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A review by gymnerdreader
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
5.0
Annotated Bibliography Entry: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Summary:
Duncan just wants to color one day, but those desires are put on hold when he opens his crayon box and finds letters addressed to him from each of his crayons in his crayon box. Most of the crayons in the box are unhappy in some sort of way. For example, some of them feel overused, overworked and others feel empty and not used nearly as much as they should. Duncan does want to color, but he realizes that he also wants each of crayons to be happy too. So he makes a compromise and draws a picture using all of his crayons in some sort of way so they don't feel left out.
Personal Response:
I have heard a lot of good things about this book and it did not disappoint. I found the book incredibly humorous and there were definitely points in which I was laughing out loud (sometimes I really do feel like a kid at heart). This book was awarded the B.W. White Reading Aloud Award and I can see why. I can envision children laughing along with each of the crayon's letters. While this is an incredibly light and funny read, it also teaches a strong lesson: to stand up for what you believe in (though this was handled in an incredibly light and humorous way). Each of the crayons believed in something and they decided to do something about it (and they did so in a very peaceful way). Love this underlying message and children can learn a lot from it!
Descriptions of illustrations:
The illustrations feature crayon colored drawing that ties directly in with what each of the crayon's letters are saying. The drawings definitely feel very cartoonish to me, which I thought enhanced the nature of the story. It really did go perfectly together with the letters on the left and the drawings that illustrated it on the right. Such illustrations can really draw a young reader in because it looks like something someone may draw on paper. Loved that aspect of connection and reality that was present with the illustrations. It gives children something to relate to.
Classroom Connections:
As I mentioning earlier this would be a good book to introduce the idea of sticking up for what you believe in, which is an important and basic human right. So I think that it is essential that we are teaching our students messages that this book promoted. Although this subject matter is complex and may be hard to understand for younger students I feel that this book introduces this in a very light-hearted manner. This book could be used to promote basic discussions on this topic and students can write their own letters about something they would like to change. Teachers can then facilitate a discussion about how students could perhaps change this issue. This may be a little advanced for younger grades so it can be modified if necessary. However I do feel it is important to introduce this aspect early as it is essential to living in a democratic society.
Summary:
Duncan just wants to color one day, but those desires are put on hold when he opens his crayon box and finds letters addressed to him from each of his crayons in his crayon box. Most of the crayons in the box are unhappy in some sort of way. For example, some of them feel overused, overworked and others feel empty and not used nearly as much as they should. Duncan does want to color, but he realizes that he also wants each of crayons to be happy too. So he makes a compromise and draws a picture using all of his crayons in some sort of way so they don't feel left out.
Personal Response:
I have heard a lot of good things about this book and it did not disappoint. I found the book incredibly humorous and there were definitely points in which I was laughing out loud (sometimes I really do feel like a kid at heart). This book was awarded the B.W. White Reading Aloud Award and I can see why. I can envision children laughing along with each of the crayon's letters. While this is an incredibly light and funny read, it also teaches a strong lesson: to stand up for what you believe in (though this was handled in an incredibly light and humorous way). Each of the crayons believed in something and they decided to do something about it (and they did so in a very peaceful way). Love this underlying message and children can learn a lot from it!
Descriptions of illustrations:
The illustrations feature crayon colored drawing that ties directly in with what each of the crayon's letters are saying. The drawings definitely feel very cartoonish to me, which I thought enhanced the nature of the story. It really did go perfectly together with the letters on the left and the drawings that illustrated it on the right. Such illustrations can really draw a young reader in because it looks like something someone may draw on paper. Loved that aspect of connection and reality that was present with the illustrations. It gives children something to relate to.
Classroom Connections:
As I mentioning earlier this would be a good book to introduce the idea of sticking up for what you believe in, which is an important and basic human right. So I think that it is essential that we are teaching our students messages that this book promoted. Although this subject matter is complex and may be hard to understand for younger students I feel that this book introduces this in a very light-hearted manner. This book could be used to promote basic discussions on this topic and students can write their own letters about something they would like to change. Teachers can then facilitate a discussion about how students could perhaps change this issue. This may be a little advanced for younger grades so it can be modified if necessary. However I do feel it is important to introduce this aspect early as it is essential to living in a democratic society.