The Day the Crayons Quit

Title: The Day the Crayons Quit
Author: Drew Daywalt
Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: Texas Bluebonnet Winner (2014-2015)
Grade Level: PK - 3

Looking in his school desk to grab his crayons, Duncan finds a stack of grievance letters from his crayons. Red, Purple, Beige, Grey, White, Black, Green, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Pink, and Peach crayon all had something to tell Duncan. Some complained that they were overused while others felt they were under appreciated. Some crayons wanted to have a change in purpose and color something out of the norm. After reading all of the letters, Duncan took into consideration all of their complaints and suggestions to create a picture that his teacher gave a "good work" sticker and gold star for the coloring and creativity. This is a very humorous epistolary book about personified crayons. The letters are written on different types of paper with each respective crayon. The authentic child-like style illustrations accompanying the letters are examples of how the crayons have been used or want to be used. Students can learn to step out of their comfort zone and try something different. As an activity, students can write letters in the perspective of other inanimate objects.

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