The Crayons Give Thanks

Crayons

by Drew Daywalt (Illustrator), Oliver Jeffers (illustrator)

The hilarious crayons from the #1 New York Times bestselling The Day the Crayons Quit are ready to give thanks! Perfect year round, but especially poignant during Thanksgiving.The Crayons are thankful for so many things—from blueberries to night skies to life jackets to their parents and the luck that brought them all together. This humorous, mini hardcover book shows that there are so many things to be thankful for, everywhere we look! A great gift for Thanksgiving—or for any day you feel grateful.

Genres: Picture Books, Thanksgiving, Childrens, Holiday

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 10, 2024

About the author

Ever since his childhood in one of Ohio’s most haunted houses, writer director Drew Daywalt has been writing escapist fantasy and building worlds of his own. With a degree in Creative Writing, and a concentration in Children’s Literature from Emerson College in Boston, Daywalt set off to Hollywood where he spent years writing for Disney and Universal on such beloved shows as Timon & Pumba, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody Woodpecker, and where his animated series The Wacky World of Tex Avery garnered an Emmy nomination.

His first trip into live action landed him studio screenwriting and feature film directing work with such Hollywood luminaries as Quentin Tarrantino, Lawrence Bender, Tony Scott, Brett Ratner and Jerry Bruckheimer.

With an eye toward picture book writing, Daywalt’s first book THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, debuted on the New York Times Best Seller’s List in June 2013, and has since become a Number One Best Seller.

Reviews

[Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so funny!

[Doris Ware · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Picture Book

Love the crayon series but this on is one of his best. A very thankful crayon book with great humor.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crayons share what they are grateful for, from Blue being thankful for blueberries to Brown being grateful that the dog is unable to digest wax to Beige being thankful for the state of Kansas.

This had some pretty funny parts that almost made me laugh out loud (like the Brown crayon’s thanks). Some are cute, some are funny, some are logical, and some are more random and creative. The crayons are all sharing what they are grateful for, but other than the cover, there's no clear ties to the Thanksgiving Day celebration so it could be read any time or for any moment of gratitude.

Note: Pea Green crayon shares about being grateful he can change his name and rants a little bit about what kids do when you say pea green out loud. This may likely result in those same reactions in readers.

[Andrea Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly my favorite one yet and I need to own it ❤️

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daywalt's latest book in the crayon series is a disappointing small 7" x 5 3/4" - 24 page Thanksgiving holiday book.

Each color expresses what it is thankful for (ex. blue for blueberries, black for the night sky, pink for Amazon river dolphins, yellow and orange for safety vests) until gray says he is thankful for the moon. This causes an uproar as umber, yellow, and white also lay claim to this. Teal is thankful for his parents blue and green, beige for Kansas (you need to see the map and illustration of wheat to understand this), peach for bathtime bubbles, Pea Green (for changing his name), Brown (for dogs' inability to digest wax), My First Crayon for making great art, Neon Green Highlighter for Red, and all the crayons for each other.

Daywalt's simple text is just not his best. Perhaps it is the abbreviated number of pages 24 vs. 32 or size (small), but my expectations were for more from him for this well-loved series about crayons that falls flat -limited action. There is that "awww" moment on the last page...

Oliver Jeffers artwork, created with gouache, in, colored pencil, and crayon, is up to its usual high standards. He provides most of the levity here. Font is a mix of Mercury Font and Jeffers' handwriting.

Fans of the series will want. Unfortunate with the small size, it may get lost on library shelves or be separated from the rest of the series.

Optional purchase for Preschool kids.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The crayons describe things for which they are thankful.

This would a good book to share with young readers for the American holiday Thanksgiving as a means of discussing gratitude.

While the illustrations contain the same exuberance as the rest of the series, the writing is lacking. The text is inconsistent throughout the story. Sometimes there is omniscient narration, and sometimes there is only dialogue from the characters. Having each two page spread begin "[Color Name] is thankful for ..." would have greatly improved the readability. Sometimes the crayons' dialogue can be skipped, and sometimes it can't be as there is no narration on the page. There were several instances where I -- the adult reading this story to my children -- was squinting at the illustrations trying to read the crayon's color off the wrapper to identify who was talking. Having a narrator tell the story with the crayons' dialogue as bonus content would have also improved the book.

Also, as a parent fighting the losing battle with low brow culture, I felt the joke about the brown crayon being eaten and excreted by a dog was in poor taste and unnecessarily crass. The running joke in this series about the peach crayon being naked walks the line between funny and inappropriate.

The illustrations were done in gouache, ink, coloring pencil, and crayon.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always look forward to a new Crayons book, as it is really delightful to see what direction Mr. Daywalt will go in. I'm always pleasantly surprised! This one is a wonderful take on gratitude, and can double as a Thanksgiving book :)

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always fun when a new crayons book comes out. Readers see what each crayon is thankful for and then what the whole group is thankful for - being together. Plenty of humor and the illustrations are in the familiar style.

[Stefanie Foard · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I read a digital ARC of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss.

[PottWab Regional Library]

E

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.33⭐

[Maya Grzywinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun Thanksgiving book, focusing on what being thankful means and gives great examples! This can be used in a lesson talking about thankfulness.

[Erica Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilariously well written.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The crayons of "The Day the Crayons Quit" share the many things they are thankful for. A cute picture book for Thanksgiving.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet little story about gratitude.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. I love the illustrations and the fact that the text is more complex than just a couple of words per page.

[Emily Carlyn]

The crayons are adorable, they all have personalities and are all thankful for something different and each other.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay. Seemed kind of haphazard.

[Bethany Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have neutral feelings about this book. Another good crayons book and great at expanding on the value of gratitude.

[JC C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read the Crayons books years ago, when I worked at a preschool. I love most of them! This one is 5 stars from me. I know have littles of my own to read them to!

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

not as funny as some of the other ones

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, my 7 year old daughter was able to read this, even the cursive!

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t particularly like this series maybe because of the scribbly-scrabbly illustrations and I know that is the point because it’s crayons drawing but still… lol

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just darling!

[Shar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and I liked that this book has little throwback references to the The Day the Crayons Quit (like Pea Green... I mean Esteban!)

[Kayleigh Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

While entertaining, this book is great for teaching young children about colors and being thankful for a variety of things.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Need a little wacky humor from a crayons point of view, read this series. Even as an adult this title is good for a laugh.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The crayons give thanks for all sorts of things, creative to us, but probably pretty normal from the perspective of a crayon!

[Priscila the Historian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the illustrations are cute, there's a lack of dialogue or something moving behind the little lines of words giving thanks.