Leslie Bueter, age 8, of Prescott, Ariz., for his question:

HOW ARE CRAYONS MADE?

A crayon is usually shaped like a pencil. Schoolchildren and young people, of course find much pleasure in coloring pictures with waxy crayons.

A crayon can be a piece of colored waxy substance or it can be charcoal, colored chalk or other material. They are mass produced in factories using secret mixing formulas.

Crayons used in lithographic drawings are usually made of a mixture of wax, soap, resin and lampblack.

You can write on blackboards with chalk crayons. Pastel crayons are made by using a special chalk paste mixed with colored pigments. Charcoal crayons are made by properly and carefully burning sticks of various types of wood.