In October 2010, I discovered Bill Thomson's book Chalk and I was blown away about the beauty of the illustrations and the creative storytelling. I loved this book so much that I gifted it to all of the teachers I was working with. Then in March of 2011, I facilitated a school-wide book event around Bill Thomson's first book, CHALK. I blogged about it here and created an animoto about the event. It was simply magical like the book.

In November of 2011, the school that I was at welcomed Bill Thomson for a school visit. Below is an animoto of his visit with us. Just like CHALK, our time with Bill was also magical.

In November 2013, I had the opportunity to visit with Bill Thomson during a trip he took to Pasadena. His newest book FOSSIL was just coming out and if I had been at a school campus, I would have created another event. Like CHALK, FOSSIL was filled with these incredible illustrations and a boy and his dog and some fossils and a bit of imagination develops into something bigger than life. You can read about my visit with Bill here and check out the official book trailer below.

Now Bill's third book in his imagination trilogy, THE TYPEWRITER, is here for all to read and experience.

The Typewriter
by Bill Thomson
Two Lions (March 8, 2016)
Fiction * Play * Imagination
Audience: Prek to 2nd grade
Amazon | WorldCat

Description of the book from GoodReads:
Using just nine words, the award-winning creator of Chalk takes readers on another unforgettable journey. When three children discover a typewriter on a carousel, they are transported on an adventure of their own creation—complete with a giant beach ball and a threatening crab. Stunning, richly colored artwork is paired with limited text so children can tell their own version of the story

Check out Bill Thomson's blog post on building the props for the making of The Typewriter.

My thoughts on the book:
Now Thomson's third book in his nearly wordless picture book trilogy is out and ready to take children on another adventure. This time with words, well sort of. In THE TYPEWRITER, three children happen upon a carousel that is closed but typical of curious children, they discover a special box covered in letters and sitting upon a large bumble bee carousel ride. Like in CHALK, and FOSSIL, things have a tendency to magically appear but instead of drawing objects, when the children type words using the typewriter they appear.

I loved how each book in this trilogy shared common features and yet also had a little twist. Additionally, each book took children on an incredible adventure that gets just a little bit scary but allows children to discover a way to be in control of the outcome. Also, in THE TYPEWRITER, words play a significant role, albeit there are not a lot of words in the book, but the ones that are there are critical.

One of these days, I will get a chance to create a school-wide event around all three of these incredible book. Until then I will enjoy each book and look forward to new book creations from the talented Thomson.

For the Curriculum Guide, please click on the image.

About the author/illustrator:
Bill Thomson is the creator of Chalk and Fossil and the illustrator of Baseball Hour, Karate Hour, Soccer Hour, and Building with Dad, all written by Carol Nevius. Thomson’s books have received many accolades: the National Parenting Publications Gold Award, designation as a Notable Children’s Book by the American Library Association, a Teacher’s Choice selection from the International Reading Association, a Booklist Editor’s Choice, the Connecticut Book Award for Children’s Illustrator, Kentucky’s Bluegrass Award, Ohio’s Buckeye Children’s Book Award, and the Prix Livrentête in Paris, France. Thomson’s artwork has also received more than 75 awards in the country’s most prestigious juried illustration competitions.
Thomson lives with his family in Southington, Connecticut and is also a professor of illustration at the University of Hartford. To see more of his artwork, visit: www.billthomson.com.