The Day the Crayons Quit
by Drew Daywalt
Kirkus Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. Duncan wants to draw, but instead of crayons, he finds a stack of letters listing the crayons' demands in this humorous tale. Red is overworked, laboring even on holidays. Gray is exhausted from coloring expansive spaces (elephants, rhinos and whales). Black wants to be considered a color-in color, and Peach? He's naked without his wrapper! This anthropomorphized lot amicably requests workplace changes in hand-lettered writing, explaining their work stoppage to a surprised Duncan. Some are tired, others underutilized, while a few want official titles. With a little creativity and a lot of color, Duncan saves the day. Jeffers delivers energetic and playful illustrations, done in pencil, paint and crayon. 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. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Horn Book (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. 9780399255373 All Duncan wants to do is color, but the crayons have gone on strike, and they've left Duncan a pile of letters listing their grievances. As the drama unfolds, Jeffers's spare crayon illustrations pop off the white background, adding movement and momentum to the imaginative narrative. The vibrant final spread addressing each color's concerns leaves all parties with an amicable resolution. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
