Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let’s draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can’t be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He’s blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone!
Greenwillow Books, 2015, 40 pages, hardcover 978-0-062-25207-4
purchasing links: local bookstore : barnes & noble : amazon
resources
Red word search, bookmark, discussion questions, group activities
Red discussion questions within Swing activity guide
awards and recognition
Booklist Best Picture Books 2015
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice 2016
Cybils Awards nominee 2016
E.B. White Read-aloud Award finalist 2016
Goodreads Choice Award 2015
Irma Black Award finalist 2016
Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award finalist 2015
Minnesota Book Award Finalist 2016
Minnesota Star of the North Award 2016
Rainbow List 2016
Michael writes about this book
I rarely consider what a book will be about until fairly late in the process. More often, I begin by fiddling with a group of shapes or words that seem interesting and try to discover what sort of subject they would most naturally express. But as much as I try to objectively convey the stories these elements want to tell, the story always winds up being very personal to me. It just gurgles up.
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.
selected reviews
“It’s early in the year for sweeping declarations, but I can’t help myself: Red: Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall will be one of 2015’s sensations in kid lit.”
Horn Book Magazine
“Smart design, bold colors, and sharp details keep the story both effective and amusing.””
“Stories about accepting differences abound, but this one delivers its message in an unexpectedly affecting way.”
“Funny and clever, with a wonderful message about embracing who we are, Red is a great addition to anyone’s holiday list.”
“A fresh approach to colors and feelings. … Readers will share all the emotional elements of the tale—humor, despair, sadness, frustration, and finally, excitement.”
“A smart, insightful coming-of-age story for [the] youngest readers.”
“This story of mistaken identity has a simple yet profound premise that makes it feel fresh.”
“The metaphor is effortless. And there’s a final line in this book that’ll knock your socks off.”
