Red is really a blue crayon
covered with red paper.
Because of his red paper,
everyone assumes he is red,
and they expect red things
from him. Red fails over, and
over again trying to be what
he is not, and all the other
crayons give their opinion of
why Red just can’t seem to be
red. Then one day he is asked
to try drawing something
unexpected, and Red finally
realizes that he isn’t red, he is
Blue!

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever tried to do something or to be a certain way and were
   unsuccessful? Why did you try? How did it make you feel?
2. Why do you think Berry asked him to make a blue ocean? What could
   Berry see that none of the other crayons and art supplies see?
3. What challenges do you think some children with special needs (and
   their families) may face simple because the children may act, learn or
   look a little different?

Activities:

1. Make cards with sayings such as “Be Yourself, everyone else is already
   taken”, “If you think someone could use a friend, Be one!”, and “Friends
   are relatives you make for yourself”. Place the cards around the
   room and let students go to the card that speaks to them to form a
   small group. Ask each group to talk about how their quote relates to
   the book, and then decide how best to illustrate their saying. When
   finished, allow each group to present their saying to the entire class.
2. All the crayons are asked to draw self-portraits. Ask students to draw
   their own self-portraits using ONLY the one color that best represents
   them. Allow time for each to share and explain their color choice for
   the self-portrait.