The box of crayons that talked

ISBN 0-590-81928-3

A young girl is strolling through a toy store and discovers a box of crayons that are not getting along. She buys the box of crayons and brings them home. She spreads out all the different coloured crayons so that they can see each other. She creates a picture using all the colours by mixing them. The crayons admire the beautiful picture they created together. The little girl helped the crayons realize that every one of them is unique and that when they include each other they can accomplish more.

This book sends out a great message to young children about sharing and including others. The simple rhyming and illustrations give the children a clear understating of the value of teamwork and encouraging diversity. The children can relate to this story through their interactions with other children.

Using a layering effect with coloured pastels, created images that resembled a child’s drawing, made the illustrations. The exaggerated expression of the crayons brings comedy to the story and allows the children to easily see the problem at the beginning of the story and then see the problem resolved. The bright colours and use of every colour from a crayon box attracts a child’s attention. Children that I have worked with like to try and recreate images they see in books. I like the simplicity of these illustrations because they allow young children the artistic ability to draw the images.




Provocations:

In order to have the children interested in The Crayon Box that Talked I will promote the idea that in order to accomplish some tasks teamwork is needed. In order to do this I will lay out a large sheet of white paper on a wall or the ceiling. On one end of this paper there will be some green grass and at the other end there will be a blue cloud. The children may realize that there is a large gap between the grass and cloud. Another way to provoke the children’s interest will be to have an empty felt crayon box on a felt board. Each day I will add a felt crayon outside of the crayon box. Children might wonder why the crayons are not in the crayon box.


Ways of telling a story:

1. Felt Story: I will either make the felt story by using a variety of coloured felt, scissors, and a glue gun or purchase the felt set for this book from kinderteacher.com for $15.00.
2. Finger Puppet: Using a thin glove and different coloured felt, I will create finger puppets resembling the crayons. For the crayon box I will cover felt over a cardboard box. The box will have a lid that opens, allowing the crayons to pop out and the bottom will be open, allowing my hand to fit though.
3. Interactive Story: I will create five different coloured crayon tips. The tips will resemble hats for children to wear. Each hat will be made out of thick art paper covered with different coloured felt. For the crayon box I will get a folding laundry basket from Ikea and stitch Crayon Box on the front. The story will start off with the children away from each other and in the end they will fit together in the crayon box.
4. Story Line: Using a clothesline, small clothes line pins, and the felt characters or laminated characters from the book I will create a moving story. Certain characters will be pulled along the clothesline, while some will be attached to a popsicle stick and moved along manually. This way of storytelling has the option of being participation based.


I will stop and have the children wonder on the page with the blue crayon saying, “something is very wrong”. At this point in the story, children can see that the crayons do not like each other and their expressions are unhappy. I will ask the children “I wonder what is wrong?” and “I wonder why everyone is so unhappy?”. I will also have the children stop and wonder on the page the crayons are dancing around the page “watching till I was through”. The children can see that the crayons are happy, but they have not been told why yet. I will ask the children “I wonder why they are getting along now” and “I wonder why they are all so happy?”. I may not chunk this book because it is a very short story and it would interrupt the rhyming scheme. However the page “I took it home with me” would be the best place to stop because the children are left wondering why the crayons are not friends, why the little girls would bring them home, and what will she do with them. At this point in the story there are a lot of wonders, if I were to chunk the book here, I would have the children colour with crayons. It would be interesting to see what they would draw at this point in the story.


Extensions:

1. Colour: Using the long piece of white paper from my provocation with the grass and the cloud, I will lay it across the ground. I will have children pick out a colour and have them draw together. I will encourage them to blend their images together. I might even incorporate paint into this activity to have the children see the different colours created from blending. After this activity, I will post their sharing experience in the same spot the blank picture was placed.
2. Parachute: This activity will take place outside. After parachute safety rules are explained, I will have the children form into a large circle around the parachute. As a team we will raise the parachute into the air and play age appropriate games. Afterwards we will place the parachute on the ground and re-form a circle around it. We will discuss how a team was needed to play with the parachute, that one would not do it alone.
3. City: I would put the children into separate groups and have them build together a house out of blocks. Once the children finished their homes I would ask them to find a way to connect each home. By working to together building roads or moving their homes closer, they will have succeeded in making a city. This activity will provide the children with a physical challenge and problem solving to move their own group creations into a larger group. The city could continue to build.

Reference:

DeRolf, S. (1997). The Crayon Box that Talked (M. Letzig, Illus.). New York: Scholastic Inc.
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