Cover Image: The Life of a Crayon

The Life of a Crayon

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Member Reviews

Thanks NetGalley for the preview! 

This book was adorable! The illustrations blew me away. I really loved the premise and how the crayon or color can be so many things in life. This is going to be my new go to book for gifts! Love love it!
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This book is SO CUTE! my 4 year old son loves it, and I also read it to my preschool class and they loved it too! A great message that's a really fun story!! Definitely recommend
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So adorable! Loved this!

A little girl grows fond of her green crayon and carries it with her through all of life’s big moments. When she grows up and has a child of her own, they find the green crayon in her art box and decide to melt it down and repurpose it as a candle.

I loved the images in this book as well as the message ❤️
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Thank you Netgalley for letting me review this story. My opinions are entirely my own.

I have never been inspired by the story of a green crayon, but The Life or a Crayon made me see the world through a crayons eyes and it's a beautiful thing.
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The Life of a Crayon is an absolutely heartwarming and bittersweet story. I read this to my 4 year old and it had me a little teary eyed at the end! It touches on the circle of life and adults will certainly have more understanding/relatability than the children reading as it is quite sentimental.. but children will absolutely enjoy it as well. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is captivating. I think it is a bookshelf and the classroom must have. 

Thank you to Shambhala Publications, Inc., Bala Kids and NetGalley for this ARC
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"The Life of a Crayon" is an official favorite! 

A tale of how much a green crayon can leave its mark on a little girl and her whole world. From the art table to her bedroom walls her green crayon grows down and transforms all the while bringing comfort and light to a little girl. 

The illustrations are well thought out as they illustrate the story of a young girl and her green crayon. Loving the color palette and character design. Sweet and familiar feeling, the illustrations are a heartwarming touching to an already touching tale. 

I fully intend to purchase this book to share with my little one. This is a 5 star book and nothing less!
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I need a hardcover copy of this book in my classroom asap. This is the cutest story of a crayon and so heartwarming.
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A sweet story of a green crayon and its journey through a child's life. I loved the progression of the girl's art skills as she grew from a toddler to a young adult. The story was made sweeter by the fact that the girl turned her crayons into a candle for her child when the crayons were too small to color anymore was a lovely twist at the end.
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In this colorful book we are following a little girl who takes favor to the green crayon in her box.
We follow her and the journey she takes with this crayon.

 She makes keepsake drawings for her family that travel through mail, she learns lessons of good behavior and feelings with her crayon and then learns to write and count. 

After showing the importance this color and crayon had in her life, it then shows how she continues that on for children of her own.

The illustrations are so bright and fun!
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This book was so cute!!! I loved the pictures and their style as if they were drawn with crayons. It was the story though that pulled me in. How the crayon accompanied her through her entire life and then eventually found its end by being used to create something new.
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I loved how this book showed a life span of a crayon. I think this a great book to teach kindness or POV. It is also great to talk about for Earth Day
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The tagline is perfect to introduce this book to you all: ‘A Colorful Story of Never-Ending Beginnings.’

Green, along with the rest of his crayon family, has just been gifted to a little girl on her birthday. He isn’t sure yet of what role he will play in her life, but as she grows, he diminishes, albeit in wonderful ways. He sees his ‘green’ in all her artwork and also in the world around him. But as time passes by and he continues to grow smaller, what will happen to him?

This is a very simple and yet sweet story. The little girl clearly loves to draw, so the book is filled with her sketches. Green obviously has a pride of place in most of her artwork, which include drawings, school projects and greeting cards. His legacy is quite clear by the end of the book.

For a book about a crayon, the illustrations have to be good. The book doesn’t disappoint in this aspect. Every page is a rainbow of colour, with every hue popping out from the page with gusto. Green, of course, is omnipresent on each page. The illustrations contain sketches of the many drawings made by the little girl. I liked how the drawings grow more polished as she grows older. 

A part of me wished for some interactions with the rest of the crayons as well, especially as Green calls them his family. But the story is Green’s alone and the narrative doesn’t diverge from his angle. 

This book is somewhat bittersweet. Green’s reduced size is quite sad, until we realise that in sacrificing himself, he has left a vital stamp on the world around him. It subtly covers the idea of the circle of life, and also includes a novel idea of recycling old crayons, though I am not sure of how practical it is, especially as the process isn’t mentioned in the book. 

I feel that adults will derive far more meaning from this book than children will. The content is a bit too sentimental for young minds to grasp with full intensity. Nevertheless, it is a poignant and heartwarming book. If not the story, the illustrations will surely provide joy to everyone.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Shambhala Publications and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Life of a Crayon”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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WHY DID THIS MAKE ME CRY AT THE END?! I WAS NOT READY FOR THAT. WHY DID NO ONE PREPARE ME FOR THAT? THAT WAS MEAN. I WASN'T READY.

I thought this story was just so sweet! It was such a lovely story about a crayon who creates all of these incredible pictures with this little girl and he follows her through life and then when he can't help her create anymore, he transforms to become a light for her son. Oh my god. It was just SO SWEET. I loved it so much.
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Thanks to NetGalley for access to the e-ARC of this picture book. 

This is a sweet story that explores the many ways Sadie Mae and her crayon have grown and impacted the lives of people around them. I can see it being a great vehicle for deeper conversations with children about connection to others and the impact they and their actions can have without realising it. I would r commend this book to families, teachers and libraries.
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Another reviewer stated that The Life of a Crayon surpassed their expectations, and I couldn't agree more. The story is incredibly sweet and layered for kids and adults alike. The illustrations are fun and whimsical, working perfectly in tandem with the words. This is a keeper!
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I will never throw another crayon away. This was the sweetest book and should absolutely be in every little ones library. I can’t get over the cuteness. Also wow those illustrations! So pretty
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The Life of a crayon," tells us a story of a green crayon and his life journey growing "Down". The chalky-like illustration contributes much vibrancy that will draw the readers to engage in the story. I love how Green gets a happy ending. The Life of a Crayon will be an ideal gift for young readers.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Christopher Willard, and to Shambhala Publications Inc. for providing me an opportunity to read this beautiful book in advance.
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The Life of a Crayon is an adorable children's book about a green crayon. The crayon is able to be so many different things through all the pictures it contributes to. Unlike children, who grow up, the crayon grows down as his life goes on. 

This book was whimsical, sweet, and cute. I won't spoil the ending, but found it very unexpected in the best possible way. I loved the illustrations and how many of them were drawings that the green crayon had made. 

My one critique of this book is that the main character, the green crayon, was always very small and sometimes not on the page. Especially in the beginning of the book, I would love to see a large, personified green crayon that children can follow along with.
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A sweet book that inspires imagination in children. The ending was adorable as well and I love how the author used the crayon to bridge generations from the girls grandparents receiving pictures down to her own daughter.
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The Life of a Crayon is a heartwarming story!  It is told from the perspective of the green crayon and tells of all the adventures it had in its life.  This book provides an opportunity to talk about growing up, being creative, and recycling.  I am excited to read this book with my 3rd graders because of its message and beautiful illustrations.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy.
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