[Laurie2]

There are some wonderful books for kids out there. Recently, I was at Barnes and Noble, in the kids' department looking through some titles when I found one I especially liked. . .

The Day the Crayons Quit is by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, who is a well-known illustrator of children's books.

The story goes that a little boy opens his box of crayons and finds letters from them. Of course, each crayon can write only in its own color. The crayons are letting the little boy know that they are really tired of having to color the same things over and over. Blue gets water and sky, allllll the time. Red is especially overworked with Santa Claus and Valentine's Day and fire engines. But the poor peach crayon had his paper all peeled off by the little boy so Peach is too embarrassed to come out of the box so never gets to color anything.

This storyline is absolutely delightful and can lead to discussions of such things as point-of-view and problem solving. (The little boy solves the problems for the crayons when he thinks outside the box. . .chuckle, chortle, snort.)

Anyone who reads to little kids knows that kids love humor and can see perspective -- sometimes much better than adults can.

I bought this book and mailed it away, along with a big box of crayons. (Always good to have a visual when reading to kids. -- A long time ago, I used Limburger cheese when I read The Stinky Cheeseman to the kids. -- guess that was more than just a visual.)

Anyway, I guess I am almost too late to suggest The Day the Crayons Quit to put in an Easter basket. But if you know some little kids, you might want to keep this title in mind. It is so much fun to read to kids and to talk about the books, too. Great interaction and taps imagination.

Once-Upon-A-Storytime Laurie