I also quite liked the message from the little boy Duncan's perspective. He was asked to change his habits to make his beloved crayons happier, and he took their needs into consideration and changed for them - and the experience was rewarding for all. And that’s how The Day The Crayons Came Home was born. After cleaning up Sam’s mess that day, I would go on to write of all the poor crayons in our life that we’ve lost, abused and broken over the years. I felt it was the least I could do for them. I haven’t been reading many picture books lately, but with large groups of college students above and below me (don’t get me started) while I can’t focus on my current novel, I was able to concentrate on a picture book, and thanks to Goodreads friend Kathryn for encouraging me to read this particular book, and due to it being due at the library Monday, I just read it, and I’m glad I did. A brilliant, colorful tale that begs to be read aloud and a must-have for all collections.”—School Library Journal,starred review A masterwork of humor and design . . . Sure to be as popular asThe Day the Crayons Quit.”—Booklist,starred review

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because even though the story was pretty interesting, the letters that the crayons wrote to Duncan tend to be extremely long and it made me a bit frustrated since I think that the humor in the letters still would have been there, if they were to shorten the letters down to a few sentences and still get the crayons’ points across. Winner of over 60 national and international awards, including the coveted E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Laugh-out-loud funny and outrageous at times, this read-aloud will have listeners jumping out of their seats. This is the sort of story that makes children love to read.” First, my son and I really enjoyed the story and the illustrations; he had to examine the expressions of each crayon and discuss their moods and well as the pictures that were drawn using the crayons.

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.

Hysterical story of a poor, little boy who goes to school to discover numerous handwritten (in crayon of course) aggrieved letters from his crayons. They are pissed off. Some are being used too much (blue) some are not being used at all (white) and some are in disputes with one another (orange vs. yellow). Much drama in the crayon box and they have all decided to QUIT.It’s scary to have a big job when you’re just a little droid on your own. But BB-8 isn’t alone for long. As he speeds across the sand, BB-8 meets all kinds of strangers who need his help. Should he do good things, as Poe always told him, or will that get in the way of his mission? The hilarious, colorful #1New York Timesbestselling phenomenon that every kid wants! Gift a copy to someone you love today. A Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of 2015 / A TIME Magazine Top 10 Children’s Book of 2015 By telling stories from the points of view of crayons, giving voices to the small and ignored, Daywalt and Jeffers have created two books that offer plenty of charm and fun, but also make children feel deeply understood.”—The Boston Globe 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 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. 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 colorful title should make for an uproarious storytime.” –School Library Journal, starred review 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 loved the authors unique concept. So many children's books tend repeat the same themes these days.

BB-8 on the Run

Now, I have been looking around for some picture books that were heavily raved about by various readers and I just happened to stumble upon this unique book called “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt along with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers. Honestly, this book was truly creative and interesting to read all the way through! But then I saw them, like a beacon on a hill… there, on my desk, sat an ancient box of my old crayons next to the hula girl pen holder my grandpa had left me in his will. I didn’t remember buying the crayons, or even why I had them. I didn’t have kids yet, so they were definitely my crayons. And at the time, I couldn’t for the life of me remember the last time I had colored. Crayons are so ubiquitous, aren’t they? They just show up everywhere, under couch cushions, behind the dresser, in the junk drawer. But here was a box I’d aparently kept with me, moving them with all my office stuff from apartment to apartment. So yeah… there they were. And I just knew they had a story to tell. 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. 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! Yellow Crayon and Orange Crayon each write in separately, seemingly they each believe they are the "true" color of the sun.

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. These memorable personalities will leave readers glancing apprehensively at their own crayon boxes.” –Publishers Weekly, starred reviewPeach Crayon is upset because Duncan peeled his wrapper off and now he is 'naked.' I found this storyline strained, but okay. That’s my next book!” I yelped gleefully, “If the other crayons were all bent out of shape over how they were being used, imagine how THESE ones feel??!” Not only stands on its own merit, but may be even more colorful than the original.”—Huffington Post