The Crayons' Christmas By Drew Daywalt, pictures by Oliver Jeffers (Harper Collins) ISBN
978-0-00-818036-2 RRP $27.99 (HB)
Reviewed by Nean McKenzie
The Crayons' Christmas is a picture book with activities, about a boy called Duncan and his
family of crayons. In the lead-up to Christmas, mail arrives at Duncan’s house
from crayons around the world. Six envelopes through the book contain items
such as postcards, things to make out of paper, a map and a game. Illustrations
in the book are of crayons, each with their own personalities, having
conversations and making jokes. There is a lot to look at!
Aimed at early-to-mid-primary school children, this is a book that can
be read by adults to their children or by the children themselves and the
humour is directed at both these groups. For instance, there do seem to be a
few crayons getting themselves stuck to underpants. On the other hand, the map
of the world depicting famous landmarks in the wrong places, such as the Great
Wall of China in Africa and the Statue of Liberty in Australia, is obviously
one of the adult jokes and would need to be explained to the kids to avoid
confusion.
The story is set in the US and does mention a celebration other than the
Christian one (one of the crayons sends a Hanukkah card). There’s also an
inclusion of gluten-free crayons! In one of the funny conversations, a candy
cane that’s been on the tree as a decoration for years, points out to one of
the crayons that candy is supposed to be eaten. And there’s a homage to the
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer story to make everything all more
Christmassy.
The appeal of this book is its variety. There are many topics, subjects
and characters. It is colourful, tactile and has a big pop-up Christmas tree at
the end. The Crayon’s Christmas is an
interactive and funny Christmas-themed book. It should be good entertainment, and
will no doubt be a popular present at this time of year.
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