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Crayola: A Visual Biography of the World's Most Famous Crayon
A vibrant and colorful history of Crayola crayons, from the company's origin story, the birth of the Crayola crayon, the evolution of the iconic crayon packages, and profiles of every Crayola color from Sky Blue to Carnation Pink.
Everyone has a relationship with color. If you think back to your first memories of exploring color, there is a very good chance that crayons were involved. And when it comes to crayons, Crayola is king.
This book explores the history of a beloved childhood art supply, while also delving into our relationship with how we use and create with color, and how we name colors. It looks at the history of the 120 iconic colors of Crayola and where they came from, and how Crayola itself has helped shape our understanding of color over the last century and a half. Finally, this book explores how people -- adults and children alike -- have and continued to turn to Crayola to inspire and manifest their creativity. Filled with hundreds of illustrations and archival photos, Crayola is a nostalgic and fascinating wonderland of creativity and delight.
Everyone has a relationship with color. If you think back to your first memories of exploring color, there is a very good chance that crayons were involved. And when it comes to crayons, Crayola is king.
This book explores the history of a beloved childhood art supply, while also delving into our relationship with how we use and create with color, and how we name colors. It looks at the history of the 120 iconic colors of Crayola and where they came from, and how Crayola itself has helped shape our understanding of color over the last century and a half. Finally, this book explores how people -- adults and children alike -- have and continued to turn to Crayola to inspire and manifest their creativity. Filled with hundreds of illustrations and archival photos, Crayola is a nostalgic and fascinating wonderland of creativity and delight.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 16, 2021
9 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 20, 2022
A visual feast! It brought back vivid memories of the giant Crayola box my brother and I shared, and our (sometimes) diplomatic efforts to share, organize, and care for our set. I knew the basic history of Crayola, but it was fun seeing how they evolved their advertising over the years. Some of the ads were just ideas for coloring. I love that glimpse into the past, where people had to be taught how to use crayons. They're ubiquitous now. There are spotlights for artists who use crayons (no hair-dryer art here, though) and lots of info on colors over time. Crayons are one of the top 20 recognizable smells, according to a study cited here, and I can definitely recall the smell when seeing the colors here!
December 28, 2021
The kids and I read this together. We all really enjoyed it and we all want to color now!
June 30, 2022
One thing I feel must be considered is that the co-author of this book is listed as Crayola, LLC so this is a book written with the cooperation and input of the corporation so one must be prepared for that bias. I am assuming that they were able to provide insight into the history of the company as well as provide photos and other material.
Now to the review - I enjoy books in the field of color and back in September of 2019, I read the book The Crayon Man: The Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons for younger readers and looked for a book pitched more towards adults but there was nothing available. This was published in 2021 so it's filling a niche in non-fiction.
Crayola is derived from the French craie meaning chalk which was the shape of one of their first products, a dustless chalk and ola derived from oleaginous oily which makes sense they are made from paraffin wax.
Talking about the the recycling, the solar panel farm for energy, the near closed circuit of well water to cool the newly-made crayons before being returned uncontaminated. The community garden. The milestones - the 100 billionth crayon (mind-boggling number) which was the limited edition - Blue Ribbon Blue available in 1996. The various sized boxes - the original 8 up through 120 pieces and the sharpeners. Samples of the color although I do wonder how close the printed examples came to the actual crayon color although I doubt the corporation would allow them to be misrepresented.
I must admit they are quite GOOD at naming colors and it sounds like they have a lot of fun doing so.
2022-142
Now to the review - I enjoy books in the field of color and back in September of 2019, I read the book The Crayon Man: The Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons for younger readers and looked for a book pitched more towards adults but there was nothing available. This was published in 2021 so it's filling a niche in non-fiction.
Crayola is derived from the French craie meaning chalk which was the shape of one of their first products, a dustless chalk and ola derived from oleaginous oily which makes sense they are made from paraffin wax.
Talking about the the recycling, the solar panel farm for energy, the near closed circuit of well water to cool the newly-made crayons before being returned uncontaminated. The community garden. The milestones - the 100 billionth crayon (mind-boggling number) which was the limited edition - Blue Ribbon Blue available in 1996. The various sized boxes - the original 8 up through 120 pieces and the sharpeners. Samples of the color although I do wonder how close the printed examples came to the actual crayon color although I doubt the corporation would allow them to be misrepresented.
I must admit they are quite GOOD at naming colors and it sounds like they have a lot of fun doing so.
2022-142
February 13, 2025
2.5 stars. There's some pretty interesting stuff in here, for a book of blatant propaganda.
February 8, 2022
This is like a coffee table book. It has great photos of the factory and the process for making crayons - nice spotlights on artists that use crayons in their work - and descriptions of the colors. It's not an in-depth history - one can go through it in a couple of hours - but for me, it's enough information.
December 24, 2021
This book is amazing. Wow, it made me want to run to the nearest store and buy the biggest box of Crayola crayons imaginable. It brought back so many memories of my favorite past time which has always been coloring.
If you want to know absolutely everything there is to know about the history of Crayola, crayons and just color in general, this book is a must read. There's so much information that I wasn't able to read every word, but I loved reading about the different shades of colors and how they came to be. Also included are pieces of art from various artists made from Crayola crayons. Just amazing.
I'm sure I will pick up this book again in the future but not before I've deluged into my childhood and bought some Crayola Crayons. It's been decades since I've bought a box and that's decades too long.
If you want to know absolutely everything there is to know about the history of Crayola, crayons and just color in general, this book is a must read. There's so much information that I wasn't able to read every word, but I loved reading about the different shades of colors and how they came to be. Also included are pieces of art from various artists made from Crayola crayons. Just amazing.
I'm sure I will pick up this book again in the future but not before I've deluged into my childhood and bought some Crayola Crayons. It's been decades since I've bought a box and that's decades too long.
January 16, 2025
So much fun! Full of beautiful colors and interesting history!
May 19, 2023
This has been on my To Read list for almost two years and it was well worth the wait!
It's a colorful (no pun intended) book that illustrates the history (including a detailed Historical Timeline at the end), Artist Spotlights, Fun Facts, and much, much more!
When I think of Crayola Crayons, the first image that pops into my head is a "video" that I watched when I was a child, on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, when he popped a film into "Picture Picture" that showed How Crayons are Made." Information about that mini-documentary, along with a special anniversary that Mr. Rogers helped Crayola celebrate, years later, may be found in this book. Also, I did not realize that the color of crayon that was being produced in that film was Fred Rogers' favorite color.
Some interesting facts that I learned:
"Crayola is proud to say they "own the language of color.""
Happy Birthday, Crayola Crayons! This year (2023), Crayola is 120 years old!
"From the beginning, Crayola has been dedicated to manufacturing products that are safe for kids, without compromising color, creativity, or ease of use."
Crayola has been manufacturing crayons the same way [for the most part] for the past 120 years. The only difference is the amount of automation / technology used.
Fun Fact: The smell of Crayola crayons is one of the Top 20 Most Recognizable to American Adults!"
Did you know that as of 2019, 97% of the company's waste is recycled, reused, or repurposed? On the mini-documentary (which by the way can be viewed on YouTube) shown on Mr. Rogers' [originally in 1981], Mr. Rogers narrates that excess wax skimmed off the top of the crayon molds (when making crayons) is melted and reused to make another batch of crayons.
The whole section about Crayola is the classroom was fascinating! I loved reading about Crayola's partnership with Woolworth's, the Station Wagon Ladies, and SEEK! I never knew that, "Almost every educational experience that Crayola promotes is rooted in the "SEEK" framework:
S is for See: Describe what it is you see. What colors are used? How is it composed?
E is for Evidence: Why do you say that? What is the evidence that supports your observations?
E is for Explain: Why did the artist make the decisions that they did?
K is for Know: What do you know? What else do you want to know?
Another intriguing chapter was about how the colors are named. One of the tools that Crayola "traditionally" uses is a book that was published back in 1955: Color: Universal Language & Dictionary of Names by Kenneth L. Kelly and Deane B. Judd. Even more interesting is that is was originally published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Bureau of Standards, and this is still in use, today!
Crayola has "created" 120+ colors of the rainbow, including a box of 24 crayons that they introduced in May 2020 on UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue & Development. In a move to, "cultivate a more inclusive world for children, Crayola announced the release of a new group of colors that better reflect skin tones from around the globe and allow children to see themselves and their skin tones in their drawings." Most of the crayons [when splayed out] don't look that different, but when used on paper, there are obvious differences.
Towards the back of the book, readers get to see the colors. They are divided by "neutrals" and then color groupings, i.e. greens - Did you know that the human eye can distinguish more shades of green than any other color?
For each color, there is a "swatch," which looks like someone took the crayon and scribbled in a 2 X 2 box. It tells what box of crayons the color will be in, the name of the color - in English, French, and Spanish, as well as a brief description of the color. When I was a kid, my generation (that's Gen X) was excited if we got the 64-box of crayons with the sharpener - Super Cool! But, really, I would like to get my hands on the 120- box, which almost doubles the previous box! There are some cool colors, here!
Some of the colors that made an impact when I saw them [in the book] - In ( ) is the # of crayons box that it appears in: Outer Space (120) - it's a shade of gray, Fuzzy Wuzzy - it's a unique color that falls in the brown family, but looks like it has pink in it - I love the name and it appears in the 120 box! I'm not really a fan of the warm colors, but Maroon (96)is one of the colors from my high school, Tickle Me Pink (64) reminds me of nail polish, Orange and Yellow (both, 8) - Sometimes basic is best! Green has always been a favorite, especially OU (Ohio University) Green, which when I was in school was Kelly Green, but is now almost a Pine Green. The shades that made the most impact here were Forest Green (64), Mountain Meadow (120), Shamrock (96), and Pine Green (96). Believe it or now, Turquoise is a Color Family. My favorite color in this grouping is: Blue Green (16).
The Blues are another favorite! In this grouping I liked: Blue (8), Cadet Blue (48), and Navy Blue (96). The Purple Family includes the rich, deep pinks. So for this section, I really liked Purple Heart (120), Purple Mountains Majesty - interesting how this color got its name (48), and Fuchsia (96).
The Retired but Not Forgotten pages were also interesting.
One of the Artist Spotlights was on Herb Williams. The illustrations of some of his artwork are phenomenal! According to the book, Williams uses thousands of crayons to create large and playful works (like a Standard Poodle) that [sometimes] bend our perception of recognizable objects. Williams orders crayons by the case, individually packed into bundles of 3.000 and then cuts, shapes, and adheres them to sculptural forms that he carves or casts. AMAZING!!!!!
At the end of the book is a short list of some Resources.
OUTSTANDING! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
It's a colorful (no pun intended) book that illustrates the history (including a detailed Historical Timeline at the end), Artist Spotlights, Fun Facts, and much, much more!
When I think of Crayola Crayons, the first image that pops into my head is a "video" that I watched when I was a child, on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, when he popped a film into "Picture Picture" that showed How Crayons are Made." Information about that mini-documentary, along with a special anniversary that Mr. Rogers helped Crayola celebrate, years later, may be found in this book. Also, I did not realize that the color of crayon that was being produced in that film was Fred Rogers' favorite color.
Some interesting facts that I learned:
"Crayola is proud to say they "own the language of color.""
Happy Birthday, Crayola Crayons! This year (2023), Crayola is 120 years old!
"From the beginning, Crayola has been dedicated to manufacturing products that are safe for kids, without compromising color, creativity, or ease of use."
Crayola has been manufacturing crayons the same way [for the most part] for the past 120 years. The only difference is the amount of automation / technology used.
Fun Fact: The smell of Crayola crayons is one of the Top 20 Most Recognizable to American Adults!"
Did you know that as of 2019, 97% of the company's waste is recycled, reused, or repurposed? On the mini-documentary (which by the way can be viewed on YouTube) shown on Mr. Rogers' [originally in 1981], Mr. Rogers narrates that excess wax skimmed off the top of the crayon molds (when making crayons) is melted and reused to make another batch of crayons.
The whole section about Crayola is the classroom was fascinating! I loved reading about Crayola's partnership with Woolworth's, the Station Wagon Ladies, and SEEK! I never knew that, "Almost every educational experience that Crayola promotes is rooted in the "SEEK" framework:
S is for See: Describe what it is you see. What colors are used? How is it composed?
E is for Evidence: Why do you say that? What is the evidence that supports your observations?
E is for Explain: Why did the artist make the decisions that they did?
K is for Know: What do you know? What else do you want to know?
Another intriguing chapter was about how the colors are named. One of the tools that Crayola "traditionally" uses is a book that was published back in 1955: Color: Universal Language & Dictionary of Names by Kenneth L. Kelly and Deane B. Judd. Even more interesting is that is was originally published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Bureau of Standards, and this is still in use, today!
Crayola has "created" 120+ colors of the rainbow, including a box of 24 crayons that they introduced in May 2020 on UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue & Development. In a move to, "cultivate a more inclusive world for children, Crayola announced the release of a new group of colors that better reflect skin tones from around the globe and allow children to see themselves and their skin tones in their drawings." Most of the crayons [when splayed out] don't look that different, but when used on paper, there are obvious differences.
Towards the back of the book, readers get to see the colors. They are divided by "neutrals" and then color groupings, i.e. greens - Did you know that the human eye can distinguish more shades of green than any other color?
For each color, there is a "swatch," which looks like someone took the crayon and scribbled in a 2 X 2 box. It tells what box of crayons the color will be in, the name of the color - in English, French, and Spanish, as well as a brief description of the color. When I was a kid, my generation (that's Gen X) was excited if we got the 64-box of crayons with the sharpener - Super Cool! But, really, I would like to get my hands on the 120- box, which almost doubles the previous box! There are some cool colors, here!
Some of the colors that made an impact when I saw them [in the book] - In ( ) is the # of crayons box that it appears in: Outer Space (120) - it's a shade of gray, Fuzzy Wuzzy - it's a unique color that falls in the brown family, but looks like it has pink in it - I love the name and it appears in the 120 box! I'm not really a fan of the warm colors, but Maroon (96)is one of the colors from my high school, Tickle Me Pink (64) reminds me of nail polish, Orange and Yellow (both, 8) - Sometimes basic is best! Green has always been a favorite, especially OU (Ohio University) Green, which when I was in school was Kelly Green, but is now almost a Pine Green. The shades that made the most impact here were Forest Green (64), Mountain Meadow (120), Shamrock (96), and Pine Green (96). Believe it or now, Turquoise is a Color Family. My favorite color in this grouping is: Blue Green (16).
The Blues are another favorite! In this grouping I liked: Blue (8), Cadet Blue (48), and Navy Blue (96). The Purple Family includes the rich, deep pinks. So for this section, I really liked Purple Heart (120), Purple Mountains Majesty - interesting how this color got its name (48), and Fuchsia (96).
The Retired but Not Forgotten pages were also interesting.
One of the Artist Spotlights was on Herb Williams. The illustrations of some of his artwork are phenomenal! According to the book, Williams uses thousands of crayons to create large and playful works (like a Standard Poodle) that [sometimes] bend our perception of recognizable objects. Williams orders crayons by the case, individually packed into bundles of 3.000 and then cuts, shapes, and adheres them to sculptural forms that he carves or casts. AMAZING!!!!!
At the end of the book is a short list of some Resources.
OUTSTANDING! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
April 8, 2022
Well, it was super pretty! I liked seeing all the colors and trying to remember if they looked liked I remembered them in my youth (the one thing I never kept from my childhood was a box of Crayolas). I also liked seeing the images from the corporate archives and even the old advertisements. But I really couldn't stand the corporate speak in the text. Don't consider that a complaint - Crayola is listed as second author, so I assumed it was going to be there going in - it's just a stylistic choice I could have completely done without!
There were some color insights that had me rolling my eyes (um, as far as I'm aware Judas was frequently portrayed in yellow clothes because yellow was the color of cowardice and other connotations). But if you enjoyed those tidbits, I'd say try other books that will have more insight! For this, it was definitely worth the short time it took to flip through and read.
There were some color insights that had me rolling my eyes (um, as far as I'm aware Judas was frequently portrayed in yellow clothes because yellow was the color of cowardice and other connotations). But if you enjoyed those tidbits, I'd say try other books that will have more insight! For this, it was definitely worth the short time it took to flip through and read.
June 22, 2022
This was a fun book - I had no idea the history behind Crayola, and it was so interesting to learn how Crayola crayons came about, as well as about the company as it is today. It feels like there are few huge companies that also seem like they are morally and environmentally sound, and Crayola might actually fit that bill, if this book is to be believed!
I also really enjoyed how the book not only took the reader through the history of Crayola, but featured artists that use Crayola crayons as a medium for their work, and also talked about the science of color. It featured the various crayon colors, special packages available, and colors that have been retired. This was just a really fun, colorful, informative book that it's easy to breeze through in one sitting.
I also really enjoyed how the book not only took the reader through the history of Crayola, but featured artists that use Crayola crayons as a medium for their work, and also talked about the science of color. It featured the various crayon colors, special packages available, and colors that have been retired. This was just a really fun, colorful, informative book that it's easy to breeze through in one sitting.
January 15, 2022
A delight for the eyes as well as the evocation of childhood memories, this book is filled with interesting and fun facts about the origins of Binney & Smith and the Crayola company, and the advent of Crayola as we know it today.
There is information about color that would be of interest to artists, educators, and lovers of coloring for its own bliss.
This was more than an indulgence in nostalgia, it was an informative adventure behind the colors and smells of our childhoods.
There is information about color that would be of interest to artists, educators, and lovers of coloring for its own bliss.
This was more than an indulgence in nostalgia, it was an informative adventure behind the colors and smells of our childhoods.
August 7, 2022
The subtitle sums things up so well: this book is a visual biography of the world's most famous crayon. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! Yeah, I already knew some of the story, like many people do. (Everyone in my generation saw the Mr. Roger's episode where he goes to the Crayola factory, right?) Even still, I learned a lot more. And it made me really want to go get some Crayola crayons and a coloring book! With loads of pictures, the biography is engaging. Fun!
March 5, 2022
It was cool to go through all the colors, as I used to love dumping the entire 96-box out and organizing my box by color when I was little. But I wanted more explanation about where each of the color names came from. And I agree with the reader who said that this seems like an extended ad for Crayola.
September 28, 2023
Refreshing to randomly deep dive on the ubiquitous childhood device, pausing to contemplate the origination, strategy, evolution, and impact. Approached the book with zero expectation and was rewarded with a home run experience. The story inspired and aesthetics pleased - a well-paced, comprehensive experience.
August 22, 2025
I love this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2022
This was a colorful and very well done book that talks about the history of Crayola crayons, which is a fairly interesting one. I particularly enjoyed the sections on the various color shades and the names that were given to them.
November 21, 2022
A nostalgic walk back in time. Also a cute coffee table book that is kid friendly. This book does not take very long to read, under an hour total, lots of great pictures (as expected from an art company).
I recommend getting a copy from the library unless you have kids or want to display.
I recommend getting a copy from the library unless you have kids or want to display.
December 21, 2022
This book was such fun, with nostalgia included, for all of us older readers! I never knew the reasoning behind the names for the colors, so that was an interesting tidbit. This book is so colorful that it is a great read for all ages.
July 26, 2024
This is one of those random books you pull off the shelf at the library and find absolutely delightful. It also makes me reminisce of childhood days... and makes me want to go buy crayons and markers!
July 9, 2025
This book brought back so many memories- and made so many connections in my mind. If you are a color nerd like me, you will enjoy learning all about Crayola crayons, the colors, and the history and culture behind them. The Colors of the World section was especially heartwarming.
January 1, 2022
More of an extended ad for the title product. I was really hoping for more history and info.
March 6, 2022
This is a neat book about crayons.
April 28, 2022
This was a beautiful and informative look at Crayola.
May 19, 2022
A fun book packed full of facts about Crayola crayons 🖍 My only complaint...no scratch and sniff!
August 29, 2022
An interesting (and satisfyingly colorful) coffee table book about the history of the Crayola company.
March 1, 2024
A feast for the eyes!
April 4, 2024
This is the perfect book, because it gives you exactly it what it says on the title. 5/5.
September 25, 2024
Not just a pretty great coffee table book!! Colorful pages full of visuals, an interesting history lesson, AND the evolution timeline of our favorite coloring tool we all loved as kids!
October 1, 2022
Such a fun and interesting read for this crayola enthusiast. I don’t usually like nonfiction but each page and image was filled w so much I didn’t know. A great gift for an artist or art teacher!!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews