The Day the Crayons Quit

written by Drew Daywalt
illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Ages: 0-8 years (approximately grades preschool – 3)

You’d be hard pressed to find any young reader who doesn’t enjoy coloring. For many of us (adults included!) all that’s necessary for a fun afternoon is a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons. Unfortunately, the crayons themselves aren’t as easily satisfied. One day when our protagonist, Duncan, arrives to school, he finds a stack of letters addressed to him. These letters contain the grievances of all the colors in his crayon box. They quit! Red is overworked, beige is underused, white is misused, and yellow and orange are in an all-out war over who should be used to color the sun. It’s absolute chaos in the pigmented world of the crayons, and it’s up to Duncan to use his creativity to set things right.

Although this is Daywalt’s first (very successful, as a 2015 Monarch Award nominee) attempt as an author, The Day the Crayons Quit is just one of the many fantastic titles Jeffers has illustrated. Each letter is composed on a different type of paper (lined, coloring pages, etc.) in each crayon’s specific handwriting. With each letter comes a depiction of the crayon in question and his objections, in a creative, funny, and in true Oliver Jeffer’s style, childlike illustration, not to mention Duncan’s creations to boot! A wonderful, colorful story that any reader who has used crayons or lodged a complaint will connect with, The Day the Crayons Quit is not only relatable, but a laugh-out-loud funny tale that will encourage readers to use their imaginations the next time they sit down with their own box of crayons.

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