BARNES & NOBLE, INC. Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the news children and adults across the country have eagerly been waiting for: the Crayons did not quit! Barnes & Noble customers discovered the good news during a national “The Day the Crayons Decide” free “Reveal Event” on Tuesday, September 30, at stores nationwide. Barnes & Noble received more than 105,000 heartfelt letters, lists and artwork from children and adults who participated in the month-long campaign to convince the Crayons to stay on the job.
Oliver Jeffers, illustrator of the book the Day the Crayons Quit, announces to a group of children at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, New York, that the Crayons have decided not to quit. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Crayons first declared their grievances regarding how they were being used in the bestselling book The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, and published by Penguin Young Readers. The grievances included Red has to work on holidays, Blue is always used as the color of the sky and the ocean, Yellow and Orange both want to be the true color of the sun and Black is only ever used to outline. On September 3, the Crayons informed the world they were threatening to quit and color no more if their grievances were not taken seriously. The Crayons gave people until September 30 to change their minds.
Barnes & Noble acted quickly and launched a massive message campaign involving customers writing letters, drawing pictures and making lists in support of the Crayons to show them that their grievances were heard. These messages were placed in special Message Boxes at Barnes & Noble stores throughout the month. Each store displayed the messages throughout the campaign to show Crayons the vast amount of community support across the country. The messages were also posted on the Barnes & Noble social media channels. In addition, all stores hosted four special Storytimes throughout September, each one dedicated to supporting specific Crayons from The Day the Crayons Quit.
Customers who attended the Reveal Events participated in a Storytime reading of The Day the Crayons Quit and a variety of activities including marching in a colorful parade and having their photo taken with a Crayon standee to show support for the Crayons. Amid great fanfare, customers were delighted when a Special Delivery Box arrived from the Crayons with Thank You letters for all the attendees. In the Thank You letter, the Crayons expressed how much they appreciated all the support and creativity Barnes & Noble customers, both young and old, showed during the month.
Author Drew Daywalt and illustrator Oliver Jeffers each made a special appearance at a Barnes & Noble store on September 30. Drew Daywalt hosted the special Reveal Event at the Barnes & Noble store at The Grove in Los Angeles, CA, where he signed copies of The Day the Crayons Quit, entertained children and their parents, and read the Thank You letter from the Crayons to the attendees announcing they were staying on the job. Oliver Jeffers hosted the special Reveal Event at the Barnes & Noble Union Square store in Manhattan, where he signed copies of The Day the Crayons Quit and entertained the children and their parents with a special reading of the Thank You letter from the Crayons to the attendees announcing why they decided to stay on the job.
“It has been an intense month of creative and passionate efforts as Barnes & Noble booksellers and customers across the country gathered together in their communities to rally for the Crayons, and show they heard their grievances and cared enough about them to try to convince them not to quit. We are excited our customers were successful,” said Mary Amicucci, Vice President, Adult Trade and Children’s Books, Barnes & Noble. “Thanks to our customers, the Crayons are excited to stay on the job. On behalf of our booksellers nationwide, we want to thank all the children and adults who poured their hearts out in their letters, created lists and drew so many amazing pictures for the Crayons to help change their minds. Our stores and their communities are grateful for their efforts. We’ll all sleep better tonight knowing the Crayons are sticking around!”
“The overwhelming response to this campaign has been extraordinary,” said Don Weisberg, President and Publisher of Penguin Young Readers. “We’re relieved the Crayons have decided not to quit, and we couldn’t have convinced them without the incredible support of our readers.”
To view photos of children’s letters and art from the special Crayons events held this month, visit http://www.BN.com/crayonsdontquit or search #crayonsdontquit on social media sites.
Customers are encouraged to follow Barnes & Noble on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, and like Barnes & Noble on Facebook. Fans of the book and events can also follow NOOK on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
Barnes & Noble events are free and open to the public. To discover more, including times of events at your local store, visit the Barnes & Noble Store Locator.
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is a Fortune 500 company, the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 658 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK Media LLC subsidiary is a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. The NOOK digital business offers award-winning NOOK® products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store® (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC operates 705 bookstores serving over five million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.
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Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141001005308/en/
