“Seemingly insurmountable problems are defeated one step at a time…the lively cartoon art, featuring digitally collaged crayons, is consistently bright, colorful, and funny.”– Kirkus
“Park’s homage to creativity underscores how handy unlikely items can be; Preen ties the tablecloth to gather the crayons, which the quails then ferry to the ship, for example. Ohi’s brightly hued digital illustrations combine hyperrealistic crayons (resembling photographs) with less vibrant cartoon art that seems to be drawn with crayons. A clever nod to imagination and ingenuity.” – Booklist
“The last page brings us down to earth, as the ‘commander’ is revealed to be a little girl in her bedroom, surrounded by robot toys, crayons, and space-and-science paraphernalia-gazing out her bedroom window at the night sky. In the category of they-were-toys-all-along picture books, this one stands out, as the child’s imagined scenarios-and Park’s and Ohi’s storytelling-are particularly creative and freewheeling. The dialogue, especially Gurple’s interjections (“Zap my apps!” “Bits and bytes!”), is bright and witty, as are the digital crayon-box illustrations with lots of dimension and plenty to look at-and starring an endearing android odd-couple pair.” – The Horn Book
“Gurple and Preen answers the question – What can you do with a broken crayon? You can not only create imaginative artwork but you also can also tell a captivating story. What I love about the story: it teaches kids valuable skills such as resourcefulness, creativity, and problem solving.” – Beagles and Books
