Will the Crayons Quit? Barnes & Noble Invites Customers to Join in a Special Event on September 30 in Stores Nationwide: ‘The Day the Crayons Decide’

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced that September 30 is “The Day the Crayons Decide.” Customers are invited to their local Barnes & Noble store for a special “Reveal Event” at 4 p.m. to discover if the letter-writing, picture-drawing, and list-making message campaign from their community convinced the Crayons not to quit or if they will walk away never to color again.

The Crayons first made their grievances with how they are being used known in the bestselling book The Day the Crayons Quit (Penguin Young Readers Group) written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. Blue is always used as the color of the sky and the ocean, Red has to work on holidays, Black is only ever used to outline, Yellow and Orange are fighting over the true color of the sun. On September 3, the Crayons finally had enough and 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. Barnes & Noble stores nationwide also hosted four special Storytimes during the month of September, each one supporting specific Crayons from The Day the Crayons Quit. All stores had special Crayon Stationery and a “Message Box” for children and adults to submit their letters, lists, and pictures sharing their reasons why the Crayons shouldn’t quit. Barnes & Noble has collected more than 75,000 letters, lists and artwork so far in support of the Crayons.

On September 30 at 4 p.m., all Barnes & Noble stores across the country will host a special Reveal Event where they are expecting a special delivery from the Crayons: the Crayons’ final decision stating whether they will quit or stay on the job and keep coloring. Each Barnes & Noble store will display all of the colorful and clever messages to the Crayons that have been collected over the month, and will have many fun activities for customers to do including a special Crayons Storytime, exciting arts and crafts and a parade around the inside of the store where children can visually show their support for the Crayons.

“We’re eager to hear what the Crayons have to say,” said Mary Amicucci, Vice President, Adult Trade and Children’s Books, Barnes & Noble. “In every Barnes & Noble store across the country, children and adults stood up for what they believed in, poured their hearts out in letters and drew so many amazing pictures for the Crayons. We can only hope our collective efforts will save the crayons from quitting.”

“Art supplies are temperamental creatures, and the Crayons are no exception. I think we all remember back in 2004 when they threatened to walk, just to support the Erasers, who were tired of being chewed off. All we can do now is hope and pray that they don't strike,” said Drew Daywalt, author of The Day the Crayons Quit. Daywalt will host a special event at the Barnes & Noble store at The Grove in Los Angeles, CA, on September 30, at 4 p.m. PT, where he will sign copies of the book, entertain the children and be on hand to hear the news and read the letter from the Crayons.

Oliver Jeffers, illustrator of The Day the Crayons Quit, will host a special event at the Union Square store in Manhattan on Tuesday, September 30, at 4 p.m. ET, where he will also sign copies of the book, entertain the children and be on hand to hear the news and read the letter from the Crayons.

Barnes & Noble is also hosting a month-long Sweepstakes on Twitter and Instagram to help support the Crayons and stop them from quitting. From September 5 to September 30, customers ages 13 and up can enter Barnes & Noble’s “Crayons Don’t Quit” Sweepstakes by uploading their picture, list or letter in support of the Crayons to Twitter or Instagram using #CrayonsDontQuit #BNSweeps for a chance to win a $100 B&N Gift Card, a copy of the book The Day the Crayons Quit, a Crayola tub of fun, and Crayola crayon maker. Visit http://crayonsdontquit.seenmoments.com for details.

To view photos, letters and art from the special Crayons events held this month, visit BN.com/crayonsdontquit or search the #crayonsdontquit on social media sites.

From now until September 30, customers can stop by the NOOK Boutique® in local stores and receive special wallpapers in support of the Crayons, which can be downloaded to all Samsung Galaxy Tab®4 NOOK® devices. Fans can also download Crayons wallpaper for their NOOK® device on Facebook, and follow the Crayons event action on Google+ and Twitter to learn more about special digital offers and promotions.

During the month of September, Barnes & Noble Cafés will offer a Kids’ Horizon Organic® Milk or Motts® Juice and a Blondie, Brownie, or Rice Krispy Bar for only $3.25.

Customers can also follow Barnes & Noble on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, and like Barnes & Noble on Facebook, for information on “Don’t Let the Crayons Quit!” Storytimes, including announcements about upcoming events and promotions. For more information, visit www.BN.com/crayonsdontquit.

Barnes & Noble Storytimes 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.barnesandnoble.com.

Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers® and Barnes & Noble.com® are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates.

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