula in the first installment – simple panels, clear text, joke breaks – so it was good to see the formula continuing with a new refreshing and fun story. It’s notable that Alvarado includes a cute little table of contents and chapters, elements that are common in longer regular novels as opposed to graphic novels. Not only do they help ground the story and break up scenes for young readers, but they also familiarize emerging readers with elements that they’ll see in novels. That familiarity could make prose novels less intimidating for emerging readers.

In addition to the narrative strengths, Alvarado’s art remains the heart of Pencil & Eraser. The two main characters are expressive, able to be both funny or endearing depending on what situation in which they find themselves. The backgrounds are simple but effective – Alvarado utilizes gradients frequently when focusing on the characters, but she uses lined backgrounds to express movement or action. However, she is also able to draw a detailed background when she needs to convey where Pencil and Eraser are. Alvarado includes a how-to-draw bonus at the end of this book as well, which fans and aspiring artists will love.

The publisher’s age rating for Pencil & Eraser: Lost and Frown! is ages 5-8, the perfect age group for the Pencil & Eraser series. Readers who enjoyed We Have a Dull-emma! will love this follow-up, and readers who are meeting Pencil and Eraser for the first time will have no trouble following the story and will be thrilled to know there is another book in this series for them to read. The Pencil & Eraser series continues to be an excellent choice for emerging readers and for readers searching for another cute pair of characters to adore like Narwhal and Jelly. Lost and Frown! is a must for any library, as is its predecessor. Pencil and Eraser will bring a lot of joy and laughter to young readers.

Pencil & Eraser: Lost and Frown! 
By Jenny Alvarado
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2025
ISBN: 9780593699812

Company Age Rating: Ages 5-8

NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)

Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-emma!

by | Mar 19, 2025

Once Stella and the other students leave the classroom, Pencil and Eraser are ready to introduce themselves to the reader! Pencil is exuberant, friendly, and determined. Eraser is subdued, pragmatic, and loyal.Eraser is also observant and notices that Pencil is a little… dull. Pencil needs to be sharp and ready for Stella when she gets back. The journey to the sharpener has begun!

Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-emma! is a humorous yet sweet graphic novel for elementary school age readers. It is a story of two school supplies, Pencil and Eraser, who wake up once the kids leave the classroom à la Toy Story. However, they immediately break the fourth wall and welcome the reader into their world. Pencil is definitely excited to say hello, but Eraser is a little more reserved. Eraser happens to notice that Pencil’s tip is dull. A page-sized panel subtly shows Pencil’s worry that Stella may not be happy with a dull pencil, and so Pencil is determined to “sharpen up,” as Eraser suggests. This sets in motion the “dull-emma” of the story: Pencil, who is determined and Eraser, who is slightly begrudging, must find a sharpener and figure out how to get to it before the students return to class.

Pencil and Eraser’s story is divided into short chapters that showcase various parts of their adventure. Each chapter is followed by a joke break. Though the story is carried by the comedy, the friendship between Pencil and Eraser is what makes the journey worth it. From the aforementioned panel showcasing Pencil’s worry about Stella’s reaction to a later panel featuring Eraser, who may be a little grumpy, being there for Pencil no matter what, the duo’s dilemma is full of hijinks but also heart.

The art of Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-emma! is bright and adorable. Alvarado has a particular talent of taking simple panels, which are beneficial in helping young readers follow along with the story, and allowing her dynamic characters to take over them in a friendly manner that draws the reader in and almost makes them part of the story. Alvarado’s expressive eyes on both Pencil and Eraser help distinguish their different personalities. Small characteristics like Pencil’s eyelashes and Eraser’s hair tuft accentuates their personalities that are being conveyed through the text. Alvarado includes a fun how-to-draw Pencil and Eraser section at the end of the graphic novel.

Even their little arms and hands, which are so simple, help flesh out their characters. In one panel, Pencil has their hands clasped near their face as they try to persuade Eraser to introduce themselves; in another panel, Eraser balls their hands into little fists as they try to get Pencil’s attention. Little artistic details like these serve as context clues for readers and help them to understand the text.

The publisher’s age rating for Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-emma! is ages 5-8, which is just right. Emerging readers will enjoy the comedy and gentle lesson and will be able to easily follow along with the story thanks to Alvarado’s charming art and concise writing perfectly presented in simple word bubbles with an accessible font type and size. Young readers who love puns, jokes, and a buddy duo with the flair of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie will want more adventures with Pencil and Eraser.

Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-emma!
By Jenny Alvarado
Penguin Random House, 2024
ISBN: 9780593699768

Company Age Rating: 5-8

NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)