by Alison Goldberg
It’s National Crayon Day! What better way to commemorate this special day than opening a fresh new box of crayons, grabbing your favorite coloring book and creating your own work of art to share with your family and friends. And if you need a little inspiration, here is a bright and colorful compilation of books that are sure to get your creative juices flowing, based on my favorite crayon colors.
Royal Purple: For purple, I went with Harold and the Purple Crayon. It’s a timeless classic by Crockett Johnson that later led to many adaptations about a curious young boy who decides one evening that he should venture to the moon—carrying nothing but his massive trusty purple crayon. But to Harold’s dismay, there is no moon. So, Harold takes his oversized crayon and draws a moon of his own.
Red: If you’re looking for an eye-opening story that explores the idea of self-reflection and identity then you should check out Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall. This is an insightful story about staying true to yourself despite the difficulties you face on the way. The protagonist, Red, is mistakenly labeled red on the outside, but on the inside he is as Blue as can be (no pun intended). Red’s friends try to help him be red, but Red just can’t shake the feeling that he was meant to be Blue. In the end, Red realizes that his red label doesn’t define him and he discovers that he was blue all along.
All Crayons: A funny book titled The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt tells a story about a young boy named Duncan who just wants to color! But when he rips open his box of crayons, he discovers that all his crayons quit the coloring biz. The black crayon is sick of being used just for outlining. The blue crayon wants to color something else other than a body of water. And the orange and yellow crayons can’t seem to agree on who is the actual color of the sun. It’s Duncan’s job to reunite the crayons and get them back to coloring.
What’s your favorite color Crayon?
Amazon via Penguin Random House
