P.M. BRIEFING : Crayola Marks a New Era

The makers of Crayola crayons, responding to the bolder, brighter tastes of children, said today that they are retiring eight standard colors and introducing eight new ones with snazzy names such as dandelion, cerulean and wild strawberry.

To make room for the new hues, Binney & Smith Inc. is eliminating eight old favorites: maize, raw umber, blue gray, lemon yellow, green blue, orange red, orange yellow and violet blue.

But starting next month, children around the world will be able to draw a teal blue ocean, a fuchsia azalea, a dandelion sun, a jungle green tree, a vivid tangerine tiger, a royal purple king’s cloak, a cerulean (bright medium blue) sky and a wild strawberry.

It is the first time Binney & Smith has stopped production of any color and the first time since 1972, when eight fluorescent shades came on the market, that any new colors have been introduced.