This modern fantasy is about a box a crayons that goes on strike. The story starts when Duncan wants to color and tries to find his crayons. Instead, he finds a stack of letters that each crayon wrote him explaining what it is feeling and why it is going on strike. Each page is devoted to a different color crayon with an illustration that looks as if it were actually colored by crayon. At the end of the book, Duncan tries his best to make the crayons feel better.
This book appeals to younger and older children alike. There are many different types of lessons that can be developed. For younger students, the class can talk about each of the feelings the crayons felt, and then draw on personal connections if any of the other students have ever felt that same way. This book includes a whole new perspective on coloring, an activity with which many children are familiar. Understanding different perspectives is an important skill for all people to develop. Other activities include debunking stereotypes about how each color crayon is used, writing letters, learning about strikes and talking about what kinds of events are worthy of going on strike, as well as conflict resolution. Students can also explore their creativity by choosing a color that is not in the book, and writing a letter as that color.
This book first caught my eye in my Kindergarten practicum classroom. My cooperating teacher read the book aloud, and I was entranced. While on the surface, this is a funny and entertaining book, there is so much potential for how it can be used in the classroom.
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