By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: March 28, 2008
A Day With No Crayons
by Elizabeth Rusch
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Rising Moon (September 17, 2007)
Every child loves crayons. Every child and every parent loves the fun names given to the crayons – like fuzzy wuzzy brown and razzle dazzle rose. The day
Liza’s mommy takes away her crayons for drawing on the wall is when this wonderfully written and illustrated story begins. It is about the journey she takes in discovering the colors and art of the world around her. Liza finds new ways to express her self artistically and imaginatively using nature and learns that art is everywhere.
… When Liza’s mother takes away her beloved crayons, her world suddenly goes gray. How does the budding artist respond? She squirts her toothpaste angrily and stomps through mud puddles. Through these acts, Liza inadvertently creates art-and eventually discovers color in the world around her. Liza loved her crayons. She treasured turquoise, adored apricot, and flipped over fuchsia …
Elizabeth Rusch says:
“Kids ages 2 to 8 spend an average of 30 minutes each day coloring with crayons! Crayons are truly an amazing inspiration for young artists everywhere. Did you know the average child in the United States will wear down 730 crayons by his or her 10th birthday? That’s more than 11 boxes of 64 crayons!”