The Day The Crayons Quit

Product Information

A masterwork of humor and design . . . Sure to be as popular asThe Day the Crayons Quit.”—Booklist,starred review

I loved the authors unique concept. So many children's books tend repeat the same themes these days. I don't always review books that my son brings home from the school library (unless I love or HATE them haha) but this one made the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards and several of you have it on your "to-read" list. Continues its predecessor’s pleasing, goofy conceit…Once again, both Daywalt’s text and Jeffers’ illustrations are endearing.”—New York Times Book ReviewThis is all apropos of nothing, except to say that the book was worth the trip . . . and putting up with Joe. In it we learn that Duncan's crayons are not happy. And what better way for crayons to express their disapproval than by leaving handwritten notes for their owner to find. The earnest gravity of the fighters’ quests paired with the mundane setting and melodramatic tone are perfectly balanced to produce a brand of purely absurd, sidesplitting humor that kids will gobble up.” I guess some reviewers find the crayons too "whiny," but I see nothing wrong with an inanimate object objecting to being used improperly. And, Duncan's crayons have a litany of complaints from overuse to who makes a better sun - yellow or orange. And the poor peach crayon - it's all naked 'cos Duncan peeled off its paper!

And honestly, I really liked that message. If you feel mistreated or are unhappy - speak up and try to change the situation. If nobody knows that you're unhappy, it's unlikely that anything is going to change on its own, so you have to have the self-respect to stand up for your own needs. I didn't feel like it was a message of selfishness or laziness on behalf of the crayons - they just wanted to be respected and appreciated and treated fairly. A cute little books about Duncan's box of crayons. He goes to use them and discovers a pile of letters from various colors. The letters are mildly amusing, but the accompanying pictures are even better, illustrating each crayon's issue in a spot-on child-like style. I stood there looking at the not-quite-a-rainbow-mess in disgust, when my wife looked over and saw my expression, and asked what was wrong. But here’s an interesting thing to ponder: There’s this book from 1997 called The Crayon Box That Talked (Shane Derolf/Michael Letzig). It’s also about a box of crayons that don’t get along, are complaining about each other and refuse to work together. Sound familiar? Except when their owner draws a picture, the crayons see how beautiful the others are and even more so when they all color together. It’s not funny or snarky or clever. It’s sweet. I mean, hey, it’s about diversity and appreciating how different we all are. Makes you want to hug and get all Kumbaya-ya. This book was mentioned in a conversation here on Goodreads, with a link to a reading on Youtube, so I watched it. And I kinda loved it.I’d been writing dialogue for movies and TV for over ten years at that point and thought, hmm… what if I draw on my strengths? What if I gave each crayon a monologue about how they felt about my coloring habits? I bet they’d give me an earful. Stop the presses--the best new Children's book of 2013 is in and it is "The Day the Crayons Quit", no arguments. The hilarious, colorful #1New York Timesbestselling phenomenon that every kid wants! Gift a copy to someone you love today. A brilliant, colorful tale that begs to be read aloud and a must-have for all collections.”—School Library Journal,starred review Peach Crayon is upset because Duncan peeled his wrapper off and now he is 'naked.' I found this storyline strained, but okay.

There's often a adult twist, as in the illustration for Pink's letter, which complains that Duncan might be stereotyping Pink as a 'girl's color." The drawing is of a pink dinosaur laughing at an embarrassed pink monster and a cowboy in pink chaps and vest. This is also an epistolary picture book. I don't know if Daywalt knows this, but a common assignment given by a variety of different elementary school teachers requires kids to read epistolary books ( Dear Mrs. LaRue, The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman, etc.). As such, The Day the Crayons Quit is no doubt destined to remain on multiple children's book lists for decades and decades to come.I love the message of the book, even though it is extremely didactic, and the humor and the pictures are wonderful. This colorful title should make for an uproarious storytime.” –School Library Journal, starred review