While the underlying idea is one I love, the writing was clunky for a children’s story and the addition of gospel ideals means it isn’t one that can be used for read aloud.

I feel like I'm in the minority for Broken Crayons Still Color. The little girl is cute. I like the message of accepting yourself and that your 'flaws' don't change who are or what you can do. But the story did not flow very well for me. And I didn't really like font choice. Maybe it will work better in a physical format. I can guarantee many children will love this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tommy Nelson for providing me with a review copy.

📖Broken Crayons Still Color
●By Toni Collier & Whitney Bak ●Illustrated by Natalie Vasilica

My Little Book Buddy gave this one: 1 Thumbs up!👍
Comments: "Blue is sad and Red is very angry!", "The girl goes to school" , "Oh No! the crayons broke!"

The intention behind this book is perfect. Teaching children how to recognise and arm themselves with strategies for big emotions and feelings is extremely important in early childhood, that way they can be confident in regulating their own emotions especially when they are an adult.

However..... the execution is where this lovely book feel short for me.
As a parent of a child on the Autism Spectrum these types are books are what I live for. My son especially is very visually stimulated and learns best from visual aids. He loves books and reading and I use this opportunity to find books with messages like these to:
1. Entertain him of course (it has to be fun!)
2. Help to give him an understanding about his emotions, the world around him and life lessons.
He is at the end of the age range this book caters too, 4-8 years, but mentally he is more in the middle of this age range, so a perfect candidate. But I am also looking at this from an Early educator background and a Library Assistant who selects books for story times.
Now I believe this story is a little too complicated for these ages, maybe the older ages 7 - 8 would benefit from it but honestly I feel there are elements in this story that could be simplified in order to reach many children's understanding levels. As well as areas that actually needed more explanation.

What's the story about?
"Avery has big emotions and bubbling anxieties about changes in her life. When her crayons break as she scribbles furiously, she discovers that they have personalities and feelings too! And they can show her how to use her love of coloring to manage scary, overwhelming feelings and embrace curiosity and joy. As Avery follows the crayons' advice, gets creative, and chooses bravery and positive thinking, she discovers that God can use her to make beautiful things, even with broken crayons."

So whats the main issues?
1. The crayons all have names, and while this is cute it actually just complicates the story. As the crayons are talking to Avery they are also addressing each other, instead of just saying "Hey Red." They are using names that are only quickly dropped into the story as they are talking, not even introduced. With way too many character names even as an adult I was lost. It complicated things, meaning my son lost interest pretty quick, and when children lose interest they are not taking anything in, especially a book with an important message.
2. The pictures Avery draws at the start when she is scared about starting at a new school don't come out as she intended, while visually you can see the issue a 4, 5 or even 6 year old may not get the meaning "But that's not what see drew." Okay! so what did she draw then? why wasn't it what she had meant to draw? what did that mean? The story should be answering that. I am all for parent discussions with the kids to help them understand and interpret the meaning of a story, but don't make me explain the whole book including the little details to my child, otherwise I could have done that myself and the book wasn't necessary.
2. The religious element. NOW, Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with it, itself. I just don't feel it was used to its full potential to elevate the story at all. It seemed like it was an after thought. God was only mention maybe two times and although I believe the message regarding God was meant to be that he is there to help or he is acting through you, it wasn't even really explained or implemented that would allow a child to understand why its even mentioned. I only really understood what was trying to be said because of the book synopsis.
I understand that maybe the Author didn't want to over do it so that the book would still cater to those that are not religious (like myself) but honestly the way it was mentioned briefly made me more uncomfortable then if it was made a predominant point of the story.

Commendations!
1. The strategies the crayons teach Avery to use to help her learn to regulate her emotions. It was excellent to see that the Author has used real ones. I have used the "Smell the flowers, Blow out the candles." plenty of times. It certainly works. (Just confused about the "Creative - like a balloon!" statement.)
2.The Colour Wheel at the end was excellent. My Son really enjoyed it and responded to it. Feelings matched to colours are used a lot in schools, daycare etc., so he knew what this meant and talked to me about different colours and what feelings he associates with them. That part was the most fun and discussion we had out of the entire book.
3. The illustrations. They are beautiful and really aid in telling the story and portraying the message where the story telling feel a little flat. They are bright, bold and colourful. Just the way a children's book should be. The representation of different children at the school was lovely to see.

Overall my star rating would be a 3. It's intention and message was lovely, for me it just wasn't executed the best it could have been. I believe certain elements needed to be simplified more, where other areas just needed a little more to them to make the message clear.

Thank you for allowing me to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review.



I will add a link to Amazon once it allows reviews on the book (currently it won't let anyone.)
Book Buddy's Rating System - 👎 No! I did not like this one,👍Yeah, It was okay to good ,👍👍I loved this one!

A beautiful story about believing in yourself, being brave and remembering that God helps you in your mess. The colorful pictures are a fun part of the story!

this was so cute! will definitely recommend to parents that i know, in need of empowering and representative books for children

Broken Crayons Still Color was a really good story and it is really positive book.

The story deals with a young girl who is starting school and the feelings that come with that - she is worried, nervous and apprehensive about joining - it is a really big change and naturally there will be a lot of different feelings that she is having so the book does a really good job with these.

The story was really well written and I liked the sentiment behind the book as a mum too about things not always having to be perfect and that broken crayons are still useful - it's a really positive.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

My Review of Broken Crayons Still Color

I loved the beautiful illustrations in Broken Crayons Still Color and also the message about feelings and thoughts. Overall, I liked the idea behind the book. I loved the way it teaches about colors, thoughts, and feelings and how Avery learns from her actions.

The only problem that I foresee is the religious aspect of the book. While it doesn’t bother me either way, I could see why it could be an issue for some parents.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.

First of all, thank you for approving my request to have the ARC of this book. I am not disappointed with it. It's a must read for children to remind them that failure is not the end of everything.

I’m on the fence about this book. On one hand, I loved the illustrations and and like where the messaging is trying to go with working through your big feelings. In the other hand, I think a better explanation that all feelings are okay - positive and less so - and we can choose to use ways to turn them around or just experience them would have made me like it more. It started off good with explaining that big feelings can happen without us turning them into actions we don’t intend, but then it stayed more toward the path of turning big emotions toward approve ones. This certainly isn’t bad, but I personally like more of an all feelings are valid message. I also did not realize in picking up this book that there was messaging about God and His plan for helping us through things, which is not something I personally follow, so that was a mistake entirely of my own. But if if that is something you follow, this book may be for you.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this children’s book.

This story was amazing! It was an awesome story of realizing that just because things are broken or you think they are broken they can still function/work. The illustrations were also amazing and on point. I love the relationship being shown between mother and daughter too. This will most definitely be a book that is added to my son’s collection.

Cute story, talks about feelings & apprehension with the first day of school. Broken crayons & now what to do with them. Unfortunately due to the religious undertone, the story would not be used in our district. An at home book with parents who are open to discussing God, it would be fine.

This would be a good book to have for a youngster who has big feelings or is often overwhelmed. The main character goes through struggles and she learns how to work through them.

I love these types of books. This book teaches children that no matter what we can push through and make things happen. Avery thinks that she is broken just like the crayons however, she slowly realized that it is ok.

This is a book that is helpful when helping children explain and understand their feelings. It helps children know that God is always there through the good and bad. The illustrations help emphasize the message behind the story. Great visuals and storyline! This will be a book we will use for understanding big feelings.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

A good lesson on not giving up. And a good tool for teaching patience and perseverance. I like how the final page gives emotional connections to colors.

I loved this book!! The bright colors are so vibrant and the story of a little girl with some "BIG" feelings about going to school was so cute. I am buying this for my niece, I think it is a good book for younger children and what to do when they feel emotions that maybe are alot for them to handle.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read and review this title.

The title of this book drew me in. The story is one that all kids need to hear. Everyone feels broken at some point and this book is a good reminder that even when things go wrong, you still have a purpose. Uplifting and beautifully illustrated.

This book was a wonderful book to teach emotion and I could see this very easily being used in class to show feelings through coloring.

When the little girl accidentally breaks her crayons they all come together to teach her to draw her emotions and wishes; to view things in a positive light so that she can grow and be happy.

I will be reading this again and again to my daughter.

Need a book to read before the first day of school for a special child in your life? This book is the perfect solution to guide a nervous or frightened child along a more confident path to their first day of school. The colorful illustrations are beautifully crafted. The diverse characters are relatable and fun. The story is crafted in a kid-friendly encouraging way that guides the reader through some common fears about the first day of school through the eyes of the main character and offers some solutions to ease those anxieties.

I really liked the message of this book that even when you are feeling stressed, unsure, or angry you are still a human who has a purpose. My only concern with using this in a classroom is that it references god in a few places and we have a variety of religions represented in our classroom. I think I could synthesize the information though and have it still related without connecting to one specific religious belief.