Harold is 60. So is his purple crayon.

For Crockett Johnson‘s 109th birthday (today!), we’re celebrating Harold’s 60th birthday… with a few tributes from other artists.

URNewYork (2esae & Ski)

First, it’s graffiti artist URNewYork (2esae & Ski), as photographed by Michael Weinstein for C.J. Hughes’ “The East Village Embraces a Colorful Past” (New York Times, 9 Nov. 2015).

The art appeared in an abandoned property at 324 East Fourth Street, in the East Village. The developer decided to photograph the art before renovating the building.

Lane Smith

Harper Collins has invited artists to create their own tributes to Harold. In this one, Lane Smith has his monkey from It’s a Little Book reading Harold and the Purple Crayon to Harold himself! An appropriately meta tribute to a book that itself reflects on the art of storytelling and picture-making.

Bob Staake

In another of the tributes solicited by Harper Collins, Bob Staake adds a touch of color to Harold’s Trip to the Sky.

Karen Hallion

Dipping into the Nine Kinds of Pie archive for Karen Hallion’s Harold and the Purple TARDIS (April 2012).

Madeline Stuart

In another one from the archive, Madeline Stuart renders Harold in 3-D for a display window at L.A.’s Compas. Johnson’s book plays with perspective, as Harold uses his line to render some items in 2-D, and some in 3-D. So, I particularly like seeing Stuart’s 3-D rendition – viewed, appropriately, through a window.

Fans of Harold might also enjoy these:

• A Manifesto for Children’s Literature; or, Reading Harold as a Teen-Ager (21 Sept. 2015). An essay of mine in the current issue of The Iowa Review.
• The Archive of Childhood, Part 1: Crayons (27 Dec. 2014).
• Harold Around the World (20 Oct. 2014). Harold and the Purple Crayon has been published in many languages. Here are some of the covers.
• A Very Special House (30 Sept. 2014). A visit to the house where Crockett Johnson wrote Harold and the Purple Crayon.
• How Much Is That Harold in the Window? Harold at Compas, L.A. (10 May 2014). Full post for image reproduced above.
• Happy 107th Birthday, Crockett Johnson! (20 Oct. 2013)
• Crockett Johnson in New York: A Walking Tour, in Honor of His 106th Birthday (20 Oct. 2012). The childhood homes of Crockett Johnson.
• Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: Chris Ware’s cover (9 May 2012). Chris Ware’s cover to my biography is beautiful.
• Harold and the Purple TARDIS (2 April 2012). Full post for image reproduced above.
• Harold and the School Mural (22 Jan. 2012)
• Happy Birthday, Crockett Johnson! (20 Oct. 2010)
• The Purple Crayon’s Legacy, Part I: Comics & Cartoons (13 Sept. 2010)
• The Purple Crayon’s Legacy, Part II: Picture Books (23 June 2013)

Thanks to Michael Patrick Hearn for alerting me to the Harold mural (in the Times article), and to Lane Smith for sharing his artwork. I’m reposting Bob Staake’s art from his Facebook page. (I hope he doesn’t mind!)