The Crayon Box that Talked

From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2?In this mawkish, didactic tale (a tie-in book to the TV show The Crayon Box), quarrelsome talking crayons learn to appreciate one another when the narrator draws with them, thus showing them how each helps create a bigger picture. The message of the book, to learn to appreciate rather than dislike other people's differences, is conveyed Limburger-strong (and just as cheesy) through the unremarkable rhyming text. The illustrator uses a cartoonish, faux-childlike style and a cross-hatched layering technique to create pictures that are busy rather than vivid. The lack of borders and use of matte paper make them appear crammed into the pages. The colors (especially an overused Pepto-Bismol pink and a ruined-in-the-laundry white) are distracting. Skip this cloying book in favor of Patricia Hubbard's breezy My Crayons Talk (Holt, 1996), which gets the childlike art right and spares readers the weight of the Big Important Message.?July Siebecker, Hubbard Memorial Library, MACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Inside Flap "While walking through a toy store, the day before today, I overheard a crayon box with many things to say..." Once upon a time, Shane DeRolf wrote a poem. It was a deceptively simple poem, a charming little piece that celebrates the creation of harmony through diversity. The folks at the Ad Council heard it--and liked it so much that they made it the theme for their 1997 National Anti-Discrimination Campaign for Children. Following on the heels of nearly a year's worth of televised public service announcements, Random House is phonored to publish the picture book, illustrated in every color in the crayon box by dazzling newcomer Michael Letzig and conveying the sublimely simple message that when we all work together, the results are much more interesting and colorful. While walking through a toy store, the day before today, I overheard a crayon box with many things to say..." Once upon a time, Shane DeRolf wrote a poem. It was a deceptively simple poem, a charming little piece that celebrates the creation of harmony through diversity. The folks at the Ad Council heard it--and liked it so much that they made it the theme for their 1997 National Anti-Discrimination Campaign for Children. Following on the heels of nearly a year's worth of televised public service announcements, Random House is phonored to publish the picture book, illustrated in every color in the crayon box by dazzling newcomer Michael Letzig and conveying the sublimely simple message that when we all work together, the results are much more interesting and colorful. Shane DeRolf is an award-winning writer and CEO of Big Word Club, a vocabulary-teaching tool. Michael Letzig is an author and illustrator best known for The Crayon Box that Talked. Read more