In The Day the Crayons Quit, a boy named Duncan opens his crayon box to find a stack of letters from his crayons, who have all quit due to being overworked or underused. They explain their complaints through letters to Duncan, with issues ranging from Red working too hard, to Beige feeling neglected, to Blue needing a break from coloring all the water. To get them back, Duncan must figure out a creative solution to make each crayon happy again
Discussion Questions
Understanding the Story
- Why did the crayons decide to stop coloring?
- Which crayon surprised you the most? Why?
- How did Duncan solve the crayons’ problems at the end?
Emotions and Empathy
- How did each crayon feel about its job? Can you name those feelings?
- Why do you think the crayons felt they weren’t being listened to?
- Have you ever felt like one of the crayons? Which one and why?
- What does this story teach us about listening to others?
Creativity and Imagination
- Which crayon would you most want to use in a picture? Why?
- How does Duncan use the crayons in unexpected ways at the end?
- Use your imagination – if a new crayon joined the box, what color would it be and what would it complain about?
Connection to Real Life
- What should we do when someone feels left out or overused?
- How can we make sure everyone’s ideas and feeling are heard?
Activities
- Divide students into groups of 5–6 or get your family together.
- Give everyone one sheet of paper and one crayon—each crayon should be a different color within the group.
- Each student draws on their own paper for 60 seconds. After 60 seconds, they pass their paper to the person on their right.
- Repeat the drawing and passing until each student has contributed to every paper. Once complete, display the drawings and ask students to share how they worked together to create them.