In The Day the Crayons Came Home, Drew Daywalt writes, “[Duncan] built a place where each crayon would always feel at home.” These words are meant to appeal to children and adults with eyes towards a message of belonging, of knowing that they have a place where one is accepted no matter how different. The first book in this series by Daywalt entitled, The Day the Crayons Quit, is filled with crayons that share no difference other than color as seen in Appendix A and B. Each page is filled with the same shape crayon and no imperfections. The Day the Crayons Came Home follows this first book with a variety of different kinds of crayons; some are some ugly, some disabled, some bigger, and some mixed. An example of this can be found in Appendix
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Each crayon has its own story and identity; they are capturing the idea of diversity as well as acceptance. Jeffers’s illustrations accompanied by Daywalt’s words provide its audience with a “variety”. Books like The Day the Crayons Came Home provide this variety to enlarge readers’ horizons and build up tolerance. With simply going through the different pages, readers can visually see the different attributes of the crayons in The Day the Crayons Came Home in reference to The Day the Crayons Quit. The individual details reinforce differences; although the books are about crayons, their humanistic changes relate to difference of human beings. According to Russell, “the goal of celebrating diversity is really inclusion, and this is where intelligent and sensitive children’s books can help, for they portray a rich and diverse world, extending the imagination of young readers to embrace life in its wondrous variety” (Russell 71). Expanding from the lack of diversity in The Day the Crayons Quit to The Day the Crayons Came Home, Jeffers and Daywalt are attempting exactly has Russell has stated; they are helping readers increase their exposure to diverse world around us. A question that has been lingering in my mind is, since the world is constantly changing and awareness for diversity is growing, will there ever be a time when all children books will embrace
Each crayon has its own story and identity; they are capturing the idea of diversity as well as acceptance. Jeffers’s illustrations accompanied by Daywalt’s words provide its audience with a “variety”. Books like The Day the Crayons Came Home provide this variety to enlarge readers’ horizons and build up tolerance. With simply going through the different pages, readers can visually see the different attributes of the crayons in The Day the Crayons Came Home in reference to The Day the Crayons Quit. The individual details reinforce differences; although the books are about crayons, their humanistic changes relate to difference of human beings. According to Russell, “the goal of celebrating diversity is really inclusion, and this is where intelligent and sensitive children’s books can help, for they portray a rich and diverse world, extending the imagination of young readers to embrace life in its wondrous variety” (Russell 71). Expanding from the lack of diversity in The Day the Crayons Quit to The Day the Crayons Came Home, Jeffers and Daywalt are attempting exactly has Russell has stated; they are helping readers increase their exposure to diverse world around us. A question that has been lingering in my mind is, since the world is constantly changing and awareness for diversity is growing, will there ever be a time when all children books will embrace