A review by davygibbs
The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla

4.0

A solid and spare (and somewhat gothically illustrated) children's story that reads like a Raymond Carver short story. It feels true and the pay-off at the end feels genuine. It concerns a boy who works out his inner turmoil over his family's recent move by creating a garden mural in an abandoned chalk factory behind his house. What really gives the book its refreshing uniqueness is the bleak, unpatronizing language (though there are a few unfortunate exclamation points) and the fact that the cause for Gregory's eventual triumph was a private creation, never meant for exhibition. This absence of competitiveness links the story in my mind to Gary Paulsen's wonderful novel, The Island, and sets it apart from the masses.