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The Day the Crayons Came Home is the hilarious and charming sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit! Both of these books are just so creative and sweet! If you haven't read the original, it's comprised of a series of letters written to Duncan from his crayons. The crayons are all unhappy for a variety of reasons. For instance, the Red Crayon is overworked. Gray Crayon is tired of coloring huge animals like elephants and hippos (it's strenuous activity) and would much prefer coloring pebbles and baby penguins. haha
In the sequel, Duncan receives a bunch of postcards from his downtrodden and lost crayons. The Maroon Crayon is stuck in his couch (his valediction states "sincerely your marooned crayon" haha), Neon Red Crayon was left behind on a vacation and is now at the Ritz Pool, and Glow in the Dark crayon was left in the basement and wants to be rescued!
I love that there are finger puppet companions for this story! I love book buddies, because they help you bring a book to life! Students can also use them to practice retelling the story and act out parts of the story!
You can even bring the book to life using real crayons too!
There are so many ways that you can use this book to target speech-language skills!
1) Multiple Meaning Words: For instance, maroon can be a color (brown-red) or it can be a verb meaning you're abandoned or stuck! Also, the yellow and orange crayon use the word "sunny" as a feeling and you can discuss how it can also be used to describe weather.
2) Where Questions: This book is perfect for teaching and practicing where questions! Every crayon has been left behind somewhere and just wants to come home. For instance, red and yellow were left outside (to melt in the sun!) and turquoise is in the laundry room (with a sock stuck to his head haha!).
One of my favorite things about this book is Neon Red Crayon! He is hilarious and spatially challenged (kind of like me haha). After 8 months stuck at the Ritz, he decides to walk home. He sends postcards from a variety of places throughout the story and it's so funny! He sends a picture of himself in front of the Great Pyramids and he thinks he's in New Jersey! In another postcard, he sends greetings from the Amazon Rainforest (but he's skiing in the picture!). You can talk about where Neon Red Crayon thinks he is versus where he actually is! Incorporate a little geography!
3) Inferencing: Brown Crayon says "They don't know what ELSE you use me to color, do they?" haha! What on Earth could he be talking about! There are many other things you can infer, for instance... we can infer that Neon Red Crayon is not good with directions. We can also infer a few things about Duncan, like he must be very messy because he leaves his crayons everywhere!
It would be exhausting to be Duncan's crayons!
4) Emotions: There are quite a few emotions in this book! For instance, Yellow & Red are feeling not-so-sunny and Big Chunky Toddler Crayon is feeling desperate. You can discuss these emotions and the things that have caused the crayons to feel the way that they do. You can also make some text-to-self connections here and students can talk about when they've felt those emotions. Glow in the Dark is afraid (of the dark haha) and Brown is embarrassed. These are all very relatable emotions!
5) Problem/Solution: One thing about Duncan, he can solve some problems! At the end, he builds a magnificent Crayon Fort/Mansion thingy and it's fabulous! His crayons were feeling unloved and he created a place where they can always feel at home. :)
Also, can we talk about my favorite crayon? Esteban the Magnificent (the crayon formerly known as pea green). His storyline is hilarious! He tells Duncan that he's off to see the world.. then sends another postcard asking him if he would open the front door. haha! Finally, he sends a postcard that reads "I've seen the word. It's rainy. I'm coming back." hahaha! Drew Daywalt is just an incredible author! He's so fun and creative.
Have you used these books in speech therapy? They're great! What goals did you target?
I also have a flip book companion for the first book! It can be found in August's Flipping For Literature packet or the bundle!
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't let you know that there is a TPT sale going on today and tomorrow (2/14 and 2/15)! Everything in my store is 20% off plus an additional 5% off when you use the code XOXO! I'll also extend my sale through Friday, but the additional 5% code ends on Thursday!
Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!
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