crayons

Frankencrayon by Michael Hall

| Tasha

Frankencrayon by Michael Hall

Frankencrayon by Michael Hall (InfoSoup)

This picture book has been cancelled. The crayons in the story are saddened that the picture book won’t be happening. After all, they have costumes and were going to tell an amazing story. But now that someone is actually reading the cancelled story, they may as well tell the reader exactly why the picture book has ended. It is all because of the horrible scribble that suddenly interrupted the story. They tried to clean the page, but the scribble just got larger and larger. It was out of control and everyone was so disturbed by it that they forgot to tell Frankencrayon that something was wrong. So when the crayons playing him entered on Page 22, they ran right into the scribble. It would take some quick thinking and fast action to save the story.

Hall has such a playful approach to picture books that one never quite knows what sort of story they are heading into. This book is great fun from the set up of the “cancellation” to the crayons in costumes. It is clever and humorous with exactly the sort of humor that preschoolers adore. Children will not be scared by anything here thanks to the use of crayons and the horror being a scribble on the page. This one reads aloud beautifully, filled with voices of the pencil, the crayons, and even one evil scribbler.

The cut paper collage pops on each page, the crayons bright with their colors and delightful in their different sizes after clearly having been merrily colored with for some time. The pointy pencil too somehow has its own personality. The solution that Frankencrayon comes up with is exactly what children would think of and adds to the visual appeal of the book.

This funny picture book is perfect to share aloud with a group of preschoolers who may love to do their own transformations of scribbles into something more friendly. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Greenwillow Books.

Review: Snap! by Hazel Hutchins

| Tasha

Snap by Hazel Hutchins

Snap! by Hazel Hutchins, illustrated by Dušan Petričić

Released September 22, 2015.

Evan had a new set of crayons that were perfect until he accidentally broke the brown crayon. He tried to fix it by pressing it together and taping it, but nothing worked. Then Evan realized that one broken crayon is actually two crayons! As Evan continued to color, more crayons snapped. When he stepped on one, he found that he could create different things with the crushed color and with others without wrappers. Evan’s only green crayon disappeared under the stairs and then he didn’t have any green at all, until he discovered that yellow and blue combined to make green. Soon Evan was mixing all sorts of colors. Finally he is left with only three colors: red, blue and green and no space to color any more. But Evan has starting thinking in new ways and finds a way to make new discoveries and art.

Hutchins has taken a universal moment in childhood, when the first crayon breaks and made it into a celebration of creativity and thinking in new ways. The discoveries outweigh the loss of a whole crayon, creating new opportunities and new ways to color and draw. The part where he steps on a crayon is so well done, allowing youngsters to see situations like that as a chance for discovery. Throughout the tone is jolly and inviting, just the antidote to perfectionism we need.

Petričić’s art is very appealing. Evan is a boy who is colored the same bright colors as his crayons, allowing him to pop on the page even as it fills with art. At the same time, he is rendered partially as an uncolored person, which makes for a very modern and intriguing look. The scribbles and child art are done well, always filled with experimentation and ideas. 

Combine this with a crayon craft and you will have a great program, just be ready for some of the children to snap your crayons on purpose! Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Annick Press and NetGalley.

Review: The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

| Tasha

Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (InfoSoup)

Released August 18, 2015.

In this companion to the very popular The Day the Crayons Quit, Duncan receives several postcards in the mail, all sent from his crayons, this times ones that have been forgotten, left behind or run away. There is Maroon Crayon who was lost in the couch, broken in half and saved by Paperclip. There is Pea Green, who is aware that no one likes his color so he’s run away to see the world and renamed himself Esteban. Neon Red Crayon has been left behind on vacation and undertakes a long and arduous journey back home, getting his geography all mixed up along the way. There are crayons that melted together in the sun, ones that were eaten and puked up by the dog, ones stuck in sharpeners, left behind in basements, and put in the dryer. All of the crayons want to return home and Duncan has just the solution for them, no matter what condition they are in.

This second picture book about Duncan’s crayons has the same fabulous sense of humor as the first one. The crayons all have their own unique personalities. While the book moves from one crayon to the next in general, a couple of them return several times during the story. So readers get to see what happens when Esteban heads out into the world and also get to adventure along with Neon Red as he makes his long trek homeward. The entire book is merry and funny, filled with puns and jokes. Even the crayons in the worst condition are done with plenty of humor.

The illustrations by Jeffers add to the fun. Make sure to take the glow-in-the-dark crayon page into a dark room to see it glow. Jeffers’ asides by the crayons are wry and silly, creating small conversations outside of the postcard format.  As always, Jeffers’ illustrations are a treat with lots of personality, even with the characters being crayons.

A winning companion book for a popular read, this book is sure to please fans of the first and to find new fans who will happily discover both books. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin Young Readers.

Review: Red by Michael Hall

| Tasha

red

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall

A blue crayon labeled as red is not very good at being red at all. His fire trucks were all wrong. He thought more practice might help, but his strawberries didn’t look anything like Scarlet’s. When he tried to mix with other colors, like Yellow to make orange, it turned very green on him. His parents tried to warm him up with a scarf, but it didn’t work either. Everyone had advice for him, like just trying harder or sharpening himself to a new point. Nothing made any difference. Then he made a new friend who asked him to make an ocean for her boat to sail on. Red protested at first because oceans aren’t red, but then agreed to try. And suddenly he realized that he had been blue all along!

Told in symbolism that children will immediately understand, this book works on a variety of levels.  It can inspire children to be who they really are on the inside and to be true to that and not the labels that society puts on you. Others will read it as a metaphor for being gay or transgendered and I think it works beautifully for that as well.  Perhaps the best praise that can be given this book is that it can mean so many different things to people.

Hall’s artwork is simple and lovely. His various crayons are different heights and have wonderful color names that range from more normal colors to “Cocoa Bean” and “Hazelnut” and “Grape.”  They all have something to say too, helpful and not-so-helpful alike.  But they are Red’s community and children will see in them things that are said to people who are different in some way.

A celebration of inner diversity, this picture book is all about accepting and celebrating our differences.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins.

Review: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

| Tasha

day the crayons quit

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Published June 27, 2013

Duncan is all set to color, but when he opens his crayon box he finds all sorts of letters written to him by his crayons.  And they are all letters of complaint!  First, Red wants to complain about being overworked because of all of his work on apples and fire engines.  He even works holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day!  Other crayons like Beige are complaining about not being used enough.  Then there is the feud between Orange and Yellow about how is the real color of the sun, since Duncan uses them both.  Peach crayon is upset about having his wrapper peeled off leaving him naked and unable to come out of the crayon box.  Purple scolds Duncan for coloring outside the lines and Pink complains about not being used except by Duncan’s little sister.  Luckily, Duncan has a great solution to all of their complaints.

Daywalt has created a book that is such fun to read aloud.  Each crayon’s letter really has its own voice, making it a pleasure to give new voices for each crayon character.  This mix of tones and voices also results in a very robust story, much more than one might expect for such a simple concept.  The entire book is cheerful and has laugh-out-loud moments throughout.

Jeffers’ art is as always playful with his own particular whimsical touches.  His crayons come to life with just a few lines that convey emotion through eyes, mouth and arms.  Simple and completely convincing.

A colorful look at crayons, personalities and ultimately creativity, this picture book should be shared aloud with plenty of paper for coloring on.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel.