The Day the Crayons Quit

The Day the Crayons Quit
Written by Drew Daywalt
Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Philomel Books, c2013. Unpaged picture book.

One day, when Duncan gets out his crayon box to color, instead of crayons he finds a pile of letters with his name on it! It appears the worst has happened: the crayons have all quit! The letters are from each crayon, and boy are they mad. There is a complaint from every color in the box. Red writes to Duncan that he is simply overworked. Every holiday drawing has a use for Red and he needs a rest. Black is tired of being used just for outlines. "How about a BLACK beach ball sometime? Is that too much to ask?" Blue is just a stubby little guy from being used in every picture. And Beige...Beige just wants to know, "WHY did you peel off my paper wrapping?? Now I'm NAKED and too embarrassed to leave the crayon box." Drew Daywalt's debut picture book is wildly creative. Children will find it hysterically funny, while parents (who will be asked to read this daily!) will appreciate the wit, too. Oliver Jeffers' art is phenomenal, from each crayon's distinct personality, to "Duncan's" perfectly childlike drawings.

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