“Who am I?” This question has been swimming in Red’s mind until he discovers who he really is. Red: A Crayon’s Story revolves around a blue crayon who is supposed to be red; it says so on his label. However, every time he tried to draw red objects like strawberries, ants, and fire trucks, they turn out blue. The story is written from a pencil’s perspective, in which the said pencil is Red’s teacher. The reader is taken on a journey with the protagonist where Red faces copious challenges and disappointment from his friends. All his peers wanted to help him be who he is “supposed” to be – red. They all had their own opinion. Maybe he was broken, maybe his label was too tight, maybe he was not sharp enough. They tried to help by giving him advice, setting up play dates with other crayons, nevertheless, nothing seemed to work. Even the other art supplies stepped in and tried to fix him to no avail. Red began to feel hapless and miserable until he met someone with a different perspective who could see him for who he truly was.
Michael Hall is known for writing children’s books, examples of his work are My Heart is Like a Zoo and It’s an Orange Aardvark!. His books, although sparse in words, contain colorful illustrations and witty dialogue to express a hidden message within. This was not lost in Red: A Crayon’s Story which incorporated striking colors against black and white pages. He beautifully utilized the color of the paper to set the tone of the story; from the lighthearted