The Day the Crayons Came Home
The companion to the #1 blockbuster bestseller, The Day the Crayons Quit!
Duncan’s crayons sure are a colorful bunch of characters! Having soothed the hurt feelings of one group who threatened to quit, Duncan now faces a whole new group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon, who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him; to poor Turquoise, whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan’s stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together; to Pea Green, who knows darn well that no kid likes peas and who ran away—each and every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.
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A Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of 2015 / A TIME Magazine Top 10 Children’s Book of 2015
“Highly anticipated (yes, even for adults)” —Entertainment Weekly
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Book of 2015!
A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2015!
One of Parents Magazine‘s Ten Best Children’s Books of 2015!
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year!
“Funnier than the creators’ original blockbuster.”–Parents Magazine
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“Mr. Daywalt’s text blends with Mr. Jeffers’s illustrations to make a picture book that will have children clamoring for more crayon adventures.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Continues its predecessor’s pleasing, goofy conceit…Once again, both Daywalt’s text and Jeffers’ illustrations are endearing.”—New York Times Book Review
“By telling stories from the points of view of crayons, giving voices to the small and ignored, Daywalt and Jeffers have created two books that offer plenty of charm and fun, but also make children feel deeply understood.”—The Boston Globe
* “A masterwork of humor and design . . . Sure to be as popular as The Day the Crayons Quit.”—Booklist, starred review
* “A brilliant, colorful tale that begs to be read aloud and a must-have for all collections.”—School Library Journal, starred review
* “Once again, Daywalt and Jeffers create rich emotional lives and personalities for their colorful cast, and it’s hard to imagine a reader who won’t be delighted.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Not only stands on its own merit, but may be even more colorful than the original.”—Huffington Post
“Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers once again offer perceptive and frequently hilarious insights…The Day the Crayons Came Home will have readers of all ages chuckling—and will inspire kids’ empathy and imagination in equal measure.”—BookPage
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My Inspiration for the book
My inspiration for this book is just as silly as the book itself. I remember getting a call from my publisher after The Day the Crayons Quit came out and he asked me if I had any ideas for a sequel. I told him that sadly I did not. I had only intended the book to be a one off. He was sad, because publishers love sequels to blockbuster books, and said for me to call him if inspiration struck.
Not too long after that, inspiration did indeed strike.
While walking into my living room one morning, cup of coffee in hand, I saw that my pug dog Sam had thrown up all over the rug. Sam, you see, loved to eat things he shouldn’t eat, and then throw them up in as many hidden little places around the house as he could, like some kind of awful aberration of the Easter Bunny.
And on this day, he’d eaten crayons.
And thrown them up.
On our light beige carpet.
I stood there looking at the not-quite-a-rainbow-mess in disgust, when my wife looked over and saw my expression, and asked what was wrong.
“Ughh,” I sighed, “Sam ate something and threw up on the rug again. Crayons this time.”
“Ewww,” she replied, “I’ll get the carpet cleaner.”
“Wait!” I said, “That’s it!”
“That’s what?”
“That’s my next book!” I yelped gleefully, “If the other crayons were all bent out of shape over how they were being used, imagine how THESE ones feel??!”
“Good,” she said, “then you can clean it up,” and she handed me the cleaner and the paper towels.
And that’s how The Day The Crayons Came Home was born. After cleaning up Sam’s mess that day, I would go on to write of all the poor crayons in our life that we’ve lost, abused and broken over the years. I felt it was the least I could do for them.
And boy did Duncan get an earful.
The ending of the book came to me from the philosophy of my parents. Dad was a fireman, and mom was a nurse and they spent their lives caring for people. And they always told me to help people and make room for them if they needed it. We had a great number of people who stayed with us over the years, my parents helping them out while they were down on their luck. And that’s what I wanted Duncan to do. I wanted him to provide a loving home for the crayons, as well as the respect they deserved. So for that part of the book, thanks Mom, thanks Dad. I love you guys.
