The+Day+the+Crayons+Came+Home

=The Day the Crayons Came Home= __Author:__ Drew Daywalt __Reading Level:__ K-2nd Grade __Publisher:__ Philomel Books __Language:__ English __ISBN:__ 978-0399172755 __Format:__ Hardcover __Pages:__ 48

__Summary__:One day a little boy named Duncan receives a stack of post cards in the mail. As he goes through them, he realizes these post cards are from crayons he once had that were ignored, left behind or misplaced. These crayons tell their own story of what happened to them and how they were forgotten. They remind Duncan of how he used them to color different things but now they are tossed aside and forgotten. They ask Duncan to come and get them. Well, at least most of them do. The Pea Green crayon is upset that no one likes peas so he changed his name to Esteban the Magnificent and is off to see the world. Neon Red crayon is making his way back home and tells Duncan of the adventures he is having on his way home. Poor Brown Crayon tells how embarrassed he was to be used as poop and now he has run away. Burnt Sienna tells his sad story of being eaten and thrown up by dog. He wants to come back as he is indigestable. Maroon crayon tells how he was left on the couch, sat on and is now broken in half. Throughout each postcard they ask Duncan to come and get them and bring them home. Duncan feels bad about how he left them and the trials they have gone through. He gathers the crayons and gives them a special home.

__Book Review:__ This is a humorous book as the crayons tell about their adventures since last seeing Duncan. Each crayon has their own personality and flair as they tell their story. Some of the stories are funny such as Esteban, while others can be a bit sad, like Burnt Sienna. The author gives each of them their own voice as they tell their tale. The illustrations serve to reinforce what the crayon is saying and also to produce a visual of their story. They are designed to be child like and simple pictures that a child would draw. This adds to the effect of the memories the crayons had with Duncan.This book can also tug at emotions since the crayons feel they have been abandoned. It is a great book to talk about feelings and emotions to young children. This is a second book in the crayon's story. The first book is called //The Day the Crayons Quit//. Both books are well loved and fan favorites!

__About the Author__: Drew Daywalt is an author and American filmmaker. He has generally been known for his work on horror films.He first achieved fame through writing short horror films on the YouTube channel Fewdio. He won the Chiller-Eyegore Award for Best Short Film. When he was asked how did he come up with the idea //The Day the Crayons Quit// (the prequel to //The Day the// //Crayons Came Home)// he said, " I was brainstorming for book ideas in my studio. I was literally staring at a box of crayons on my desk and couldn't help but notice how unevenly they were used. Blue and red were nubs, pink was untouched, peach had had it's wrapper torn off....What if they could say anything they wanted to me?" (http://www.kidlit411.com/2014/03/kidlit411-Drew-Daywalt-Author-Spotlight.html) That's how Daywalt got started writing children's books. His first book //The Day the Crayons Quit became very// popular and won several awards. Daywalt lives with his family in Los Angeles, California.

__ //Literary Element Analysis:// __ Author Drew Daywalt and illustrator Oliver Jeffers used a unique combination of matching the illustrations to the child like text to provide a wonderful children's book. The language is simple for children to understand while the pictures are presented as if drawn by a child. This combination allows a child to understand and imagine the adventures of these crayons. At times Daywalt uses sarcasm to convey the thoughts of the crayon. His language is simple to understand and is written for a child to be able to read this book on their own. When he tells the story of how the crayon was used to color something, the details are very clear both in the text and in the illustrations.



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// Drew Daywalt //