SUMMARY: - PRANG is a stellar iconic brand (since 1882) for quality child-oriented non-toxic art supplies. - The youngest of toddlers, just learning to hold a crayon for the first time, can get in on the act with these "be-be Jumbo Colored Pencils". - Prangs aren't the absolute cheapest, but they are affordable, and regarded by many as superior for the price. - WSC COMMERCE is a small family-owned business and a fabulous seller who had offered the lowest price on this item. They then granted me a generous extra discount, when I inquired about a multiple purchase, enabling me to purchase three sets, and use up the last of their current stock. I could not have afforded this level of generosity to the 'be-bes' in my family, without WSC's extremely thoughtful gesture. Thank you! - Two sets have arrived, and their packaging is in pristine condition, having been sent simply in mailer envelopes. MY REASON FOR PURCHASE: I'm on a mission to provide quality child-oriented art supplies to my numerous young nieces and nephews (as well as a few neighbors children). I hope that real artists' Sketchbooks with heavyweight paper, and vivid smooth colored pencils, from a true art brand, might help generate a love for art, and let them know how "Good stuff" looks and feels. Of course I need to buy everything on sale or at bulk prices, to afford little art packs for 17 children. I'd been concentrating on jumbo triangular pencils for the 3 to 7-year-olds, able (or learning) to hold a pencil. (Prang makes a nice set of those that's a bit out of my price range.) I wondered what might be appropriate for the toddlers just learning to grasp with a fist. Then I saw this "bebe Jumbo" set of 6 colors, perfect for the purpose. WHY CHOOSE PRANG? 1. Prang colored pencils are known for their vivid pigmentation, thick cores, and smooth easy lay down of color. Some artists say they can produce gradients, blending and layering not achievable with ordinary children's brands, and yet their price is not much higher then the cheapies. Some artists say they use Prangs when they don't want to use their favorite expensive artists' brand. 2. American company, owned by the iconic Dixon-Ticonderoga company, that makes the jumbo triangular graphite pencils I remember so fondly from my youth. 3. Cool history! I learned a lot by googling Louis Prang, the artist who "invented" Christmas cards in America. From the company website: "Prang was founded in 1882 by Louis Prang, an American printer, lithographer, and publisher who believed that art played a vital role in fostering imagination and independent expression — especially in children. . . . Unable to find art products in the U.S. that met his quality and safety standards, Prang also developed his own non-toxic formulas, which eventually led him to create a full line of high-quality, child-safe art products."
