The Crayon Stub

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Author(s)

Marcus Cutler

Publisher

G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

May 06, 2025

ISBN

979-8217003334

Buy This Book

A hilarious picture book about an artistic kitty’s search for inspiration—and the mischievous younger sibling who keeps getting in the way.

Big Cat has a fresh new piece of paper, a box of big, beautiful crayons, and a dream: to create something TOTALLY SPECTACULAR and become WORLD FAMOUS! The only problem? All the crayons have gone missing except for one tiny red stub. What a disaster! And even if Big Cat could make something with the stub, what could possibly be spectacular enough to be worth drawing?

Making matters worse, Big Cat has a younger sibling who keeps getting in the way. Little Cat seems less interested in making SPECTACULAR ART and more excited about . . . food, mostly. What's a feline in search of inspiration to do?

Editor review

1 review

What can you draw with only one crayon?

May 14, 2025 (Updated: June 30, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Big Cat is inspired to create a fantastic work of art, especially since he has a brand new box of crayons, but when he goes to draw, all that is left is the stub of a red crayon. This is a tragedy! How will he ever achieve greatness? Trailed by by Little Cat (who doesn't speak), he has idea after idea, but nothing will work for his grand project. Just when he has some inspirtion, Little Cat runs off with the crayon. Not only that, but he eats it! Ingesting it is not a great idea, and before long, Little Cat has a "technicolor yawn" all over a piece of paper. Now Big Cat has no chances to be creative... or does he. Using the paper, he creates a self portrait of the two, complete with hearts.

Good Points

Oh, the thrill of a new box of crayons, and the disappointment when they are damaged! Young readers will empathize with Big Cat's desire to do something fantastic, and his annoyance at Little Cat getting in his way. While I can just envision the parents' reaction to being presented with a cat yak magnum opus ("You want me to hang this... on the refrigerator? Near FOOD?"), this is a giggle worthy inclusion, and much more interesting that the drawings of dinosaurs and volcanos.

The digitally created drawings are reminiscent of Carle's tissue paper collage style, but there are some crayoned creations as well. The shapes are bold and simple, and the expressions on the cats' faces are amusing. The hand lettered style font is clear and crisp, and there's just enough text on each page to make this a quick read aloud.

This would make a great gift for an older sibling along with books about drawing and the creative process like Art’s Supplies by Tougas or I Am An Artist by Altés. Of course, a fresh new box of crayons never hurts, or an activity like Smit's The Kids' Book of Craft Love, which is meant to be cut up. That would be a book that Big Cat would definitely want to keep away from Little Cat!