Sometimes we wonder if our stuffed animals or toy trains have feelings…but what if the crayons are tired of classroom antics? The Day the Crayons Quit is the interesting story of a box of crayons personified. Maybe your crayons like their paper wrappers…maybe they feel a little undressed without them. How would you like to hang around with your friends without any clothes? Now you know how peach feels. Which color in your box would say it gets the most work and never any time off like the other colors? My crayon box would have a very short green and a very new purple because those are my favorite and least favorite colors!
A fun tale with plenty of writing prompts and lessons in personification to go along with the entertainment. We have a copy in the library now!
I’ve had friends and coworkers ask me over the years, how can you read it so many times? I have lost count, but I think a few of the books in the series are at 10 reads each, with the last few at only 3 each because I was saddened by the story and that it was ending.
I know, I know! Harry and his friends are book characters, but after so many reads they are my friends too. So here are some answers I have given to the questions…why should I read it again?
1. Harry is a courageous, inspiring kid who doesn’t let his problems or challenges keep him from enjoying any blessings that come his way. Even those blessings in the form of giants who knock down a door and sit on his birthday cake. Cake is good no matter who sits on it (if it’s in a box anyway).
2. Hermione is all kinds of awesomesauce. She’s super smart, doesn’t stress about her hair, and fixes her own teeth saving thousands in orthodontics.
Hermione, fan art3. I love Dumbledore and I think we might have been good friends. I like lemon drops, an office full of interesting books and magical birds just as he did but I would have to say no to the idea of having a career that resulted in several broken noses.
4. Professor McGonnegal. She’s the bomb. Talents: fabulous Scottish accent, can turn herself into a cat, and doesn’t put up with anything from anyone.
5. Those feasts! Every Christmas feast, Halloween feast, back to school feast, or party has the most amazing food. I want to try butterbeer, treacle tart, and maybe even a rock cake. I don’t know if I have the enthusiasm for pumpkin treats the wizarding world does, but I am game to try.
6. I want to be a member of SPEW, dance to the Weird Sisters, and I’d even go to a Quidditch game. That’s saying a lot. I’ve never attended a professional game of any kind except baseball. Once.
7. George and Fred Weasley are the most amazingly talented prankster twins to ever live. And they have red hair. BAM.
8. Even transportation in the novels is interesting. Floo powder, the Hogwarts Express, thestrals. No one just takes the car or a walk. How mugglish that would be!
9. If you aren’t nice in the books by JK Rowling there are consequences. You may end up with a curly pig’s tail, blow up like a ballon and blow away, or your tongue may grow to the size of a large snake while still in your mouth.
Dudley’s tongue swells with a sweet from the Weasley twins. Fan art.10. Friendship is an important theme throughout all of the books- an idea most young people understand even if the adults in their lives don’t. From the friendships between Harry, Hermione and Ron to those between Harry’s father and his besties we see the incredible effects our friends have on our lives. All the more reason to choose them carefully.
Fan art illustration of Ron Weasley
Are you game to reread a Harry or two and find your own reasons for enjoying them another time around?
These are the British edition covers. I prefer the American art, but I liked reading the British editions to see the differences in everyday conversations! If you are a fan you should give it a go.
I spent most of my summer reading, whether it was on my ipad, my phone or using a good old fashioned library book like this one that I borrowed from another school in Hays for the summer. I loved this first book in a series so much I bought the sequel for my iPad! The Girl Who Navigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a fascinating fantasy full of magical creatures like a dragon who has a library as an ancestor, flying and talking leopards, and people made of soap who want everyone to feel really clean. I have Mrs. Talley to thank for telling me about it first.
September, the heroine of the story, has a challenging journey in fairyland, and it is up to her to rescue the friends she meets along her way. The novel is also beautifully illustrated! Take a look at some below.
So, do you want to read this yourself? Did you discover any new series and must reads this summer?
the big green bookshelf 