Harold and the Purple Crayon
Encyclopedia
Harold and the Purple Crayon is a 1955 children's book
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

 by Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson was the pen name of cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk...

. Johnson's most popular book, it led to a series of books, and inspired many adaptations.

Plot

The protagonist, Harold, is a curious four-year-old boy who, with his purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....

 crayon
Crayon
A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing, coloring, drawing, and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel; both are popular media for color...

, 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. He has many adventures looking for his room, he draws his own house and bed and starts going 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 (1960)
  • Harold's ABC (1963)
  • Harold Rocks Out (1967)
  • Harold's Nightmare (1969)

Adaptations

The original story was adapted by Weston Woods Studios
Weston Woods Studios
Weston Woods Studios is a production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded area near his home. The company's first project was Andy and the Lion in 1954, and its...

 and Brandon Films into a 7 minute short film in 1959, directed by David Piel and narrated by Norman Rose
Norman Rose
Norman Rose was an actor, film narrator and radio announcer whose velvety baritone was often called "the Voice of God" by colleagues...

. In 1971, Gene Deitch
Gene Deitch
Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch is an American illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston...

 directed an animation of A Picture for Harold's Room, and in 1974 an animation of Harold's Fairy Tale. In 1993, these 3 animations were packaged with a documentary, and sold as the Harold and the Purple Crayon and Other Harold Stories set.

In 2002, the stories were adapted into a 16-episode television series for HBO narrated by Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...

, which won a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...

 for "Main Title Design", and was nominated for an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...

 and Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...

.

There have also been theater adaptations.

In the couch gag for the Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

episode "The Bob Next Door
The Bob Next Door
"The Bob Next Door" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season and the 463rd episode overall on Fox Broadcasting Company...

", Harold is shown drawing the Simpson family living room during the regular title sequence. Homer also asks Harold to draw him a can of beer after he finishes with the living room.

In 2011, the story was adapted as an interactive book for the iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...

 by Trilogy Studios.

Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation is an American computer-animated film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, founded in May 2002. It is working closely with Sony Pictures Imageworks, which takes care of the digital production...

 and Overbook Entertainment are developing a computer-animated film adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon. It is being produced by Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...

, Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...

 and James Lassiter
James Lassiter
James Lassiter is an American film producer. He is actor Will Smith's long-time business partner.-Career:Lassiter attended University of Miami and Temple University and befriended Jeffrey "Jazzy Jeff" Townes, who was in a rap duo with then-musician Will Smith. Lassiter met Smith through Townes,...

, and written by Josh Klausner.

Legacy

The book inspired programmer Petri Purho
Petri Purho
Petri Purho is a Finnish computing science student and rapid game prototyper. He has worked at Finnish independent game studio Frozenbyte. In September 2006, he made a promise to himself, that he "will create a new game every month" based on the experimental gameplay development model...

 to create the computer game Crayon Physics Deluxe, and has been used frequently in children's and art education lesson plans.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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