Creepy Crayon!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Creepy Crayon!
First edition
AuthorAaron Reynolds
IllustratorPeter Brown
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreHorror stories
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
August 23, 2022
Pages48
ISBN978-1-5344-6588-6

Creepy Crayon! is a horror children's book written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. The third book in the "Creepy Tales!" series, it was published by Simon & Schuster on August 23, 2022 and tells the story of Jasper, a young rabbit who finds and uses a possessed crayon in order to get good grades at school.

Creepy Crayon! was received positively by critics and was a top-selling children's fiction book in the United States.

Reception[edit]

Kirkus Reviews compared Reynold's writing to Rod Serling's monologues due to "its perfectly paced foreboding and unsettling tension, both gentled by lightly ominous humor."[1] They also praised Brown's illustration, who used a grayscale tone except for the crayon, calling this choice a callback to the old sci-fi thrillers, as well as an introduction to the horror genre for new readers.[1] In their review for The Booklist, John Peters commented how the authors took "Harold and the Purple Crayon into the twilight zone."[2] Peters called some of Brown's scenes "atmospherically shadowy" and noted young readers "will respond sympathetically to Jasper's sad expression" throughout his ordeal.[2]

According to Publishers Weekly, Creepy Crayon! was the most sold picture book in the week of September 5, 2022, surpassing The Very Hungry Caterpillar.[3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Creepy Crayon!". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Peters, John (July 2022). "Creepy Crayon!". The Booklist. 188 (21): 80.
  3. ^ Juris, Carolyn (September 5, 2022). "This Week's Bestsellers: September 5, 2022". Publishers Weekly. 269 (37): 8–11.