Note: The Crockett Johnson Homepage is an archived site. As a result, external links may no longer work. To discover where once they went, you might try plugging them into the Wayback Machine.

Also, a more complete bibliography appears in my biography, Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature (2012).

— Philip Nel, 1 Feb. 2022

Crockett Johnson: A Bibliography

In addition to my own research, major resources for this bibliography include the catalog of writings in Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults (1993), pp. 1436-37, and the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center of the University of Connecticut Libraries. Another source that provides more relating to Johnson’s career as a comic-strip artist — including items not listed here — is the Reading Room Index of the Michigan State University Libraries‘ Comic Art Collection (see the listing for “Johnson, Crockett” on the “Johns to Johnstown” index page).

As a supplement to the “Cartoons” section of this page, please see “Crockett Johnson’s Early Work: A Bibliography.”

Cartoons

Editorial cartoons. The New Masses, April 1934 – May 1940. For a more complete bibliographic listing, please see “Crockett Johnson’s Early Work: A Bibliography.” Two of these cartoons appear in Robert Forsythe’s Redder Than the Rose (listed under “Illustrated By,” below) and one in Joseph North’s New Masses: An Anthology of the Rebel Thirties (listed under “About…,” below).

“The Little Man with the Eyes.” Weekly panel for Collier’s, March 1940 – January 1943. For a more complete bibliographic listing, please see “Crockett Johnson’s Early Work: A Bibliography.” 13 of these cartoons appear in Gurney Williams’ Collier’s Collects Its Wits (listed under “About…,” below).

“Barnaby.” Daily syndicated comic strip, 1942-1946. Made its debut in PM on April 20, 1942, but nationally syndicated shortly thereafter. From 1946-1947, the strip was ghostwritten by Jack Morley and Ted Ferro; from 1947-1952, Morley wrote it. During these years, Johnson served as a story consultant (and, after 1948, began writing dialogue, according to some) and his name was included with Morley’s (from 1947 on, the credit read “Jack Morley and CJ”). Johnson returned to draw the final episode, concluding on February 2, 1952. A Sunday-page “Barnaby” ran for a short time from at least 1947 to c. 1950, and “Barnaby” was revived from September 1960 to April 1962 (updated by Johnson and redrawn by Warren Sattler) — the last strip of the new “Barnaby” appeared on April 14, 1962. Beginning in December of 1999, Comics Revue (in issue #165) began reprinting the “Barnaby” strips from the 1960s.

“Barkis & Family.” Syndicated comic strip, May-October 1955. Six strips were republished in Nickelodeon Magazine (November 2001), p. 48.

Magazines

Barnaby Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1945.

Barnaby Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 2. November 1945.

Barnaby Quarterly Vol. 2, No. 1. February 1946.

Pamphlets

Sister, You Need the Union! … And the Union Needs You! Detroit: International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, ca. 1944.

The President’s Speech Illustrated by Nineteen Artists. New York: Independent Voters Committee of the Arts and Sciences for Roosevelt, 1944. Includes one illustration by Johnson.

For the People’s Health. Physicians Forum, 1946. In support of the Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill.

The Saga of Quilby. c. 1955. Subtitled “A Ghost Story Especially Devised for Advertisers Who Stay Up Late,” this pamphlet was designed to sell advertising space in This Week magazine.

Books

Barnaby. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1943. Also published in Garden City, NY: Blue Ribbon Books, 1943. Reprinted by Pocket Books, 1946. Reprinted by Dover Books, 1967.

Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1944. Reprinted by Dover Books, 1975.

Who’s Upside Down? New York: William R. Scott, 1952. Reprinted as Upside Down. Albert Whitman, 1969. Reprinted as Who’s Upside Down? Hamden, CT: Linnet Books/Shoe String Press, 1990.

Harold and the Purple Crayon. New York: Harper, 1955.

Is This You? Co-written with Ruth Krauss. New York: W. R. Scott, 1955. Reprinted by Scholastic, 1964.

Barkis: Some precise and some speculative interpretations of the meaning of a dog’s bark at certain times and in certain (illustrated) circumstances. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1956.

Harold’s Fairy Tale: Further Adventures with the Purple Crayon. New York: Harper, 1956.

Harold’s Trip to the Sky: More Adventures with the Purple Crayon. New York: Harper, 1957.

Terrible, Terrifying Toby. New York: Harper, 1957.

Time for Spring. New York: Harper, 1957.

The Blue Ribbon Puppies. New York: Harper, 1958. Reprinted by Scholastic, Inc.

Harold at the North Pole: A Christmas Journey with the Purple Crayon. New York: Harper, 1958. Reprinted by Reader’s Digest Services, 1975. First published in an abbreviated form as “Harold and the Big Day” in Good Housekeeping, 1957.

Merry Go Round. New York: Harper, 1958.

Ellen’s Lion: Twelve Stories. New York: Harper, 1959. Reprinted by David R. Godine, 1984. Reprinted by Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

The Frowning Prince. New York: Harper, 1959.

Harold’s Circus: An Astounding, Colossal Purple Crayon Event. New York: Harper, 1959.

Will Spring Be Early? or Will Spring Be Late? New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1959.

A Picture for Harold’s Room: A Purple Crayon Adventure. New York: Harper, 1960.

Harold’s ABC: Another Purple Crayon Adventure. New York: Harper, 1963.

The Lion’s Own Story: Eight New Stories about Ellen’s Lion. New York: Harper, 1963.

We Wonder What Will Walter Be? When He Grows Up. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964.

The Emperor’s Gifts. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.

Castles in the Sand. Illustrated by Betty Fraser. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.

Gordy and the Pirate and the Circus Ringmaster and the Knight and the Major League Manager and the Western Marshal and the Astronaut; and a Remarkable Achievement. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1965.

Barnaby #1: Wanted, a Fairy Godfather. New York: Ballantine, 1985.

Barnaby #2: Mr. O’Malley and the Haunted House. New York : Ballantine, 1985.

Barnaby #3: Jackeen J. O’Malley for Congress. New York: Ballantine, 1986.

Barnaby #4: Mr. O’Malley Goes for the Gold. New York: Ballantine, 1986.

Barnaby #5: Mr. O’Malley, Wizard of Wall Street. New York: Ballantine, 1986.

Barnaby #6: J.J. O’Malley Goes Hollywood. New York: Ballantine, 1986.

Harold’s Purple Crayon Treasury: Five Adventures with the Purple Crayon. Barnes & Noble Books, 1997.

Magic Beach. Asheville, NC: Front Street Books, 2005.

Barnaby, Volume One: 1942-1943. Co-edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds. Foreword by Chris Ware. Essays by Jeet Heer and Dorothy Parker. Biographical Essay and Notes by Philip Nel. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2013.

Barnaby, Volume Two: 1944-1945. Co-edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds. Foreword by Jules Feiffer. Essays by R.C. Harvey and Max Lerner. Biographical Essay and Notes by Philip Nel. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2014.

Barnaby, Volume Three: 1946-1947. Co-edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds. Foreword by Jeff Smith. Essays by Nathalie op de Beeck and Coulton Waugh. Biographical Essay and Notes by Philip Nel. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2016.

Harold’s Imagination: 3 Adventures with the Purple Crayon. Afterword by Philip Nel. New York: HarperCollins, 2018.

Barnaby, Volume Four: 1948-1949. Co-edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds. Foreword by Trina Robbins. Essays by Jared Gardner and Stephen Becker. Biographical Essay and Notes by Philip Nel. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2020.

Essay and Articles

“Fantastic Companions.” Harper’s Magazine. June 1955: 32-34.

“A Geometrical Look at √π.” Mathematical Gazette 54 (Feb. 1970): 59-60.

“On the Mathematics of Geometry in My Abstract Paintings.” Leonardo 5 (1972): 97-101, color plate facing p. 124. Reprinted in Visual Art, Mathematics and Computing. Ed. Frank J. Malina. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1979: 143-47, 306.

“A construction for a regular heptagon.” Mathematical Gazette 59 (Mar. 1975): 17-21.

Reviews by Crockett Johnson

“Fables in Modern Dress.” New Masses 17 Nov. 1936: 22. Review of Aesop Said So, lithographs by Hugo Gellert (Covici-Friede).

“Dutch Uncle of the Arts.” New Masses 9 Nov. 1937: 24-25. Review of The Arts by Willem Hendrik van Loon (Simon & Schuster).

“From Gropper to Gothic.” New Masses 11 Jan. 1938: 24-25. Review of Six Centuries of Fine Prints by Carl Zigrosser (Covici-Friede).

“Low’s Cartoons.” New Masses 29 Aug. 1939: 20. Review of A Cartoon History of Our Times by David Low (Simon & Schuster).

“See My Lawyer.” New Masses 10 Oct. 1939: 31. Review of See My Lawyer by Richard Maibaum and Harry Clork (play starring Milton Berle, Eddie Nugent, and Teddy Hart).

“The Secrets of Ancient Geometry — and Its Use.” Leonardo 5.4 (Autumn 1972): 362-63. Review of The Secrets of Ancient Geometry — and Its Use by Tons Brunés, translated from the original Danish manuscript by C. M. Napier (Copenhagen: Rhodos, International Science Publishers, 1967).

Letters

“Mathematics of Geometry in Crockett Johnson’s Paintings.” Leonardo 6.1 (Winter 1973): 92.

“Mathematics of Geometry in Abstract Painting (cont.)” Leonardo 6.4 (Autumn 1973): 381.

Plays

Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley. Co-written with Jerome Chodorov. 1946.

Barnaby. Written by Robert and Lillian Masters, based on Crockett Johnson’s comic strip. 1948. Samuel French, 1950.

Harold and the Purple Crayon. Adapted by Jane Marlin Shepard, with music by Jon Ehrlich and lyrics by Ehrlich and Robin Pogrebin. Produced and performed by Theaterworks USA, Promenade Theater, New York, November 1990. Mentioned in Phyllis Ehrlich’s “For Children” (a listing of events for children) in the New York Times 16 November 1990: C 36. A description of the production appears in Muriel Broadman’s “Harold and the Purple Crayon” (a review), Back Stage 30 November 1990: 44.

Illustrated By Crockett Johnson

Forsythe, Robert. Redder Than the Rose. With illustrations by Gropper, Sanderson, Crockett Johnson, Mackey, Rea and Hilton. New York: Covici, Friede, 1935. This collection of Forsythe’s essays from The New Masses includes two illustrations by Johnson, one on page 101 and the other on page 232.

Foster, Constance J. This Rich World: The Story of Money. Robert M. McBride and Company, 1943. Republished as The Story of Money by Medill McBride Co., 1950. Republished by Metcalf Associates, Inc., 1952.

Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed. New York: Harper, 1945. Adapted for an audio version, c. 1950: for more information about the song (adapted by Raymond Abrashkin), please click here.

Krauss, Ruth. How to Make an Earthquake. New York: Harper, 1954.

Brown, Margaret Wise. Willie’s Adventures. New York: W. R. Scott, 1954. Reprinted by Young Reader’s Press, 1967. The story “Willie’s Pocket,” including color versions of Johnson’s illustrations, appears in Through Golden Windows: Good Times Together, ed. Nora Beust et al. (New York: Grolier, 1958), 141-44.

Branley, Franklyn M., and Eleanor K. Vaughan. Mickey’s Magnet. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1956. Reprinted by Scholastic, Inc.

Cook, Bernadine. The Little Fish That Got Away. New York: W. R. Scott, 1956. Reprinted by Scholastic, Inc., c. 1961.

Whyte, William H. Jr. “Budgetism: Opiate of the Middle Class.” Fortune May 1956: 133-37, 164, 166, 171-72. Includes eight illustrations by Johnson, one on pages 133, 135, 137, 166, and two on 134 and 136.

Krauss, Ruth. The Happy Egg. Scholastic Book Services, 1967. Reprinted in hardcover by J. Philip O’Hara, 1972.

Films

Harold and the Purple Crayon. Directed by David Piel. Narration by Norman Rose. Music by Jimmy Carroll. Produced by David Piel in association with Robert Sagalyn and Stanley Flink. Brandon Films, 1959. Included on the videocassette Harold and the Purple Crayon and Other Harold Stories. Wood Knapp Video, 1993.

The Frowning Prince. Written and animated by Crockett Johnson. Rembrandt Films, 1960. Released by MacMillan Films, 1963. Probably the same Frowning Prince film included on the videocassette Alice of Wonderland in Paris. JEF Films International S.A., 1995.

Barnaby. Won first prize at Venice Film Festival, 1967.

Harold’s Circus. Graphic Curriculum, 1968. First broadcast on NBC’s program Exploring.

A Picture for Harold’s Room. Directed by Gene Deitch. Animated by Bohumil Sejda. Music from the string quartet in B-minor by Leopold Kozeluh, played on the Prague by Janacek Quartet. Produced by Morton Schindel. Weston Woods Studios, 1971. Included on the videocassette Harold and the Purple Crayon and Other Harold Stories. Wood Knapp Video, 1993. Also included on the videocassette The Amazing Bone and Other Stories. Wood Knapp Video.

Harold’s Fairy Tale. Directed by Gene Deitch. Animation by Bohumil Sejda. Music by Karel Velebny. Produced by Morton Schindel. Weston Woods Studios, 1974. Included on the videocassette Harold and the Purple Crayon and Other Harold Stories. Wood Knapp Video, 1993.

Harold and the Purple Crayon. Directed by Spike Jonze. Adapted by Michael Tolkin. Tristar, unreleased and never completed. This film is mentioned in Patrick Phillips’ article “Boy Wonder Gets the Purple Crayon” (New York Times 7 May 1995, p. 37), and on the Internet Movie Database‘s biography of Spike Jonze. According to Laurie Warden’s webpage Spike Jones is the Raddest Director Ever (now renamed The Original Spike Jonze Page), “The movie went through a whole slew of problems, and unfortunately, never wound up completed.” Another reference to this uncompleted film can be found in Animation World Magazine 1.7 (October 1996): in his article “The View from Hollywood,” award-winning German director Raimund Krumme discusses his involvement with the movie (which, at the time, was still an active project). His essay concludes, all too accurately, “We might not get into production at all, and all these thoughts might turn out to be nothing more than theoretical contemplation.”

TV

Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley. Screenplay by Crockett Johnson. Directed by Sherman Marks. Starring Bert Lahr as Mr. O’Malley and Ronny Howard as Barnaby. Mel Blanc provided McSnoyd’s voice. Special broadcast on CBS, 20 December 1959, 9-9:30 p.m. According to A&E’s biography of Ron Howard (“Ron Howard: Hollywood’s Favorite Son”), the show was an episode of GE Theater and launched the 5-year-old Howard’s career. The biography briefly shows two photographs with Lahr and Howard.

Harold and the Purple Crayon. Series. Narrated by Sharon Stone. HBO Family Channel, 2002.

Filmstrips

Harold and the Purple Crayon. Weston Woods Studios, 1963.

A Picture for Harold’s Room. Weston Woods Studios, 1972.

The Frowning Prince. Including a teacher’s guide. H. M. Stone Productions, 1972.

Harold’s Fairy Tale. Weston Woods Studios, 1974.

Paintings

Eighty of Crockett Johnson’s paintings can be viewed on the Smithsonian Institution’s Mathematical Paintings of Crockett Johnson website. Some others can be viewed on this website.

Aligned Triangles and Projections. 32″ x 32″. 1968. Looks very similar to Alignment of Intersecting Traces; appears to be the same but with different colors.

Alignment of Intersecting Traces (Desargues, 1593-1662). 1966.

Approximation of Pi to 0.0001. n.d.

Archimedes Transversal. n.d.

Area and Perimeter of a Squared Circle. n.d.

Area Measurement of a Parabola (Archimedes, 3rd c BC). 48″ x 48″. c. 1967.

Biblical Squared Circles. 24 1/2″ x 24″. n.d.

Bouquet of Equal Areas. 48″ x 48″. n.d.

Bouquet of Triangle Theorems (Euclid, 4th c BC). c. 1967.

Calculus. 49″ x 49″. 1966. May or may not be the same as Fluxions, or the Differential Calculus (Newton, 1642-1727).

Centers of Similitude (La Hire, 1640-1718). 33″ x 23″. c. 1967.

Collineation of Perpendiculars (Simson, 1687-1768). 48″ x 42″. c. 1967.

Conic Curve (Appolonius, 3rd c BC). c. 1967.

Construction of Heptagon I. 32 1/4″ x 32 1/4″. n.d.

Construction of Heptagon II. 48″ x 42″. n.d.

Construction of Heptagon III. 48″ x 26″. n.d.

Cross-Ratio (Poncelet, 1788-1867). 48″ x 42″. c. 1967.

Cube Doubled in Volume. 25″ x 25″. n.d.

Curve Tangents (Fermat, 1601-1665). 19″ x 25″. c. 1967.

Division of a Square by Conic Rectangles. 33″ x 33″. 1970.

Division of a One-by-Two Rectangle by Conic Rectangles. 41″ x 24″. 1970.

Duality (Pascal-Brianchon). n.d.

Euclidian Values of a Squared Circle. n.d.

Equal Triangles. 28″ x 24 1/2″. n.d.

Equation (Descartes, 1596-1650). 17″ x 32″. c. 1967.

Equation Roots in Complex Numbers (Gauss, 1777-1855). 48″ x 48″. c. 1967.

Every Positive Integer (Gauss, 1777-1855). c. 1967.

Fluxions, or the Differential Calculus (Newton, 1642-1727). 48″ x 49″. c. 1967.

Fraction of Pi (to .0000003…) in a Square of One (Construction of the 113:355 Ratio of Tsu Chung Chih, 500 AD). 23 1/2″ x 23 1/2″

Geometric Mean (Pythagoras). n.d.

Geometry of a Triple Bubble (Plateau, 1801-1883). 28 3/4″ x 24 3/4″. c. 1967.

Golden Rectangle (Pythagoras). n.d.

Golden Rectangle (Pythagoras). n.d. Same theorem, different painting.

Harmonic Series from a Quadrilateral (Pappus, 3rd c AD). c. 1967.

Heptagon from Its Seven Sides. 23 3/4″ x 16″. 1973.

Heptagon 1:3:3 Triangle. n.d.

Heptagon Stated by Seven Toothpicks. n.d.

Hippias’ Curve. 32″ x 32″. n.d.

Homethic Triangles (Hippocrates of Chios, 5th c BC). c. 1967.

Law of Motion. n.d.

Law of Orbiting Velocity (Kepler, 1571-1630). c. 1967.

Locus of the Midpoint of a Chord (Plato 4th c BC). 24″ x 24″. c. 1967.

Logarithms (Napier, 1550-1617). 24″ x 21″. c. 1967.

Measurement of the Earth (Eratosthenes, 3rd c BC). c. 1967.

Momentum of the Pendulum (Galileo, 1564-1642). c. 1967.

Morley Triangle. 24″ x 24″. n.d.

Multiplication Through Imaginary Numbers (Gauss). n.d.

The “Mystic” Hexagon (Pascal, 1623-1662). 48″ x 24″. c. 1967.

Nine-Point Circle (Euler). n.d.

Numbers in a Spiral. n.d. May be the same as One to One Hundred in a Spiral. c. 1967.

One to One Hundred in a Spiral. c. 1967.

Parabolic Triangle (Archimedes). n.d. May be the same as Area Measurement of a Parabola (Archimedes, 3rd c BC).

Paradox of One Surface and One Edge (Moebius, 1790-1868). 24″ x 24″. c. 1967.

Pencil of Ratios (Monge, 1746-1818). c. 1967.

Perspective (Alberti, 1404-1472). c. 1967.

Pi Squared and Its Square Root. n.d.

Point Constellation in the Triangle (Euler, 1707-1783). c. 1967.

Polar Line for a Point and Circle (Apollonius, 3rd c BC). 32″ x 22″. c. 1967.

Polyhedron Edges + Faces = Vertices – 2 (Euler, 1701-1783). 28″ x 22″. c. 1967.

Polyhedron Formula. 27″ x 33″. n.d.

Problem of Delos (Meneachmus). 23 3/4″ x 23 3/4″. 1968.

Problem of Delos I. 40″ x 33″. 1970.

Problem of Delos II. 45″ x 25″. 1970.

Projections of Aligned Triangles (Desargues, 1593-1662). 33″ x 33″. c. 1969.

Proof of the Orbit as an Ellipse (Kepler, 1571-1630). c. 1967.

Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem (Euclid, 4th c BC). c. 1967.

Right Triangle, Golden Rectangle and Pythagorean Star. 1972.

Reciprocation of Lines and Points (Pappus, 3rd c BC). c. 1967.

Rectangles of Equal Area (Pythagoras). n.d.

Relativity of Time and Space (Einstein, 1879-1955). 1966.

Rotated Triangle and Reflexions. n.d.

Seventeen Sides — Gauss. 50″ x 25″. n.d.

Similar Triangles (Thales, 7th c BC). 16″ x 24 1/2″. 1966.

Square Divided by Conic Rectangles. 33″ x 33″.

Squared Circle. 48″ x 48″. 1968.

Squared Circle. 52″ x 52″. 1969.

Squared Lunes (Hippocrates of Chios). n.d.

Squared Lunex (Hippocrates of Chios). n.d.

Squared Rectangle & Euler Line. n.d.

Square Root of Pi. n.d.

Square Root of pi =0.0001. 24″ x 24″. n.d.

Square Root of Two (Descartes, 1596-1650). c. 1967.

Square Root of x. 48″ x 48″. n.d.

Square Roots of One, Two, and Three. n.d.

Square Roots to 16 (Theodorus of Cyrene). n.d.

Squares in Scalene Perspective (Durer, 1471-1528). c. 1967.

Squares of 1, 2, 3, 4, and Square Roots to 8. n.d.

Squares of the 3-4-5 Triangle (Pythagorus, 6th c BC). c. 1967.

Star Construction. n.d.

Symedians (Lemoine, 1840-1912). c. 1967.

Transcendental Curve (Wallis). 12″ x 23 1/2″. 1966.

Transversals (Menelaus, 1st c BC). 24″ x 21″. c. 1967.

Transversals (Ceva, 1647-1734). c. 1967.

Triangle and Lune of Equal Area (Hippocrates, 5th c BC). 24″ x 24″. c. 1967.

Velocities of Right Triangles. 49″ x 25″. n.d.

Velocity on Inclined Planes (Galileo, 1564-1642). 48″ x 32″. c. 1967.

Drawing of a seven-sided figure in a circle. British Mathematical Journal. 1974. Note: Maurice Horn’s World Encyclopedia of Comics (1976) says that Johnson was “proud of a notice in the British Mathematical Journal in 1974 of his rendering of a seven-sided figure in a circle.”

Exhibitions

“Schematic Paintings Deriving from Axioms and Theorems of Geometry, from Pythagorus to Apollonius of Perga, and from Desargues and Kepler to the Twentieth Century.” Glezer Gallery. New York, 1967.

“Squaring the Circle.” Museum of Art, Science and Industry. Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT, 1970.

IBM Gallery. Yorktown Heights, NY, 1975.

“Theorems in Color.” The Museum of History and Technology. Smithsonian Institution. Washington, DC, 1980.

Books in Translation

Barnaby. Translated by Elena Spagnol. Italy: Oscar Mondadori, 1970. Barnaby (1943) in Italian.

Barnaby E Mr. O’Malley. Translated by Beppi Zancan. Italy: Oscar Mondadori, 1976. Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley (1944) in Italian.

Harold e la matita viola. Italy: Einaudi Ragazzi, 2000. Both Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) and Harold’s Trip to the Sky (1957) in Italian.

Krauss, Ruth. La semilla de zanahoria. Illustrated by Crockett Johnson, and translated by Argentina Palacios. 1978. Scholastic Books, 1993. The Carrot Seed (1945) in Spanish.

Harold y el lapiz color morado. Translated by Teresa Mlawer. HarperCollins, 1995. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Spanish.

Harold et le crayon rose. Translated by Anne-Laure Fournier le Ray. Pocket jeunesse (Havas Poche), 2001. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in French.

Harold et le jardin enchanté. Translated by Anne-Laure Fournier le Ray. Pocket jeunesse (Havas Poche), 2001. Harold’s Fairy Tale (1956) in French.

Harold dans les étoiles. Translated by par Anne-Laure Fournier le Ray. Pocket jeunesse (Havas Poche), 2001. Harold’s Trip to the Sky (1957) in French.

Ich mach mir meine eigne Welt. Germany: Moritz Schauenburg KG. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in German.

Paultje en het paarse krijtje. Translated by Annie M. G. Schmidt. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Dutch.

Paultje op Mars. Translated by Annie M. G. Schmidt. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij. Harold’s Trip to the Sky (1957) in Dutch.

Cook, Bernadine. Een mand vol vis. Amsterdam: Malmberg Boek, 1981. The Little Fish That Got Away (1956) in Dutch.

Pelle och den röda Kritan. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Swedish.

Valtteri ja violetti väriliitu. Kärkölä, Finland: Pieni Karhu [Little Bear], 1999. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Finnish.

Tullemand og det Violette Farvekridt. Translated by Bibi and Thomas Winding. Denmark: Gyldendal, 2000. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Danish.

[Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Hebrew.] Tel Aviv, Israel: Am Oved Publishers, 1970.

[Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Chinese.] China: Hsinex International Corporation, 1987.

Pelles äventyr. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur. Harold’s Fairy Tale (1956) in Swedish.

[Harold’s Fairy Tale (1956) in Japanese.] Japan: Banka Publishing Bureau.

[Harold’s ABC (1963) in Japanese.] 2000.

Cook, Bernadine. [The Little Fish That Got Away (1956) in Japanese.] Illustrated by Crockett Johnson. Japan: Fukuinkan-Shoten Publishers, 2001.

[Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) in Chinese] China: Hsinex International Corporation, 1987.

[Harold’s Fairy Tale (1956) in Chinese] China: Hsinex International Corporation, 1989.

About Crockett Johnson

Including anthologies, literary criticism, and some book reviews.

Abel, Bob. “From ‘Krazy Kat’ to ‘Barnaby’: Revisiting Some of the Great Comics.” The National Observer 28 April 1968: 19.

“Animating Harold.” 5-minute documentary included on the videocassette Harold and the Purple Crayon and Other Harold Stories. Wood Knapp Video, 1993.

Bader, Barbara. “Crockett Johnson.” American Picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to the Beast Within. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1976. 434-42.

“The ‘Barnaby’ Books Bring Back the Magic.” Newsweek 29 July 1985.

“Barnaby Comic Strips to Be in Book Form.” New York Times 18 June 1985: C17.

Becker, Stephen. Comic Art in America: A Social History of the Funnies, the Political Cartoons, Magazine Humor, Sporting Cartoons and Animated Cartoons. With an Introduction by Rube Goldberg. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959. 350, 357-362. A 5-page essay with 4 and a half “Barnaby” strips: O’Malley’s memory loss (3 Sept. 1942), McSnoyd (27 Oct. 1942 and half of 28 Oct. 1942), Barnaby asking Mr. O’Malley to help get a dog for Mr. Baxter’s Christmas present (19 Dec. 1942), and O’Malley introducing Gus to Barnaby (30 Jan. 1943).

Blackbeard, Bill, and Martin Williams, editors. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Washington, DC and New York, NY: Smithsonian Institution Press and Harry N. Abrams, 1977. 232, 239-45, 325. Reprints the Hot Coffee Ring/Haunted House episode of 19 Jan. 1943 – 27 Feb. 1943.

Block, Maxine, editor. Current Biography 1943. New York: The W. H. Wilson Company, 1944. 345-47.

Broadman, Muriel. “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” Back Stage 30 Nov. 1990: 44.

Collier, Laurie, and Joyce Nakamura, editors. Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1993. 1436-38.

Commire, Anne. Something About the Author. Volume 1. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1971: 141.

—, editor. Something About the Author. Volume 26. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1982. 133. Obituary notice.

—, editor. Something About the Author. Volume 30. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1983. 141-44.

Crago, Maureen and Hugh. Prelude to Literacy: A Preschool Child’s Encounter with Picture and Story. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983. 178-79, 205-07. This book traces children’s responses to children’s books, using Anna Crago (the daughter of the authors) as its subject. She notes that the Carrot Seed boy resembles Harold, and is intrigued by Harold’s “ability to ‘draw real’ with his magic crayon.”

Craven, Thomas, editor. Cartoon Cavalcade. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1943. 246, 377, 406-411. Only a portion of a paragraph is devoted to “Barnaby” (p. 246), but the book reprints one “Little Man with the Eyes” cartoon (“Snub,” p. 377), and five strips of Barnaby and O’Malley’s meeting with McSnoyd (19-24 Oct. 1942, pp. 406-411).

“Creator of ‘Barnaby’ in First Serious Show.” Bridgeport Sunday Post 1967.

“Crockett Johnson’s Art Is Tantalizing at MASI.” Bridgeport Sunday Post 18 Jan. 1970: 16.

“Crockett Johnson, Cartoonist, Creator of ‘Barnaby,’ Is Dead.” New York Times 13 July 1975: 38.

“Cushlamochree!” Newsweek 4 Oct. 1942: 102, 104.

Darling, Harold. From Mother Goose to Dr. Seuss: Children’s Book Covers 1860-1960. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999. Reprints the cover to Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley on p. 103.

Deitch, Gene. “The Picture Book Animated.” The Horn Book Magazine April 1978: 144-49.

De Montreville, Doris, and Donna Hill, editors. Third Book of Junior Authors. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1972. 152-53.

Dresang, Eliza T. Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age. New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1999. 35. A single paragraph on Harold and the Purple Crayon, claiming that the book prefigures radical, digital-age texts.

Ellington, Duke. “He Trusts Mr. O’Malley.” PM 1 December 1942: 21.

“The End of a Fairy Tale.” Time 28 Jan. 1952: 77.

“Escape Artist.” Time 2 Sept. 1946: 49-50.

Fadool, Cynthia, editor. Contemporary Authors. Volumes 57-60. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1976. 346.

“Fallen Star.” Newsweek 7 Feb. 1949: 54.

Glubok, Shirley. The Art of the Comic Strip. New York: MacMillan, 1979. 26-27. Reprints the strip from 15 Dec. 1945, and contains one factual error: claims that only Barnaby and Gorgon can see Mr. O’Malley when, in fact, all children can see him.

Goulart, Ron, editor. The Encyclopedia of American Comics. A Promised Land Publication. New York: Facts on File, 1990. 18-19, 204.

—. “A Little Bit of History….” Barnaby #1: Wanted, a Fairy Godfather. By Crockett Johnson. New York: Ballantine, 1985. 209-13.

Halliday, Bob. “Children’s Books: Barnaby’s Back.” Washington Post 8 June 1986: 10+.

H. B. “Crockett Johnson.” Barnaby Quarterly #1 July 1945: 1.

“‘A Hole is to Dig?’ Harold Should Know.” New Haven Register 12 July 1959: 2.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Books Are by People: Interviews with 104 Authors and Illustrators of Books for Young Children. New York: Citation Press, 1969. 121-124.

Horn, Maurice C. “Chapter 5: The Crisis of the Forties.” Couperie, Pierre, Maurice C. Horn, Proto Destefanis, et al. A History of the Comic Strip. 1967. Translated from the French by Eileen B. Hennessy. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc, 1968. 83-101. Mentions “Barnaby” on p. 87, reprints one panel of a “Barnaby” strip on p. 90.

Jones, Stacy V. “Inventor of Barnaby Gets Patent for 4-Way Adjustable Mattress.” New York Times 29 Oct. 1955: 22.

Kingman, Lee, Joanna Foster, and Ruth Giles Lontoft, compilers. Illustrators of Children’s Books, 1957-1966. Boston: The Horn Book, 1968. 126.

Kinsman, Clare D. and Mary Ann Tennenhouse, editors. Contemporary Authors. Volumes 9-12. First Revision. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1974. 505.

Krauss, Ruth. “Ruth Krauss.” Pauses: Autobiographical Reflections of 101 Creators of Children’s Books. Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. 39-41.

MacLeod, Anne Scott. “Johnson, Crockett.” Twentieth-Century Children’s Writers. Third Edition. Edited by Tracy Chevalier. Chicago: St. James Press, 1989. 499.

Marschall, Richard. “Barnaby” and “Leisk, David Johnson.” The World Encyclopedia of Comics. Edited by Maurice Horn. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1976. 97-98, 448-49. Reprinted in The World Encyclopedia of Comics. Revised and Updated. Edited by Maurice Horn. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. 112-13, 474. Entry on “Leisk, David Johnson” was revised slightly but includes no new information.

“MASI shows Johnson ‘squared circle.'” Westport News 22 Jan 1970. Sec. 2, p. 20.

Nel, Philip. “Crockett Johnson and the Purple Crayon: A Life in Art.” Comic Art 5 (Winter 2004): 2-18.

—. Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2012

—. The Crockett Johnson Homepage. July 1998-present <http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/purple/>.

—. “‘Never overlook the art of the seemingly simple’: Crockett Johnson and the Politics of the Purple Crayon.” Children’s Literature 29 (2001): 142-74.

Nordstrom, Ursula. Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom. Collected and edited by Leonard S. Marcus. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. Contains a number of letters to Ruth Krauss and three letters to Crockett Johnson, the second of which quotes a sentence from his letter to Ms. Nordstrom.

Norris, Chan. “Meet the man who brought you Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley together.” PM 20 Dec. 1942: 24.

North, Joseph, editor. New Masses: An Anthology of the Rebel Thirties. Introduction by Maxwell Geismar. New York: International Publishers, 1969. Includes one cartoon by Johnson, p. 187.

“O’Malley for Dewey.” Time 18 Sept. 1944: 50.

Parker, Dorothy. “A Mash Note to Crockett Johnson.” PM 3 Oct. 1943: 16. Republished as the introduction to Barnaby #4: Mr. O’Malley Goes for the Gold. New York: Ballantine, 1986.

“Personal & Otherwise.” Harper’s Magazine. June 1955: 23. Brief notice concerning the “Barkis & Family” comic strip and news of “Barnaby” being “adapted for a weekly TV show.”

“Ron Howard: Hollywood’s Favorite Son.” Written, directed and produced by Patty Ivins. A&E Biography. Executive Produced by Kevin Burns. Twentieth-Century Fox, 1999. Early on, the program lingers briefly on two photographs, each of Ron Howard as Barnaby and Bert Lahr as Mr. O’Malley in the TV-movie Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley.

Rothschild, D. Aviva. “Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley.” Graphic Novels: Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 35. Calls Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley “[o]ne of the earliest works that can truly be called a graphic novel.”

Saunders, Sheryl Lee. “Johnson, Crockett.” Children’s Books and Their Creators. Edited by Anita Silvey. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. 335.

Sendak, Maurice. “Ruth Krauss and Me: A Very Special Partnership.” The Horn Book Magazine 70.3 (May-June 1994): 286-90.

Solomon, Deborah. “Beyond Finger Paint.” New York Times Book Review 17 May 1998: 24-25. A review of contemporary children’s books about art that concludes with praise for Harold and the Purple Crayon.

“Speaking of Pictures…’Barnaby’ Has High I.Q. for Cartoon-Strip Humor.” Life 4 Oct. 1943: 10-11, 13.

Spitz, Ellen Handler. Inside Picture Books. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. 70-72. Summary of Harold and the Purple Crayon, including children’s responses to the book.

Spurgeon, Tom. “No. 68: Barnaby.” The Comics Journal 210 (Feb. 1999): 52. Though “Barnaby” ranks at 68 in “The Top 100 (English-Language) Comics of the Century,” both Mr. O’Malley and Gus appear among the characters on the issue’s cover.

“Stroud Studies Crockett Johnson’s Mathematical Artistry.” Davidson Update Oct. 1985: 7.

Stroud, J. B. “Crockett Johnson and the Regular Heptagon.” 41 pp. Unpublished manuscript.

—. “Crockett Johnson’s geometric paintings,” Journal of Mathematics and the Arts 2.2 (June 2008): 77-99.

Viguers, Ruth Hill, Marcia Dalphin, and Bertha Mahoney Miller, compilers. Illustrators of Children’s Books, 1946-1956. Boston: The Horn Book, 1958: 135.

Waugh, Coulton. The Comics. New York: Macmillan, 1947. Reprinted by the University Press of Mississippi, 1991. 306-10. On page 311, reprints one of the un-anthologized “Barnaby” strips from 1947, signed by Jack Morley and Ted Ferro.

Wepman, Dennis. “Barnaby.” 100 Years of Newspaper Comics: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Edited by Maurice Horn. New York: Gramercy Books, 1996. 46-47.

Williams, Gurney, editor. Collier’s Collects Its Wits. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1941. Includes 13 of Johnson’s “The Little Man with the Eyes” cartoons (pages 7, 28, 40, 59, 67, 89, 102, 108, 125, 135, 146, 154), and a “self-caricature” of (and by) Johnson himself (page 80).