Kid Konnection: The Day the Crayons Quit

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week, I'm going to share with you one of the most original (and fun!) picture books I've seen in recent memory!

Summary: Crayons have feelings, too, in this funny back-to-school story illustrated by the creator of Stuck and This Moose Belongs to Me -- now a #1 New York Times bestseller!

Poor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: His crayons have had enough! They quit! Beige Crayon is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown Crayon. Black wants to be used for more than just outlining. Blue needs a break from coloring all those bodies of water. And Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking—each believes he is the true color of the sun.

What can Duncan possibly do to appease all of the crayons and get them back to doing what they do best?

Kids will be imagining their own humorous conversations with crayons and coloring a blue streak after sharing laughs with Drew Daywalt and New York Times bestseller Oliver Jeffers. This story is perfect as a back-to-school gift, for all budding artists, for fans of humorous books such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Sciezka and Lane Smith, and for fans of Oliver Jeffers' Stuck, The Incredibly Book Eating Boy, Lost and Found, and This Moose Belongs to Me.

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite picture books of the year!. I absolutely adore everything about this book, and I have a feeling that kids will too. In fact, my nephews enjoyed this book so much that my sister had to show it to me last time I was at her house. (I thought it looked somewhat familiar, so I came home to find that I already had this delightful book sitting on my shelves!)

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT is the very silly account of Duncan and his crayons. One day, Duncan wants to color, but when he opens his crayons box, all he sees is a stack of letters -- no crayons. His crayons have quit, and each one has his own gripe. For instance, Black crayon wants to be used for more than just outlining and Blue is tired because he's always used for coloring big bodies of water, and Pink just wants to be used.

Duncan has to find a way to appease all of the crayons, but how?

I don't know if I can even express how adorable THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT is. Truly, the idea behind this picture book is so creative. Each page spread of this story features a letter from one of the crayons voicing their complaints as well as a cute "child's" illustration using that color of crayon. And boy are these crayons upset! What makes this book so funny is that their gripes actually make sense and ring true to anyone who has ever used a box of crayons. I especially love how funny the crayon's letters are -- each one is funnier than the last!

This is a first for Booking Mama, but I have a mini guest review (well actually just quotes) from both of my nephews. Here are a few snippets of their reaction to the book. Noah (age 5) said "The book is funny. I really liked how the blue crayon got stubby." And Jude (age 3) said, "Peach crayon is funny. He is naked!" As much as I love this book and want to share with you my thoughts, I think these quotes are probably a better indicator of how much kids will enjoy this story.

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT is a perfect holiday gift for the little ones in your life. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!