The Adventures of Harold and the Purple Crayon

by Crockett Johnson

Harold and the Purple Crayon (Collections and Selections — treasury)

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With his purple crayon, Harold goes for an adventurous walk in the moonlight, draws his way into an enchanted garden troubled by a giant witch, rockets to the sky, and tries all the acts in a circus.

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11 reviews
This edition has four stories about Harold and his purple crayon. The first is the classic, "Harold and the Purple Crayon," and tells the story of Harold taking his purple crayon for a walk. Harold creates his adventures as he goes with his trusty crayon providing just what he needs. Very cute story with some fun puns, e.g., Harold drew up the covers.

The other three stories--"Harold's Fairy Tale," "Harold's Trip to the Sky," and "Harold's Circus"--all use the same premise of Harold drawing his adventures. My kids have enjoyed most of these stories, but "Harold's Trip to the Sky" is their least favorite. I think it is a combination of the pictures on a dark colored background with a somewhat scary alien included. I highly recommend the show more other stories for little ones. show less
½
Armed with his purple crayon, Harold goes on a journey of wonder and discover as he pieces together his own little world that he draws himself. This story is a cute story geared to younger children to foster creativity and exploration of their own world. One thing that you notice when reading this story is that it is a great way to introduce prediction, for the whole book is about what would be next logically. This is a great way for children to understand that things have an order and a progression; much like Harold discovers and this is relatable to young students and children. A good example of this would be what he falls into the water he then draws a boat, and realizes that he won’t go anywhere without a sail, and that won’t show more work without wind and the water moving. The art work of the book is simple shapes and can be easily differentiated and can simple be reproduced, but they are also drawn accurately. The other thing I would like to point out that the book has several stories about Harold so children can enjoy different adventures rather than just a single one, and all of his journeys are unique. show less
Harold and the Purple Crayon has always been one of my favorite children’s stories so when I found this collection, I couldn’t resist.

Not only does it contain the original story, but three others for enjoyment. It was so much fun to read on an early morning for the read-a-thon and I can’t wait to share it with my future kids and family.
Simple story of a boy at bedtime with a purple crayon. Imagination... something every person no matter their age needs, yet something that is so easy to be left unencouraged. Harold reminds us where our imagination can go... to the moon, city, country, and then back to bed!
In this book, Harold goes on a journey and has an adventure that he creates by drawing his surroundings using a purple crayon. He draws the landscape and various objects he needs, such as an air balloon when he is falling in space or a boat when he is in the ocean.

This book can help students build text to illustration connections as everything Harold does is depicted in the illustrations. Students might also practice predicting what Harold might draw next on his adventure. I might also have students make connections to their own life--what adventures do they dream of having--and have them create and illustrate their own journey using a crayon.
My four year old daughter loves this collection of Harold stories. The illustrations are simplistic and allow a child's imagination to create their own images.
Harold has a creative imagination and his crayon can take him any where. He can draw whatever he wants and go great places. This is a great way to grow student's imaginations.

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69+ Works 21,516 Members
Crockett Johnson, pen name for David Johnson Leisk, was born October, 20, 1906 in New York City. He studied art at Cooper Union in 1924 and New York University in 1925. He wrote political cartoons for the New Masses from 1940-1943. In 1942, his popular character Barnaby first appeared in the newspaper, PM, and was later syndicated into 52 American show more newspapers. He married author Ruth Krauss in the early 1940s and illustrated three of her children's books: The Carrot Seed, How to Make an Earthquake, and The Happy Egg. His first children's book, Who's Upside Down? was published in 1952. His well-known series with his character Harold, began in 1955 with Harold and the Purple Crayon. He died of lung cancer on July 11, 1975 at the age of 68. show less

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Classifications

Genres
Children's Books, Picture Books
DDC/MDS
823.9Literature & rhetoricEnglish & Old English literaturesEnglish fiction1900-
LCC
PZ7 .J63162 .HLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
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Members
676
Popularity
42,493
Reviews
11
Rating
½ (4.35)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
2
ASINs
6