Red: A Crayon's Story

From the author "I began writing Red: A Crayon’s Story, thinking about funny events that might result when a crayon’s label does not match the crayon’s color. But as I collected crayon puns — He’s not sharp enough; He’s not bright enough; He needs to press harder — I began to hear voices from my past. I knew that, at some level, this was my story. I am dyslexic. As a child, I didn’t think of myself as mislabeled; I thought I wasn’t very bright. (In fact, I wasn’t very bright. But I was like everyone else: bright about some things and not bright about other things.) Red, a blue crayon with a red label, judged himself only by how well he could draw red. He accepted the label he was given and suffered profoundly. He tried in vain to draw himself as a red crayon, he was humiliated in front of his classmates, and he finally stormed off in a fit of frustration. Both Red and I were blessed with a supportive community. Everyone tried their best to help. But almost no one could see beyond the label, and their actions only made things worse. I believe that most of the damage we do to each other is the result of ignorance rather than cruelty. This notion was tested recently when I read an article about a high school teacher in Tennessee who was unhappy with a question one of his students asked. He responded by writing the word stupid on the student’s forehead — in front of the class, with a permanent marker, backwards so it could be read in a mirror. Thankfully, that sort of literal labeling is rare these days, but more subtle forms of labeling persist. I hope Red will be among the many resources that help young children learn about colors. I hope readers of all ages enjoy the antics of Red’s well-meaning friends and family, who simply cannot see beyond his official label. I hope the book will provoke classroom discussions about issues like judging people based on outside appearances, how all of us have both strengths and weaknesses, and the importance of being true to oneself. And I hope Red will inspire reflection about the subtle ways children become mislabeled, judging children based on their successes rather than their failures, and the unmitigated joy of finding one’s place in the world.

An insightful approach to helping people (kids and adults) understand difference. The crayon just can't be the crayon others want him to be... despite his best efforts, and their caring attempts to 'fix' him. This sweet story can be used to represent so many different ways individuals don't/can't fit into the expectations of society. Please don't let the nay-sayers scare you away from this delightful book. I read the book from cover to cover several times looking for so-called 'agenda/indoctrination' .... nothing to be found but a creative portrayal of helping people be who they truly are.

Don't let the transphobes in the negative comments fool you, this book is for anyone who doesn't quite fit the prescribed mold of what society expects. This book was read at my local library's story time a couple weeks ago. While the librarian was reading it, I felt an almost instant connection to Red, having always been the weird kid growing up that was always told to act and be like everyone else. I knew I wanted a copy for our home library before the story was even finished. Then, at the end of story time, my neurodivergent four year old ran right past all the kids who were eagerly playing with the bubbles the librarians set up at the end of story time, and headed straight towards where this book was sitting on the table. He picked it up and hugged it to his chest, clearly having felt a similar connection to Red or really Blue that I did. We checked it out that day, and he's wanted to read it every day since. And now we are very happy to have our own copy too. So while, yes, this book CAN apply to trans kids, or any kid who is LGBTQ+ (which is wonderful), it can also apply to neurodivergent kids, and weird kids, and anyone who feels like they can't just be themselves because someone is always trying to tell them to be something else.

This is an intelligent, yet, easy to understand master piece of literature. Though under the guise of a children's book it is actually a story for all humanity. I was overwhelmed after it being read to me on ZOOM and ordered it immediately while still chatting. I can't recommend this book enough as it has value and purpose in a person's life. The Hero is Berry. Typically heroes are ordinary people that allow/facilitate us to be our best selves. We all need a "Berry" in our lives. We all deserve a teacher, relative, or friend that creates a safe space for us to express ourselves without criticism, shame, or oppression. This is my favorite book. I can relate to RED. It is a very personal story to me. There wasn't anything available in the 70s or 80s like this for me. Could it have changed my life as a child? I think it would have. This has become my absolute favorite book. it is my new #1. My three favorites were WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak THE KNIGHT AND THE DRAGON by Tomi De Paola MOM RICHARD HAS A BIG FAT BUTT by Rudi Rudolph RED by Michael Hall is NOT like the series Drew Daywalt. Oliver Jeffers illustrates the "crayon" stories in a delightful and fun style of art. BTW, I own all the "crayon" books and merchandise. The series is that good. RED is illustrated by the author. There isn't anything that is as fantastic as RED. It is the best story. I just ordered all his other books.

My son is 4 years old, has autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorder, is profoundly gifted, and is really big for his age (looks about 7). And though he pretty much is a mislabeled crayon, I thought the concept would be a bit too abstract for him. He thinks in clear and concrete pictures and usually does not like fiction, especially anthropomorphized objects (think Thomas or Disney's Cars). But, his love of crayons won out and this is now his all time favorite book. And he gets it. "Red never really was red, was he?" "Red was happy and everyone liked him better when he decided to just be blue." "Being blue wasn't wrong, it was just unexpected." Wow. I am floored at the level of depth he was able to take away from this story. I don't usually buy Kindle books because there is so much available for free (sort low to high in the children's and see what I mean, selection changes daily, also our local library has Kindle books available), but this is so worth it. We even bought Frankencrayon. Both books are great and we love that Michael Hall did not just stick to the same 100 sight words that seem to populate every story for children, challenging words in a story for children is what every parent of a gifted child dreams of. PS We read this on an ipad mini and both books are formatted well for the screen. I wish the text was a bit larger, but it is readable on the mini. I would not recommend it on anything smaller though. Amazon does let you to return kindle books for a refund if you let them know that there is something wrong right away (even if the "something wrong" is that you just didn't like it) so why not give it a try? Oh and PPS, I bought this book because of the complaints about a transgender acceptance theme and I am so glad I did. Thank you, hateful reviewers, for encouraging me to buy one of the most meaningful books in my son's library. You have sincerely done me a great service.

The purchased book for my kindergarten age child for Christmas. It’s an absolutely wonderful book through and through. However, I ordered the book new and yet it came with multiple pages folded in the corners and creased down the centers, exactly where you would see creases if a child had been flipping through the book.

I am a grade K-8 librarian and, as soon as I heard about this story, I had to purchase it for my school library. I was definitely not disappointed and I will admit to weeping slightly as I read this (though, I do tend to weep at most touching picture books, but that's another story). Red can be read in many different ways. In it's simplistic form, it's merely about a crayon simply wanting to be itself without succumbing to the pressures of its family and peers. Children could easily view this as their intrinsic need to try and fail, all the while gain autonomy over their lives (fitting with Erikson's Psychosocial Stages). On a more complex level, you can definitely see this book relating to the LGBQT community as well as dealing with the mental health issues related to being denied your true self (e.g. depression, feelings of "otherness", etc.). In fact, I believe the one-star reviewer saw this book only as a platform for the transgender community and not the many other possible moralities to this story (which prompted me to write this review). From my brief experiments with the book and a survey of about 15 teachers and parents, adults seem to immediately see the crayon as a transgender person. They tend to overlook the crayon being blue on the inside and only see the red label at first (10ish/15 did not see a blue crayon - I say 10ish because one person had already read the book prior to my survey). Only when the crayon begins to struggle creating red pictures do they realize the crayon is, in fact, blue. I have yet to "experiment" reading this with kids, but this week I plan on reading this to several classes of varying ages to get a sample of opinions. My hypothesis: most elementary students (K-5ish) will see the book as a powerful "coming of age" story about self-acceptance unless they have a prior relationship to the LGBQT community. I am very interested to read this book to classes where some of the students have same-gendered parents. I also think starting in grades 4/5, students might begin thinking there is more to the story and relate it to bigger ideas of morality, gender, and identity.

Best best best story for anyone loving anyone who doesn’t fit inside society’s box. LGBTQ+ , disabilities, or just a quirky friend. A great way to help see the person exactly as they are and support them there.