
But here’s the thing that really bothers me. The truth is, I guess you could show them both, and hope they don’t notice how similar they are. And really, if you had a choice to show your child only one of the books, which one would YOU choose? The more poetic older book with the classic illustrations and lets-all-hold-hands and learn vibe? Or the newer book, with less of a resolution but more giggling? I mean, which one are they truly going to learn from? What are picture books for? So since both stories are exactly the same idea with even similar jokes, where the only difference is the message, why is everyone acting like this new Crayon book is so original and awesome? I don't get it. Again, the Daywalt book is extremely similar. The same year the book came out, a television show came out based on the book called the The Crayon Box.

Makes you want to hug and get all Kumbaya-ya. I mean, hey, it’s about diversity and appreciating how different we all are. Sound familiar? Except when their owner draws a picture, the crayons see how beautiful the others are and even more so when they all color together. It’s also about a box of crayons that don’t get along, are complaining about each other and refuse to work together. I guess the idea was to make parents laugh so hard they didn't notice how shallow it was.īut here’s an interesting thing to ponder: There’s this book from 1997 called The Crayon Box That Talked (Shane Derolf/Michael Letzig). I did often wonder what age range the author was aiming for – some of the jokes seemed a little too snarky for kids to understand - but it is funny. Nice theme for a children’s book, if the book went for making sense instead of laughs.

Supposedly there is a general message of thinking outside the (crayon) box, if you will.

And go home Yellow! According to Duncan's picture at the end, Orange is the winner. The colors say they are overused and so es them? Sorry Red! And too bad Blue! Your days are numbered. Each letter is from a different color, and bears an unhappy grievance. It tells the story of Duncan, a little boy who comes home to find his crayons missing and a stack of letters in their place. Potential Plagiarism? So I've now read The Day the Crayons Quit (Drew Daywalt/Oliver Jeffries) and well, I'm disappointed.
