✦Drew Daywalt · Reading companion
The Day the Crayons Quit
Use your copy to explore different voices, reasons for a request, and creative ways to respond.
A book to read together
The Day the Crayons Quit
Original prompts to use with your copy.
The Day the Crayons Quit is written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. Read a family or library copy, then try these original Curiosi prompts about voice, perspective, and explaining a request. Children can respond with a drawing or gesture as well as words.
Wonder who is speaking
Before reading, study the cover together. Ask who the child thinks might have something to say and what clues suggest that idea. Consider how a picture book could let an ordinary object express a point of view. Invite more than one possibility, and keep those ideas ready to compare with your reading.
Find a reason behind a request
While reading your copy, let the child choose one voice to discuss. What does that speaker want the listener to understand? Find a detail in the words or pictures that helps explain the request. Separate the request itself from the reason for it, and notice how the speaker’s tone affects your response.
Compare without choosing a winner
After reading, compare two perspectives from your copy. What is similar, and what is different? Ask how a listener could show they understood before suggesting a solution. Imagine a response that considers several needs. Readers can disagree about which response seems fair, provided they explain their reasoning and listen to another interpretation.
Give a different object a voice
Choose an everyday object other than an art supply, such as a backpack or watering can. Draw it with a blank speech bubble. Invent a short request and a reason based on how the object is used. A partner can ask a respectful question or suggest a response. Swap roles and try a second perspective without copying a voice or letter from the book.
Your turn to read
Keep the conversation going
There is no single right answer. Invite young readers to notice, wonder and imagine.
What detail explained a speaker’s request?
How were two perspectives different?
What question could help your invented object feel understood?
Make something: Draw two ordinary objects sharing a workspace. Give each one a different need, then sketch a change that could help both. Explain why your idea might work.
