In his very small Nebraska town, fifth-grader Ted Hammond looks for a connection between the dying town's dwindling school numbers and the face in the window of an empty house.

When Matthew has nothing for show-and-tell one day, he tells the class that he has a lion living at his house, but when his classmates want to come see it he must decide what to do.

A lonely pencil timidly draws a boy, a dog, and other items but soon faces a problem as his creations begin demanding changes, and when he draws an eraser to make them happy, the real trouble begins.

While trying to escape from a wolf, four frightened chickens keep getting themselves into the very predicaments they are trying to avoid.

"Being Death is a lonely job, especially when everything you touch instantly dies (not to mention the paperwork); but being Sparkles the Last Unicorn is not much fun either, since everyone just wants to take selfies with you or use you to sell stuff--but when Death and Sparkles meet, it is the beginning of a friendship that just might change the world."--