Happy Birthday, Crockett Johnson… and Harold!

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The direction of the crayon has changed since they made the invitation and I made this book trailer. But don’t let that confuse you!

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The trailer.

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Here’s the actual book cover.

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Here are some blurbs and reviews!

• “Nel praises, properly, Johnson’s purple prose and pictures. A perfect book for reading under a purple moon.” — Lane Smith, Caldecott Honor winner & author and illustrator of the New York Times bestseller It’s a Book

• “Harold drew a world of possibilities for all us childhood dreamers. Now Phil Nel draws us into the life of Harold’s creator–in all its scribbly contours. A delightful portrait.” — Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art and Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

• “Insightful, lyrical, and [a] profoundly researched read . . . an inspired and fascinating look at a popular children’s picture book.” — Kirkus Reviews

• “A loving, scholarly ode to a children’s literature classic.” — Publishers Weekly

• “Philip Nel’s enlightening book, How to Draw the World: Harold and the Purple Crayon, and the Making of a Children’s Classic, reads as though Nel himself were using a magic crayon to explore the importance of creativity. His book is a remarkable biography and autobiography, a creative analysis of Crockett Johnson’s marvelous works. Nel captures their essence and significance for young and old.” — Jack Zipes, author of Ernst Bloch, The Pugnacious Philosopher of Hope and The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest

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Would you like to learn more about the book?

Here is one piece adapted from it and a review that draws on insights developed in the book.

• “His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?,” The Conversation, 16 Aug. 2024. This is adapted from the book.
• “The Purple Crayon on the Big Screen,” School Library Journal, 8 Aug. 2024. This is the review.

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Would you like to host a book event for How to Read the World: Harold and the Purple Crayon and the Making of a Children’s Classic?

If you would, let’s talk. I wouldn’t charge any speaker’s fee, of course. I travel a fair bit, and — depending on your location — I might be nearby in the future. If I am, we’ll make it work!

Anyway. Drop me a line!

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More Crockett Johnson Birthday posts (also on this blog)

• The Neverending Crayon; or, Happy Crockett Johnson’s Birthday! (20 Oct. 2023). A photo of Johnson laughing, and reflections on Johnson’s influence on me.
• Harold and Maurice (20 Oct. 2022). Maurice Sendak’s signed copy of Harold and the Purple Crayon, and the Rosenbach’s betrayal of Sendak’s memory.
• The Lost Film Footage of Crockett Johnson (20 Oct. 2021). The challenges of finding Johnson on film, and a still image that might be him.
• Barnaby Vol. 4 is here! (20 Oct. 2020). Barnaby, Volume Four: 1948-1949 was published in 2020.
• Barnaby, Vol. 4: 1948-1949 (20 Oct. 2019). More on this book.
• Harold and the Deluxe Edition (20 Oct. 2018). In the second of two birthday posts from 2018, an announcement! Harold’s Imagination, a collection featuring three Harold stories, plus an illustrated Afterword by Yours Truly… featuring a photograph of Johnson’s nephew Harold!
• Donald and the Golden Crayon (20 Oct. 2018). In the first of two birthday posts from 2018, an interview with the author and publisher of Donald and the Golden Crayon – the first book-length political satire inspired by a Crockett Johnson book.
• Crockett Johnson Tells the Story of Money (20 Oct. 2017). A look at the very first children’s book that Johnson illustrated – Constance Foster’s This Rich World: The Story of Money (1943).
• How to Read Harold (20 Oct. 2016). A short excerpt from a book I’m working on – How to Read Harold: A Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson and the Making of a Children’s Classic.
• Harold is 60. So is his purple crayon (20 Oct. 2015). On the occasion of Johnson’s 109th birthday, tributes to Harold from Lane Smith, Bob Staake, and others.
• Harold Around the World (20 Oct. 2014). Harold and the Purple Crayon has been published in many languages. Here are some of the covers.
• Happy 107th Birthday, Crockett Johnson! (20 Oct. 2013). A photograph of Johnson laughing, plus news of contemporary Johnson exhibit and talk.
• Crockett Johnson in New York: A Walking Tour, in Honor of His 106th Birthday (20 Oct. 2012). The childhood homes of Crockett Johnson.
• A Title Is to Read (20 Oct. 2011). Announcing the title of my biography of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss.
• Happy Birthday, Crockett Johnson! (20 Oct. 2010). Newspaper ad for Johnson’s Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley (1944).

More about Harold (on this blog)

I’m omitting the birthday posts (above), and at least half of those are also about Harold.

• How to Draw the World: Book Trailer (30 July 2024). The story of how I made the trailer.
• Harold vs. Donald, Round 2 (9 Sept. 2019). What if Harold were a malignant narcissist? And the US president? Cartoonists and satirists explore the idea.
• A Manifesto for Children’s Literature; or, Reading Harold as a Teenager (in The Iowa Review) (21 Sept. 2015). An essay (by me), inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon.
• The Archive of Childhood, Part 1: Crayons (27 Dec 2014). How encountering a box of crayons from my childhood activates memories. I wish I had kept that entire box. I saved only the purple ones.
• How Much Is That Crayon in the Window? Harold at Compas, L.A. (10 May 2014). A Harold-themed window display.
• The Purple Crayon’s Legacy, Part II: Picture Books (23 June 2013). Picture books inspired by Harold? Some, definitely. Others may be.
• Harold and the Purple TARDIS (2 April 2012). Harold as Dr. Who.
• Harold and the School Mural (22 Jan. 2012). A Harold mural on the walls of the Ben Franklin School in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Crockett Johnson lived in South Norwalk — a.k.a. Rowayton.)
• The Purple Crayon’s Legacy, Part I: Comics & Cartoons (13 Sept. 2010). Comics and cartoons that pay tribute to Harold. One of the earliest posts on my blog.