When Duncan arrives at school one morning, he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them.

Red's factory-applied label clearly says that he's red, but despite the best efforts of his teacher, fellow crayons and art supplies, and family members, he can't seem to do anything right until a new friend offers a fresh perspective.

One day, Duncan is happily coloring with his crayons when a stack of postcards arrives in the mail from his former crayons, each of which has run away or been left behind, and all of which want to come home.