Harold and the Purple Crayon

Crockett Johnson or originally known as David Johnson Leisk was born in New York City in 1906. From an early age Johnson was relentlessly creative. Johnson was known for his first comic strip Barnaby in 1942 which showed his knack for simplistic art and later defined his work. He continued to practice cartooning children’s books, while collaborating with his wife Ruth Krauss. The name Harold is thought to be in honor of his nephew. 10,000 copies were sold in the first printing. This later pushed Johnson to continue the series to write Harold’s Fairytale. ==Plot==

The protagonist, Harold, is a curious four-year-old boy who, with his magic purple crayon, has the power to create a world of his own simply by drawing it. Harold wants to go for a walk in the moonlight, but there is no moon, so he draws one. He has nowhere to walk, so he draws a path. Using his purple crayon, he goes on many adventures including encountering a dragon guarding an apple tree, boating through deep waters, eating a picnic consisting only of nine flavors of pies, and flying in a hot-air balloon that saves him from a fall. Eventually Harold grows tired, and searches for his bedroom window in order to go to bed. He draws many windows, drawing an entire city, yet none are his. Finally, Harold remembers where his window is situated and constructs his own room and bed, and nods off to sleep. ==Book series==

• Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) • ''Harold's Fairy Tale'' (1956) • ''Harold's Trip to the Sky'' (1957) • Harold at the North Pole (1958) • ''Harold's Circus'' (1959) • ''A Picture for Harold's Room'' (easy reader, 1960) • ''Harold's ABC'' (1963) • Harold and His Friends: A Harold and the Purple Crayon Treasury (2003) • Adventures of Harold and His Friends (2005) • ''Harold's Treasure Hunt'' (posthumous, 2020) ==Reception==

Harold and the Purple Crayon has consistently been well regarded as a children's literature favorite and has been praised for its combination of themes of childhood imagination and reality. There have been nine sequels. Remaining popular amongst children's teachers, it ranked in the National Education Association's "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children," and ranked 16th among School Library Journal's "Top 100 Picture Books" in its 2012 survey. In 2010, feminist scholar Louise Collins offered a critique of the book, arguing that its depiction of childhood creativity relies on masculinist ideals. She pointed out that Harold is shown drawing, but never speaking for himself, and that an adult narrator stays in control of the story the entire time. == Uses in education ==

Harold and the Purple Crayon has been credied with shaping a whole genre of picture books about young artists who "sometimes struggle with but ultimately take delight in the artistic process like Harold."Book Links celebrated the book's 60th anniversary with a dedicated feature that shows how central Harold has become to children's literature about creativity. The book has been used frequently in children's and art education lesson plans, as well as referenced in other children's literature. ==Analysis==

In 2024, scholar of children's literature and Johnson biographer Philip Nel wrote that Johnson may have originally intended Harold to be a Black child. He based this on an analysis of the original art with Johnson's notes to the printer as to what percentage of what color inks should be used to represent Harold's skin, and compared this to how Caucasian skin tone was typically represented by the printing technology of that era, concluding that Harold was deliberately portrayed as brown. Nel placed this in the context of Johnson's history of anti-racism, noting that this had brought him to the attention of the FBI, which perceived advocacy for racial equality as communist; he further observed that Johnson's wife Ruth Krauss had written an explicitly anti-racist children's book some years earlier which had been rejected by publishers. As such, Nel posited that Harold's skin tone may have been a "subtle political statement" intended to provide "cover" to Johnson and his publisher. Ultimately, Nel concluded that — prior to the 1998 reprint, where the publishers modified the cover art, changing Harold's skin tone from "original tan to light peach" — Harold was "racially ambiguous", and emphasized that although he himself had (as a child) perceived Harold as white, others (including Chris Ware and Bryan Collier) had not. Literary Analysis In Burhanettin’s interpretation he highlights that Crockett introduces ideas such that imagination and reality overlap and in his words this is called "translucent reality.”Harold creates images or creatures that produce consequences for him, which force him to respond like they are real. In a study of the book, Philip Nel describes that Harold is interpreted to be the artist, the crayon is the artistic middle ground and the moon is a presence and guides him throughout his adventures. According to How to Draw the World: Harold and the Purple Crayon and the Making of Children’s Classic, Nel delves into how the color purple is historically known to be one of the first colors ever available to American schoolchildren. That is what makes the book so special to children’s literature as a common theme is using an object to empower young children. An interesting point to note about Harold and the Purple Crayon is the ambiguous endings. Unlike most other children’s literature novels that end in happily ever afters, Harold never ends up in a fantastical world. The only world he ends up in, is the one he draws. According to Nel, some readers have found this particular ending unsettling, while others view this in a positive light. Harold can create a sense of home and safety anywhere through using his imagination. This unclear ending has been one of the main reasons the book has resonated with readers of all different ages. ==Legacy==

One of the protagonists in Captain Underpants, Harold Hutchins, is named after the protagonist in the book, with its author, Dav Pilkey, insisting on naming his main characters after his "childhood literary loves." In the book ''This Thing Called Life: Prince's Odyssey, On and Off the Record'' by the author Neal Karlen, Prince's mother, Mattie Shaw, confirmed that his favorite book as a child was Harold and the Purple Crayon and was the reason for Prince's love of the color purple. The book inspired programmer Petri Purho to create the computer game Crayon Physics Deluxe. ==Adaptations==

Educational shorts The original story was adapted by Weston Woods Studios and Brandon Films into a seven-minute Animation short film in 1959, directed by David Piel and narrated by Norman Rose., Gene Deitch directed additional two shorts ''A Picture for Harold's Room in 1971, and Harold's Fairy Tale'' in 1974. These shorts were also featured on the popular CBS children's television show Captain Kangaroo, which ran for 29 years on the network. In 1993, these three educational shorts were packaged with a documentary, and sold as the Harold and the Purple Crayon and Other Harold Stories VHS set. Television series In 2001, the stories were adapted by Adelaide Productions into a 13-episode animated television series for HBO narrated by Sharon Stone and featuring Connor Matheus as the voice of Harold. The series won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Main Title Design", and was nominated for an Annie Award and Humanitas Prize. The series aired on HBO Family from December 1, 2001, to March 23, 2002. The show was also released on VHS and DVD. The series focuses on Harold using his purple crayon to explore a new world. Each episode has Harold focusing on life lessons throughout his journeys. Episodes Feature Film In February 2010, it was reported that Columbia Pictures was developing a live-action film adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon, to be produced by Will Smith and James Lassiter, and written by Josh Klausner, but it never came to fruition. In December 2016, it was reported that the film would also be written by Dallas Clayton. On February 1, 2021, it was reported that Zachary Levi would star in the film, later revealed to be portraying Harold as a grown man. It was also announced that David Guion and Michael Handelman replaced Klausner and Clayton as screenwriters, with John Davis producing. While Zooey Deschanel was added in the cast, it was announced that Carlos Saldanha was attached to direct the film. The film was originally scheduled to be released on January 27, 2023, but was pushed back to June 30, 2023, and later August 2, 2024. Stage There have also been few theater adaptations.2008, 2009-2011 Broadway musical On March 11, 2022, a Broadway musical adaptation was announced. It will feature an original score by Jack and Ryan Met from the band AJR and will focus on an adult version of Harold facing challenges in everyday life without his magical purple crayon. As of 2024, there have been no updates on the musical. ==References==