I would spend the extra money on Stockmar crayons available through Amazon. The intensity of color elevates every art project and I think they are available in a square shape for little hands or big swaths of color.

Number 8 sent me right back to my childhood.

We have the crayon rocks and the stackable crayons, and...meh. I'm not impressed. Little kids have to press really, really hard to make a decent mark, and even so, the colour is not very intense.

I much prefer Caran d'Arche products--for example, Neocolor II, which is a wax-based water soluble crayon that you can both paint and draw with. There is a similar product in their coloured pencil line. And they have a thick, ergonomic line for younger children.

What's the point if your tools don't let you make beautiful marks?

I bought the stackable (fingertips) crayons when my son was 1 year old. Initially, he had a hard time using them. Like MsChatelaine mentioned, you need to press relatively hard to make a mark. But pressing is a skill that your kid needs to learn. He did after a couple of months. He draws daily with his stackable crayons. He adores them. I will buy him a second set. BTW, they are overpriced at Jet Pens. I buy my set of 12 fingertips crayons at a school and day care supply store for less than $7.

Everyone homemade, upcycled, "fun," or "new" type of crayon we've tried has sucked. They break or have lousy colors or just crumble. Bah.

We are still using our original stockmar crayons though at 5+ years.
Two kids. Five years. One set.

And don't get my started on lousy colored pencils. (Go with Lyra Ferby).

sometimes a kid just needs an easy to hold, normal writing implement style, found everywhere crayola.

for God's sake, please just let the kids be kids. there is no need to project our own likes and want of style on them.

doughnut crayons, sheesh. *head shake*