The Day the Crayons Quit
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Amazon.com
Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2013 Picture Books: The Day the Crayons Quit, Drew
Daywalt’s clever story of a box of crayons gone rogue will get the whole family
laughing at the letters written by the occupants of the ubiquitous yellow and
green box. The combination of text and Oliver Jeffers' illustrations match the
colors' personalities beautifully as the crayons share their concern,
appreciation, or downright frustration: yellow and orange demand to know the
true color of the sun, while green--clearly the people pleaser of the bunch--is
happy with his workload of crocodiles, trees, and dinosaurs. Peach crayon wants
to know why his wrapper was torn off, leaving him naked and in hiding; blue is
exhausted and, well, worn out; and pink wants a little more paper time. The
result of this letter writing campaign is colorful creativity and after reading
this book I will never look at crayons the same way again--nor would I want to.
---Seira Wilson
From Booklist
Duncan’s crayons are on strike. One morning he opens his desk
looking for them and, in their place, finds a pack of letters detailing their
grievances, one crayon at a time. Red is tired. Beige is bored. Black is
misunderstood. Peach is naked! The conceit is an enticing one, and although the
crayons’ complaints are not entirely unique (a preponderance centers around
some variation of overuse), the artist’s indelible characterization contributes
significant charm. Indeed, Jeffers’ ability to communicate emotion in simple
gestures, even on a skinny cylinder of wax, elevates crayon drawing to
remarkable heights. First-class bookmaking, with clean design, ample trim size,
and substantial paper stock, adds to the quality feel. A final spread sees all
things right, as Duncan fills a page with bright, delightful imagery,
addressing each of the crayons’ issues and forcing them into colorful
cooperation. Kids who already attribute feelings to their playthings will never
look at crayons the same way again. Grades K-3. --Thom Barthelmess
Review
**From Publishers
Weekly, Starred Review**
“Making a noteworthy debut, Daywalt composes droll missives that express
aggravation and aim to persuade, while Jeffers’s (This Moose Belongs to Me)
crayoned images underscore the waxy cylinders’ sentiments: each spread features
a facsimile of a letter scrawled, naturally, in the crayon’s hue; a facing
illustration evidences how Duncan uses the crayon, as in a picture of a giant
elephant, rhino, and hippo (Gray laments, “That’s a lot of space to color in
all by myself”). These memorable personalities will leave readers glancing
apprehensively at their own crayon boxes."--Publishers Weekly, starred
review
(Publisher's Weekly)
"Jeffers delivers
energetic and playful illustrations. The drawings are loose and lively, and
with few lines, he makes his characters effectively emote. Clever spreads, such
as Duncan’s 'white cat in the snow' perfectly capture the crayons’ conundrum,
and photographic representations of both the letters and coloring pages offer
another layer of texture, lending to the tale’s overall believability. A
comical, fresh look at crayons and color."--Kirkus Reviews
**From THE
WALL ST. JOURNAL** "Fresh and funny. Oliver
Jeffers's quirky, joyful illustrations convey the strength and comedy of the
crayons' sentiments, and children ages 4-8 will laugh in recognition at seeing
their own color preferences reflected back at them."
About the Author
Although Drew Daywalt grew up in a haunted house, he now
lives in a Southern California home, haunted by only his wife, two kids, and
five-month-old German Shepherd. His favorite crayon is Black.
Oliver Jeffers (www.oliverjeffersworld.com)
makes art and tells stories. His books include How to Catch a Star; Lost and Found,
which was the recipient of the prestigious Nestle Children’s Book Prize Gold
Award in the U.K. and was later adapted into an award-winning animated film; The Way Back Home; The Incredible
Book Eating Boy; The Great Paper Caper; The Heart and the Bottle, which was
made into a highly acclaimed iPad application narrated by Helena Bonham Carter; Up and Down, the New
York Times bestselling Stuck; The Hueys in the New Sweater, a New
York Times Best Illustrated Book
of the Year; and This Moose Belongs to Me, a New York Times bestseller. Originally from Belfast,
Northern Ireland, Oliver now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
