A Picture for Harold's Room

Harold #6

by Crockett Johnson

Harold, hero of the popular adventures with a purple crayon, makes his debut in an I Can Read Book as he steps into the picture he draws for his room.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Art, Fantasy, 1st Grade, Adventure

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Crockett Johnson was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip Barnaby (1942–1952) and the Harold series of books beginning with Harold and the Purple Crayon. [From Wikipedia.]

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

That intrepid toddler Harold turns to interior decoration in this sixth title devoted to his crayon-created adventures, deciding that his room needs a picture, and setting out to draw one. It's hard not to get sucked into one's drawing, however, when you have a magical purple crayon, and soon Harold is inside the picture itself, progressing from a giant who towers above the houses, seas and mountains he creates, to a smaller-than-a-daisy boy who is dwarfed by a mouse. Will he ever get back home to his own room again...?

Unlike its five predecessors, from Harold and the Purple Crayon to Harold's Circus , all of which were presented as picture-books, A Picture for Harold's Room is presented as an early reader, and part of the prestigious I Can Read line of books. I'm not sure this really makes a difference, in terms of either text or artwork - all the books could be used as either beginning readers or picture-book bedtime stories, I suspect - although it's interesting that the publisher thought it was necessary to distinguish this one from the others. Leaving issues of publication and genre aside, this was another engaging depiction of a child's imaginative play, with Harold creating his own adventures as he goes. Recommended to young children who have enjoyed some of the other Harold stories!

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harold's further adventures with his magic purple crayon. Harold wants to create a picture for his room, and ends up picturing more than he bargained for. I love the way Crockett Johnson turns this into a 3D adventure.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It reminded me a lot of Simon ("Well, you know my name is Simon, and the things I draw come true.") This book does much to encourage PWS and imagination.

I secured this title from my local library.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It probably helps that Harold looks like a cartoon version of my son in his cute onsie. This is a great story that can incorporate a lot of words for different things to help a child learn to read or what something is a word for. A bit advanced for my son currently but a classic for when the time comes.

[Sean]

A picture for Harold’s room
Sean Adams

I feel like Harold’s homeless and he uses his imagination to take the fact that he is away.
One reason I think Harold’s homeless is because his “room” is made or drawn out of the color purple just like everything he draws with his crayon. Like I said before I feel as though the crayon represents Harold’s imagination so if he’s drawing his room with the crayon thenn it’s his imagination so that could mean he’s homeless, or just doesn’t have a room.
Another reason I feel like Harold is homeless is because at the end of the book when he was trying to prove to himself that he was himself he drew his room back which meant that his room wasn’t real, also when he drew his room back he didn’t go back to his “real room”
Another reason is that he “stepped” into the picture he was drawing and you can’t do that and he never “stepped out” of the picture, he just drew his room back like it wasn’t a real room in the first place, once again he didn't go back to his original room.
Another possibility is that when Harold’s “drawing” he’s dreaming all this stuff and none of it’s real.
This would make more sense because none of the stuff he's doing is possible so he must be dreaming.
Maybe each book is another dream and they never talk about when Harold wakes up because none of the stuff he does can be done in real life so it would make the stories less entertaining.
I also feel like Harold has no friends and is lonely. I think that because the story or book never introduces another character even when he is in the village and he’s super tall and he starts stomp around and then he gets scared cause he doesn’t want to wake anyone up but it never even shows a person or even a light in a house turn on symbolizing that there is someone there.
Another reason I think this is because he has to use his imagination to entertain himself and not go and play with other kids to have fun like a normal kid.
Another thing I noticed is that the story or book never seems to introduce his parents. Maybe he doesn’t have parents this would support my claim that I had said that maybe Harold is homeless because if he was he might not have parents, resulting in the fact that the story wouldn’t introduce them because he didn’t have any.
Harold not having friends or parents would result in him going a little crazy from not having any human interaction. And if he was crazy that would explain why he has a “purple crayon” that can draw anything he wants and if he believes his imagination is real then he believes what he draws is real, but it isn’t.
Those are some of the reasons why I think Harold is lonely. And once again Harold being lonely and not having any human interaction could result in him going a little crazy and that might be why he might believe that the things that he draws with his purple crayon are real like I've stated before.

[Rochelle Sondae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This I Can Read Level 1 book was the first one that the 3-year old I watch wanted to go back and look at the pictures again without listening to the story. Usually he looks at the pictures while we are reading however this week he's been so occupied with building with his Duplo blocks that I've just been reading without him actually paying attention. He looks up occasionally and will comment on the story so I know he's listening for the most part. He did that for this story as well and then asked if he could see the book and proceeded to look through it and remark, "this is the boat, this is the lighthouse, this is the hills" etc through the whole story. He was curious as to how Harold got smaller as the story progressed. So we talked about that for awhile... how Harold really didn't get smaller it was just appeared smaller as his pictures got bigger. I think I'll have to take this one back over in a couple of months to see how he reacts next time.

[J9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love Crockett Johnson! Who doesn't imagine their pictures coming to life as a kid? Everytime I read a book about Harold, the song from Romper Room goes flitting through my head. "Well, you know my name is Simon, and the things I draw come true..." Remember that one? If you said yes, well, you just dated yourself. *grin* Seriously, wonderful books and an awesome concept, that any kid can appreciate. My kids all love Harold.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harold is a boy and decides he needs a drawing on his wall, so he draws one with a purple crayon. Magically, he enters his drawing and interacts with it. A simple, but fun read. I expected trouble for Harold at the end, but Mommy never came. Hmmm . . . will this encourage drawing on bedroom walls? :)

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harold and his purple crayon show how simple drawings, so simple that anybody could do, and a wonderfully vivid imagination can take a person anywhere. I loved this as a child and reading it to my own children once again stirred my own imagination. My children enjoy this book as much as I did and still do. Thanks, Harold!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

My children love these little books. They thoroughly enjoy each and every story, as if they are all unique and individual without any cause for similarity among them. Even though sometimes, they might seem tedious and repetitive to me as a parent, I do enjoy being able to read short-stories to my children that are clean and respective.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another fun book in the "Harold and the Purple Crayon" series. Harold wants to decorate his room and ends up going on another adventure. The simple purple and white illustrations and narrative are fun for children and the book is fun to read aloud.

[Victorb · Rating 5 out of 5]

He drew a picture on his room wall with a purple crayon and he went in it and no one saw him. He drew a train track and flowers and birds and some mountains and everything was purple. He was big and then he turned small.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has so much imagination! It is a classic that can be used with a large age range. The illustrations and stroy are great. This book is an easy read that would be loved by young and old students.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite series of books as a young beginning reader. My imagination was a lot like Harold's I just didn't have the crayon to make things happen. If you have kids or grand-kids these are a great set of book to introduce them to the world of reading. Highly recommended.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harold is magical. There is no other way to describe him. Sure, he is creative, imaginative, and talented, (and adorable), but it really all comes down to him being magical.

My son is very much like Harold -- he is magical.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have a crayon as powerful as Harold's you need to be sure and be careful what you draw with it. This was a delightful, imaginative book. I love how Harold is able to work though problems on his own.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet story about Harold. He goes on an adventure and has some trouble but he stays calm and gets out of it all right.
Get ready for another great time with Harold!
I loved the part where he fell in the mouse hole and apologised! He is so polite!

[Megan B · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALMOST as good as the original.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book .I think that Harold is good at drawing.

[Sonya Feher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not the wit, vocabulary or surprises other Harold books offer. Not worth the read.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

After loving the original Harold I wanted to read others but wasn't very impressed with this one. Harold is adorable as always but the storyline wasn't great.

[Angela Skeie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this one even more than Harold and the Purple Crayon. The concept is more explored, in a fun and special way.

[Aby]

Read twice: September 2009 and January 2010

[Jie · Rating 5 out of 5]

full of imagination and creativity. drawing reminds me of Picasso.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute kids book promoting imagination. Whats not to like?

[Robert J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what Harold can do with his purple crayon.

[Margaret Chind]

----
My copy is a Weekly Reader hardcover.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how excited my kid got when Harold seemed to turn in to a giant and then got tiny. Great story.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harold let's his imagination run wild as he tries to create a picture to decorate his room. Another great Harold story.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the pictures he drew and I liked the ending.