The Last Two Crayons

The Last Two Crayons, a debut picture book by Leah Freeman-Haskin, tells the story of Sienna, a young person of colour, and her journey to understanding the beauty of the colour brown.

The book begins with Sienna excited to engage in art class and prepare for the spring art show, but, when she picks crayons, she finds she’s stuck with the last two remaining colours: dark brown and light brown. The rest of the class tease Sienna, saying that she will be stuck drawing only unpleasant things like “mud and dog poop”. Sienna struggles to come up with something beautiful that she can depict with just the two shades of brown until her classmate Jordan cheerfully mentions his favourite ice cream flavour: chocolate. Sienna excitedly begins drawing all types of desserts, from ice cream to brownies, with Jordan offering his red crayon to depict the cherry on top.

Another classmate’s volunteering the memory of a clumsy bear they saw at the zoo inspires Sienna to depict a bear scaling a large tree, getting the colour green from her classmate Andy to add leaves to her tree. In her last moments considering what else she can draw that will truly wow the art show, Sienna remembers a similar rainy day with her mother where her mother emphasized that “no matter what anyone says, brown is a beautiful color”.

Sienna immediately realizes she has neglected to consider her own family when wondering what the colour brown has to offer her. Using the light brown crayon, she lovingly depicts her mother, her father with the dark brown, and herself with a mix of the two shades. The rest of the class and her teacher applaud Sienna’s drawing, saying that it is the perfect choice for the art show to which Sienna happily agrees.

Shantala Robinson lovingly illustrates the story of embracing one’s own beauty, her skillful combination of cut paper and digital painting displaying a wealth of textured detail. Diversity is also celebrated in her depiction of Sienna’s class which encompasses a range of different skin colours, hair textures and facial types.

Overall, Freeman-Haskin’s The Last Two Crayons, a heartwarming picture book, champions diversity while still remaining grounded, realistic and joyful.