My toddler eats crayons. I don’t mean she puts them in her mouth, I mean she makes them her meal. If she’s not eating them she is coloring on the walls with them so crayons are banned until she is old enough which could be many years at the rate we’re going.

I better get to the point about these crayons since I swore to my husband that I would never buy crayons again. These are called Mini Twistables and the word crayons are not mentioned anywhere on the box.

I thought that these were longer by the way that Crayola had these packaged however when I got them out I was pleased that they were much smaller…mini. They look very similar in appearance to crayons however they have a plastic shell and only a tiny bit longer. The crayon inside twists up or down easily.

The package that the mini twistables come in is also improved. The box is covered with a vinyl pouch so if you want to store the crayons in the original box you won’t have to worry about the box falling apart or the crayons spilling out.

Mini twistables area a perfect fit for toddlers. My 2-year-old is extremely pleased with the twistables. She calls them crayons and accepts them as the real thing. She uses the mini twistables for a longer amount of time per sitting. Her artwork is also more colorful and more imaginative with a larger selection used. For example, when she colors with classic crayons she uses one color. When she has mini twistables she uses 7 or 8 colors on the piece of paper. She does not put them in her mouth at all which means they’re definitely a keeper for us.

My daughter likes to wrap her whole hand around the twistable like she’s coloring with her fist rather than her hands. This works well on the walls but proves more challenging on paper at the table. Since the case of the crayon is made of plastic they don’t break like crayons do.

My 5-year-old plays with them constantly now. She usually draws things on blank paper and likes how drawing is easier with the twistables. She uses the twistables to color in coloring books as well. She says they’re so much better than regular crayons and never wants the other kind again.

One of the things that my daughter says that she’s happy about is that her sister doesn’t break them. Indeed they have spilled out to the floor, been stepped on, and used frequently and all are in tip-top shape.

Twistables come in different sizes but I went with 24 count because they are to be shared by three kids and since they’ve been using a box of traditional 24 crayons for years it seemed like the way to go.

The only problem that I see is that they do not have pointed tips and never will because they can’t be sharpened. Since more color can be turned up instantly the tip will always be as long as you want so the sharpness of the tip should be less noticeable.

One of the many things that I like about these is that no matter how many times each is used they will all remain the same size which makes them easier to store and makes them more appealing to use. After a few uses with traditional crayons they whittle down or break to different sizes. Traditional crayons have the name of the color on paper and once the paper peels away you’re not sure what you have. The plastic barrel is a perfect solution to that problem.

There is not any guidance on the box for stains. These are not washable but are pretty easy to clean up.

The colors that Crayola chose for the 24 pack are as follows: Blue violet, blue, blue-green, cerulean, scarlet, carnation pink, yellow-orange, red-orange, orange, yellow, dandelion, green, apricot, red, yellow-green, green-yellow, red-violet, violet, violet-red, gray, indigo, black, white.

These do cost more than a box of classic crayons however they are still intact after many uses and don’t require the purchase of a crayon sharpener. We usually replace our box of crayons twice a month so it adds up. If your child has a rough hand with crayons these will definitely be cheaper in the end.

I would recommend these and we did replace all of our old crayons with these by a unanimous vote.

General Information
Company: Binney & Smith
Address: Easton, PA 18044-0431
Phone: 1-800-Crayola
Website: www.crayolastore.com

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 4.50
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years