Meeting Drew Daywalt, the Author of the Crayon Books for Children
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Drew Daywalt books are just built different, this I learned over the course of the last few months. And in this article you’ll learn what he’s like in-person, his surprising background, and why his crayon books series is so popular with families.
Last Saturday morning was serendipity at its most random and delightful because spontaneously our daughter was afforded the opportunity to meet the author behind her favorite book. All thanks to a friend and fellow Tinley Park Mom Alia Shalabi. Having recently learned that our daughter’s favorite new book was The Day The Crayons Quit, she let me know that the book’s author was coming to the Chicago metropolitan area for a booking signing of his just released next book in the crayons series. Just goes to show how valuable friendships are because I would never have known about the book signing without her thoughtfulness.
The Man Behind The Crayons
On the stage inside of the historic Meiley-Swallow Hall theatre at North Central College in Naperville, Daywalt jokingly introduced himself as Dr. Seuss. “No seriously” he ironically and softly insisted. He actually could be mistaken for the son of the legendary children’s book author though—with hints of the dark, mysterious, and eccentric Billy Bob Thornton. He very much reminded me of Anthony Bourdain too, with his subtle, self-deprecating stand-up comedian style of self-expression. And yet he came off completely warm and familial too; like a cool godfather.
Still blows my brain that he used a lot of the photos I took from the book signing in a post he made about his stop at Naperville. Yes I work a lot with graphics and taking pictures, and am a full fledged adult, but it’s good sometimes to feel like a kid and get excited when someone likes or wants to use something you made. It’s just what happens I guess when your kid gets you stucked into their favorite things.Of course he answered audience questions about the crayons, and even Blue Crayon made a special surprise appearance ( we got to take a photo with him while waiting in the book signing line afterwards). However it was the sharing about his life before the crayons that most captivated me.
Before becoming a best-selling children’s book author, Daywalt spent decades as a Hollywood screenwriter, for such projects as the TV series Timon & Pumba (1999) and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000). Then he added producer, director, and editor to his resume with such projects as Stark Raving Made (2002) (which starred Seann William Scott) and most recently Don’t Let Go (2019), which starred David Oyelowo.
He honestly and unabashedly shared the reason for his complete career change, to seek a more stable income because he learned he was to become a father. He said that children’s books turned out to be the easiest thing to break into for him, and his first foray into that career began with Star Wars books for Lucasfilm Publishing. Then one day, he was trying to figure out something original to write… inspiration struck when he randomly wondered what the life of his children’s crayons would be like.
The Day She Met The Crayon Man
After his reading of “The Day The Crayons Made Friends“—which has already become a #1 bestseller, following its release date, he was so sweet to my daughter and personalized his signing of her two books by him, one of which was of course his new one.
Our daughter discovered the Daywalt crayons book series this past year through school, and even received The Day The Crayons Quit (the first in the book series) as a gift from her teacher because she loved it so much. From then on many a night my husband and I have read it to her. So much so that when it was our turn in the book signing line, I felt confident in joking to Daywalt how I thought I might qualify for a Grammy nomination for spoken word (totally kidding). Also, I really like to read books to her by creating different voices for each character and give a real performance for her. It’s so relatable for parents of young children—you just gotta read it. Daywalt’s response to me was so witty, which I wish I could recall verbatim. It was something about how ‘that’ is his aim for parents, to help facilitate recognition for us and what we as parents would do for our kids.
Anderson’s Bookshop In Naperville
Fun Fact: This year marks Anderson’s Bookshop’s 150th anniversary in business. I learned through this experience that Anderson’s Bookshop is very sought after by some of the biggest authors and celebrities for their book tours. The reason might have to do with the bookshop being the oldest single-family run bookseller in the United States. Staying in business since 1875 is not for the faint of heart, and what’s even lovelier than the fact that it has remained a family-owned business for so long, is how much the bookshop gives back and works with its community.
Takeaways
Firstly, thank you Drew Daywalt for a crayontastic start to my daughter’s summer! Secondly, thank you for giving something parents can take away as we navigate a world where everything feels outside the lines. You dropped so many quotable quips and gems of wisdom during the book event, I wish I’d have noted some of them—to refer back to for encouragment and inspiration.
I really do think we have a living legend in our midsts, whose crayons will be staple childrens books like Good Night, Moon or The Cat In The Hat. As Daywalt branches off and tells the stories of more tools and utensils, and our daughter branches off into different books as she grows up, I think his crayon books will stand out in her memory when its her turn to read them to her child(ren). I really do…
Yellow Crayon Lost
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