The Day the Crayons Made Friends

by Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The crayons are back, and this time they’ve gone off to accomplish their dreams in Duncan’s bedroom. Hilarity ensues, as it always does when the crayons are concerned.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The hilarious Crayons are back with their first full-size picture book adventure since The Day the Crayons Came Home—and this time they’re exploring the three-dimensional world as they make friends with real-life objects from around Duncan’s house.

Duncan’s crayons just can’t seem to stay put!

After convincing one group of crayons to go back to work after they wanted to quit and rescuing another group who got lost in the most inconvenient places, Duncan’s crayons have disappeared once more.

But this time, they’ve gone out into his room to make friends. From Red Crayon, who fulfills his dream of driving a firetruck; to Blue Crayon, who meets a fashion doll desperately in need of a head; to fan favorite Esteban, who is off to tame a teddy bear (or as he would call it, a wild beast), each crayon has an exciting story to share about the new objects they’ve met and the new adventures they’ve had.

The bestselling team behind The Day the Crayons Quit have come together to create another clever and hilarious tale that will keep children—and grown-ups—laughing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593622360
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Series:	Drew Daywalt's Crayons Book Series
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Drew Daywalt was amazed at the age of seven, while sitting in the movie theater watching the credits roll on the original Star Wars, to see for the first time that people actually MADE movies. They weren’t just found items like mountains or rivers or clouds. That night, at story time with his mom, Charlene, he noticed there were names of people on the front of books, too. That’s when he learned about authors and writers. And he never looked back. Drew is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Day the Crayons Quit, all of its sequels, and many other titles, including The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors; Little Freddie Two Pants; and the middle grade novel They Call Me No Sam! illustrated by Mike Lowery. Drew lives in California with his wife, two kids, two dogs, two goldfish, a cat, and some local raccoons who like pizza crusts. You can visit Drew Daywalt at DrewDaywalt.com or follow him on Instagram @DrewDaywalt.

Oliver Jeffers makes art and tells stories. His books include How to Catch a Star; Lost and Found, which was the recipient of the prestigious Nestle Children's Book Prize Gold Award in the UK and was later adapted into an award-winning animated film; and the New York Times bestsellers Here We Are, What We'll Build, Stuck, This Moose Belongs to Me, and Once Upon an Alphabet. He is also, of course, the illustrator of the #1 smash hit Crayons series, written by Drew Daywalt. His fine art is world-renowned and his dip-art exhibitions are much sought-after events. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Oliver now splits his time between Belfast and Brooklyn, New York. You can visit Oliver Jeffers online at OliverJeffers.com or follow him on Instagram @OliverJeffers.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Day the Crayons Made Friends:

"[R]eaders—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals. Quirky, familiar fun." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-03-08
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.

Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.

Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.(Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews