The Crayon Box That Talked

The Crayon Box That Talked
by Shane DeRolf and illustrated by Michael Letzig

The Story:

A little girl goes to a toy store and spots a crayon box that talked. The crayons did not like one another but no one knew why. So, the girl buys the crayon box and takes it home. When she gets home, she laid the crayons out and begins to draw a picture with all the crayons. The crayons soon realize that when they all work together they create something beautiful and special. The colorful picture could never have been drawn with just one color. Each and every color adds a unique touch.

Analysis:

In the book The Crayon Box That Talked, Shane DeRolf claims that people of different ethnicities and  cultures need to love and work with each other. The author does this through his characters, dialogue, and the plot.

Shane DeRolf uses crayons to symbolize the diversity of people within our world. Every crayon is a different color. They are all very important and unique. Individuals in this world are composed of  many ethnicities, cultures, languages, religions, social and economic statuses. These differences should be embraced because not one of theses can represent humanity alone. The little girl in the story is there to help the crayons realize that when they work with each other they can create something special.

At the beginning of the story, the dialogue between the crayons is not friendly. They tell one another that they do not like each other. The blue crayon recognizes that there is something wrong with the crayon box because they are always fighting. The crayons do not learn to accept and understand the differences of each crayon until the little girl draws a picture with all of them. When they see the finished picture, the crayons begin to compliment on their participation and input in the drawing. 

The plot of the story serves as a way to lead the reader in understanding that the differences in the crayons at the beginning of the story were the characteristics that were not embraced by the others, but at the end of the story, they were the characteristics that made each one of them unique. The climax of the story is when the crayons see that all of them could create an amazing and colorful drawing. This was the turning point because they begin to accept the differences because the differences is what made the picture so appealing. The resolution of the book takes place at the end, when they are all together and the drawing is complete.

Shane DeRolf  wrote this children’s book to promote anti discrimination. He decided to write this story to allow parents the opportunity to speak to their children about the differences between the crayons and the uniqueness of each individual on earth. This story is a short story with a big message that needs to be shared and spoken about.  People need to stop excluding the distinct characteristics of others that are not the same as theirs and branch out to reconcile with the ethnicities and cultures around the world. People can learn so much from each other if and only when they take the time to know and understand others that are different from themselves.