Marker

On the Desk

by Anna Kang, Christopher Weyant (Illustrator)

Set in the world of the award-winning Eraser, a story about finding your courage and learning that it’s OK to fail when you try your best.

Marker is one of the teacher’s go-to school supplies. Her work is tip-top, and she always makes a lasting impression. That is, until Pinking Shears, a.k.a. Pink, arrives and dazzles everyone with her sharp creations. No longer the star of the desk, Marker begins to make mistakes. The trouble is, they can’t just be erased; her work is permanent, and she’s not allowed to fail. Or so she thinks…until a realization helps her rediscover her Marker magic.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Fiction, Art, Back To School

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2023

Reviews

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but this is going to go over a lot of little heads IMO.. will require a lot of explaining.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great beginning of the Year Book

This is perfect for teachers to read at the beginning of the year. The teacher supplies are getting ready for students and creating class rules, and they learn it’s okay to make mistakes.

[Brittney Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classroom of talking school supplies… yes please! Filled with silly puns, bright colorful objects against the white pages gives off an uplifting vibe as you make your way through the feelings that one feels when someone new enters the picture and you lose a bit of your limelight. Cue the mistakes and that working together it will be ok.

[Bree Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

its’s okay to make mistakes

Sweet story about learning it’s okay not to be perfect. Marker is very anxious about making mistakes because everything they do is so permanent. Adored this story.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute story about it being okay to make mistakes. The drawings are adorable, too. I would definitely want to read this to a class, especially in the beginning of the school year.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

When confident Pinking Shears shows up to class at the start of the school year, Marker loses her confidence. How will Marker gain it back? Is Pinking Shears as great as she appears? Is there room for both school supplies.
If you liked Eraser by the same author or if you like books with puns like Jory John's Food Group, you'll enjoy this too.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A follow-up classroom tale from the amazing husband and wife team that wrote ERASER, comes another school supply that worries about being left out.

Marker has always loved being the supply that leaves a permanent and lasting impression in the classroom. When it’s time for school to start back up, all the teacher supplies gather together to get the classroom ready. Everyone is ready to do their part including Red Pen, Ruler, and Stapler. But, there is also a new supply joining the group, Pinking Shears, or Pink as she likes to be called.

Everyone is so excited by Pink’s unique cutting that Marker begins to worry and starts making mistakes, which isn’t good for a marker because mistakes are permanent. When she loses her spot in the Super Power mug, Marker isn’t sure her role in the class is important anymore.

The fellow Teacher Supplies rally behind Marker and remind her that mistakes are okay and there is room for everyone at the Teacher Supply table. Kids will find that everyone has a special job and sometimes those jobs are part of a team effort where everyone can and should contribute. The Class Rules created by all the Teacher Supplies are great reminders for summer days at home as well as in the classroom.

The illustrations bring all the teacher supplies to life and the team of Kang and Weyant have created another winning children’s book that reminds all of us to do our best, keep trying, and sometimes making mistakes is half the fun.

[TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian |Mrs. Ferraris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief summary: Red Pen welcomes the teacher supplies to getting ready for the first day of school. Pinking Shears is accepted as a new member and is placed in the superpower mug on the desk, displacing Permanent Marker to a canister. The supplies are creating back-to-school posters and lists when Marker, which is always used for the class rules poster, makes a mistake but cannot fix it, causing her anxiety as everyone will see it day after day. Will Red Pen come up with an idea to help everyone realize it's okay to fail?

What a fun read for the beginning of the school year. Cute illustrations and a humorous storyline will help students with any first-day jitters. I'll not be looking at the supplies on my desk ever the same.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic copy from Amazon Publishing through SLJ Picture Book Palooza.
Love the way the illustrations and dialogue work together to pull readers in to join the school supplies as they prep for school. Marker is the star and knows how special they are. Then a new pair of scissors shows up and Marker feels displaced. When they make a mistake, they lose their confidence to even try again. The other supplies rally around them and encourage them to keep going even if mistakes are made. When Pink also makes a disastrous mistake, both learn to support each other as they have been supported.
Clever and humorous art.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleverly making characters out of a teacher's stationery accoutrements, this shows the marker pen rattled by a wonderful new addition to the two mugs full of pens, rulers, Tipp-Ex and so on. But the problem is it daren't make any mistakes, what with it being on the permanent side if it does. A book that has its morals right on-curriculum (the plot does involve the new school intake's class rules being set up, after all), it happily shows the defeat of the sinking feeling that someone new is upstaging you and stealing your limelight. I can't exactly see many teachers objecting to this.

[Kelly]

I thought there wasn't much substance to this book. I feel like marker could have saved the day or done something more than just written on a sign. Or gotten in trouble by making permanent marks on something that shouldn't have it. I guess it kind of did but it didn't get in trouble. Which I can see a point for, like, mistakes are ok, but maybe to make a more interesting book you want some action.

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. Marker learns that while she can be insecure not everything is personal and its okay to make mistakes. The others believed in her and she could believe in herself too! Even if it felt she was no longer appreciated, they did need her and it was nice to work with her team. Even the admired Teacher supplies made mistakes too and it was ok👍

[Ashlin Edmisten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marker has always been the most revered of teacher's supplies. When pinking shears comes to town, they're so new and different, they get everyone's attention. Marker begins to feel self conscious which makes her job very hard to do.

Another great book about mistakes, failure, persistence and just how important those things are.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute read that I had seen on Instagram and figured we needed to read it. It’s about showing you it’s okay to not be perfect. I had requested a bunch of that theme. The artwork was super cute in this book. My daughter said her favourite pet was when Pink showed up.
This again was a cute read and we would recommend sit to others.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are delightful, but the story is all over the place, and story's randomness makes the message confusing. There are way better books for kids about school, and about accepting your limitations and working through mistakes.

[Adrienne Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for elementary aged students. I like how it talked about making mistakes and that it is ok. I really enjoyed accepting mistakes and overcoming the challenges we may face. It can be a great topic on resilience.

[Children's Literature Centre at FSU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids will love this book of talking school supplies! Join Marker, Red Pen, and others as they begin the school year. A great book to share with students to teach them that it is okay to fail as long as they try their best

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach kids to learn from mistakes and also accept that mistakes do happen.

The illustrations are bright, colorful, and shows the different emotions of the characters throughout the story.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for this book which celebrates school supplies

I read a digital advanced reader's copy courtesy of the publisher

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, Anna Kang delivers a delightful story with a wonderful lesson.

[Nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book that teaches those who read that you do not need to be perfect.

[izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que bonito. Me encantó.

[Aspen Ganison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book for a younger audience but I did feel like it needed further discussion. The length was just right and the picture are exciting and bright!

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice continuation of the work in Eraser with a continued focus on accepting making mistakes and not always having to be perfect.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the fun dynamics of this book (though I despise the text sort of floating all over the place!) and it's a good message about it being okay to make mistakes.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice gentle helpful story and fun bright sketchy illustrations.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super sweet story, cute art, good message.

[Bexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book about how we can learn from our mistakes, but it feels like a lot of that message happens off the page. Loved the illustrations.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story of making something work after a mistake, sticking with it when you want to quit, and giving/accepting encouragement to try again.

[Ryann Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some fun puns in here but overall I felt like it went over my kids heads.