Art Inspiration: The Day the Crayons Quit

My husband surprised the kids with a couple new books today, one of which was The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers. We sat down to read it after lunch and we giggled all the way through. The book is a series of letters listing out each crayon’s complaints, written to their owner, Duncan. They all have their own pet peeves — Black only gets used for outlining, Blue is used too much (all those skies and oceans) and poor old Pink never gets used at all. Each page is accompanied by fun illustrations and by the time we reached the end (where Duncan addresses all the crayons’ complaints) the boys and I were inspired to draw pictures!

Wyatt and I were went the literal route and we used a couple of the illustrations to inspire our drawings. I made my own version of this purple dragon and drew a castle and mountains all around.

Wyatt drew a kick-butt version of the wizard and added a crystal ball, an old-timey lamp and a book case full of spell books with a cobblestone floor underneath!

Augie was inspired by the many animal drawings in the book and made his own versions of a few of them. He started off with a toothy whale swimming in an ocean (poor Blue still doesn’t get a break…), then added a kitty and a bear.

What have you read lately that’s inspired you to create?

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Disclaimer: Dad bought this book for the kids with our own money and I’m sharing because I think it might inspire you too. This post contains an affiliate link.