: 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! Blue crayon needs a break from
coloring all those bodies of water. Black crayon wants to be used for more
than just outlining. 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?
🍎
Title:
The Day the Crayons Quit
🍎 Author: Drew Daywalt
🍎 Illustrator: Oliver
Jeffers
🍎 Publisher: Philomel Books
🍎 Year: 2013
🍎
Pages: 40
: One evening Harold decides to go for a walk
in the moonlight. Armed only with an oversize purple crayon, young Harold
draws himself a landscape full of wonder and excitement. Harold and his trusty
crayon travel through woods and across seas and past dragons before returning
to bed, safe and sound. Full of funny twists and surprises, this charming
story shows just how far your imagination can take you.
: Gray just wants to be included. But the other
colors are always leaving him out. So he decides to create his own project: an
all-gray book.
Gray just knows it’s going to be perfect. But as he adds page
after page, the Primary and Secondary colors show up…and they aren’t quite so
complimentary.
A book within a book, this colorful tale explores
the ideas of fitting in, appreciating others, and looking at things from
another perspective and also uses personality and wit to introduce basic color
concepts.
is about being true to your inner self and
following your own path despite obstacles that may come your way. Red will
appeal to fans of Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, and
Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His
teacher tries to help him be red (let’s draw strawberries!), his mother tries
to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate
(go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping
his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can’t
be red, no matter how hard he tries!
Finally, a brand-new friend
offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all
along. He’s blue!
: Brigid really, really loves markers. She
convinces her mom to buy a new set of five hundred washable coloring markers,
then five hundred coloring markers that smell, then five
super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you’re-dead-and-maybe-even-later coloring
markers. Which markers do you think she uses when she colors on herself?
🍎 Author: Robert Munsch
🍎 Illustrator: Hélène
Desputeaux
🍎 Publisher: Annick Press
🍎 Year:
1992 (current edition: 2018)
🍎 Pages: 36
6. Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds
🍎 Author’s Summary: Jasper Rabbit has a problem: he is NOT doing
well in school. His spelling tests? Disasters. His math quizzes?
Frightening to behold. But one day, he finds a crayon lying in the gutter.
Purple. Pointy. Perfect. Somehow…it looked happy to see him. And it wants
to help.
At first, Jasper is excited. Everything is going great. His spelling
is fantastic. His math is stupendous. And best of all, he doesn’t have to
do ANY work! But then the crayon starts acting weird. It’s everywhere, and
it wants to do everything. And Jasper must find a way to get rid of it
before it takes over his life. The only problem? The creepy crayon will
not leave.
🍎 Author: Aaron Reynolds
🍎 Illustrator:
Peter Brown
🍎 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for
Young Readers
🍎 Year: 2022
🍎 Pages: 48
7. How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney
🍎 Author’s Summary: The Sun and the Clouds are best friends.
Together they keep the world warm, the gardens growing, and the sky full of
beautiful rainbows. But one day they get into a fight and refuse to be in
the sky together. And that means there are no longer any rainbows. Without
rainbows, the colors start disappearing until Earth was left with no color …
except for one little forgotten box of crayons in one little school desk.
Determined to save the rainbows and fix the Sun and Clouds’
friendship, the crayons draw rainbows all over town. Their attempts go
unnoticed. Soon they realize that they’re going to have to do something
big to get the attention of their former friends. So, the crayons create
the biggest rainbow they can and hope it’s enough to bring color back to
the world.
🍎 Author: Monica Sweeney
🍎 Illustrator:
Feronia Parker-Thomas
🍎 Publisher: Sky Pony
🍎 Year:
2016
🍎 Pages: 32
8. The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane DeRolf
🍎 Author’s Summary: Yellow hates Red, so does Green, and no one
likes Orange! Can these crayons quit arguing and learn to cooperate? Shane
DeRolf’s deceptively simple poem celebrates the creation of harmony through
diversity. In combination with Michael Letzig’s vibrant illustrations, young
readers will understand that when we all work together, the results are much
more colorful and interesting.
🍎 Illustrator: Michael Letzig
🍎 Publisher:
Random House Books for Young Readers
🍎 Year: 1997
🍎 Pages:
32
9. Pete the Cat: Crayons Rock by James and Kimberly Dean
🍎 Author’s Summary: Pete uses his groovy crayons to draw lots of
things, and for the first time ever, he’s drawing his pals. But when Pete
shows his artwork to his friends, they don’t react the way he expected them
to.
Will Pete put his favorite crayons down or find a way to turn
it all around? Not to worry! Pete learns there are no mistakes when it comes
to art—art comes from the heart!
Get artsy with everyone’s
favorite blue cat in this groovy picture book that adds a creative touch to
the importance of great friends and never giving up. Fans of
Pete the Cat will love watching him take his positive outlook and
transform something ordinary into an awesome masterpiece!
🍎 Illustrator: James Dean
🍎 Publisher:
HarperCollins
🍎 Year: 2020
🍎 Pages:
40
10. The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons
by Natascha Biebow
🍎 Author’s Summary: Celebrating the inventor of the Crayola
crayon! This gloriously illustrated picture book biography tells the
inspiring story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of one of the world’s most
beloved toys. A perfect fit among favorites like
The Day the Crayons Quit and Balloons Over Broadway.
purple mountains’ majesty, mauvelous, jungle green, razzmatazz…
What child doesn’t love to hold a crayon in their hands? But
children didn’t always have such magical boxes of crayons. Before Edwin
Binney set out to change things, children couldn’t really even draw in
color.
Here’s the true story of an inventor who so loved
nature’s vibrant colors that he found a way to bring the outside world to
children – in a bright green box for only a nickel! With experimentation,
and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at
Crayola created one of the world’s most enduring, best-loved childhood
toys – empowering children to dream in COLOR!
🍎 Illustrator: Steven Salerno
🍎 Publisher:
Clarion Books
🍎 Year: 2019
🍎 Pages:
48
11. Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon by Paul Danziger
🍎 Author’s Summary: Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends.
They’ve known each other practically forever, sit next to each other in
class, help each other with homework, and always stick up for each other.
Justin never says things like, “Amber Brown is not a crayon.” Amber never
says, “You’re Justin Time.” They’re a great team—until disaster strikes.
Justin has to move away, and now the best friends are fighting. Will they be
able to work it out before it’s too late?
Along with the ups and downs of shared custody, the
Amber Brown chapter books are beloved for tackling relatable
dilemmas with thoughtfulness, humor, and plenty of puns.
🍎 Illustrator: Tony Ross
🍎 Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
🍎 Year:
2006
🍎 Pages: 80
12. Frankencrayon by Michael Hall
🍎 Author’s Summary: The crayons are ready to tell the thrilling
tale of Frankencrayon. The costumes are made, the roles are cast,
and the pages are all set—but then disaster strikes. Someone has scribbled
on the page! Hideous! Horrifying! The story can’t go on! Try as they
might, the crayons can’t erase the scribble, and this picture book must be
canceled. Until the crayons playing the title role of Frankencrayon think
of a solution, that is. Michael Hall breaks borders and invites readers
behind the scenes with his irresistible, clever style and bold artwork. A
book about seeing beauty in unexpected places and the magic of
storytelling.
🍎 Illustrator: Michael Hall
🍎 Publisher: Green Willow Books
🍎 Year: 2016
🍎 Pages:
40
13. Crayons on Strike! by Jennifer Jones
🍎 Author’s Summary: The crayons come alive in this funny story
about respect and kindness towards school supplies!
Some children don’t think twice
When they reach out for Red,
They
hold him with their fingers
And snap him on his head!
🍎 Publisher: Random Source
🍎 Year: 2022
🍎 Pages:
33
14. My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard
🍎 Author’s Summary: Colors, feelings, images, and words jostle and
bounce off one another in this lively picture book, creating as much fun
as any box of crayons has ever had.
🍎 Illustrator: G. Brian Kara
🍎 Publisher: Square Fish
🍎 Year: 1999
🍎 Pages:
32
15. The Life of a Crayon by Christopher Willard and Tara Wosiski
🍎 Author’s Summary:
When Green arrives in a crayon box as a present to a little girl, he
has no idea of the impact he will have on her life in small but profound
and meaningful ways.
The Life of a Crayon is a colorful story about a girl and her
crayon who grow up together and draw the world around them. When a little
girl receives a box of crayons for her birthday, Green becomes her
favorite.
Over the years, as the girl creates art and projects
and greeting cards, Green learns new skills and important lessons
alongside her. Perhaps most importantly, Green fills her—and
others’—worlds with color and the emotions it evokes, and in doing so
leaves a legacy that is vast and meaningful.
The story can just
be an engaging and thought-provoking adventure on its own, or it can help
kids and families cope with change, the challenges of growing up, and even
loss as this book touches on themes like life cycles, impermanence, and
connection.
🍎 Illustrator: Holly Clifford-Brown
🍎 Publisher: Bala Kids
🍎 Year: 2023
🍎 Pages:
32
Did you enjoy this list of children’s books about crayons? If so, check
out these blog posts for more book lists:
