Harold's ABC: The Classic Alphabet Adventure About Learning Letters with a Magical Purple Crayon

Harold #7

by Crockett Johnson

From the creator of the treasured children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson, comes another adventure for Harold and his magical purple crayon. Harold is going on an alphabet adventure from A to Z with his trusty purple crayon! This imaginative classic story is just right for little ones learning their ABCs. “A unique kind of ABC book.” ( The Horn Book )

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Art, Fantasy, Drawing, Classics

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

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

[midnightfaerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We first fell in love with Harold and his purple crayon quite by accident. And then from that point on, I was on the lookout for some more Harold books to add to our collection. Let me tell you, they're not easy to find. I finally found this one at the halfprice bookstore, one of my favorite used books stores, smashed in between some other books on the top children's shelf, after the cashier had told me there weren't any Crockett Johnson books to be found in the store. Imagine my delight when the price turned out to be $1.00!

I'm taking a break from the library, having decided to start reading the books we own, and this is one of them. All three of my children loves Harold! The idea of a child drawing a picture that he becomes a part of is not a new idea. There have been many I'm told, but one in particular that I remember is Simon from Romper Room, I believe. Anyone remember this song?

"Well you know my name is Simon,
And the things I draw come true,
Oh the pictures take me take me take me over..
to climb the ladder with you...."

Come on, you know that's gonna be stuck in your head all day if you know the song.
Anyway, it's a brilliant idea. And one that never gets old for children. The fact that there's an added bonus of learning the alphabet for this one, makes me, as a parent like it even more. And the fact that it's educational eludes my preschoolers, as they enjoy shouting out the letter on the page before their brother. Overall it's a win win for us.

[Shabana Mukhtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I am hooked to this. Perhaps, it will give me a lot of stories to tell my nephews when I visit home for new year celebrations.

I love the drawing. How each letter is turned into a drawing is very clever.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harold explores the alphabet in this seventh and final story devoted to his crayon-created adventures, using each letter as a step in his imaginative game. From "A for Attic" to "Z for Zzzl" (or "little snore"), Harold incorporates each letter into his drawings, and into his story, giving the book more of an organic feeling than many other alphabet offerings. Setting out from home, he encounters everything from a giant to a witch, rides airplanes, lightning and kites, and eventually winds up (where else?) back home again...

I really enjoyed Harold's ABC, which marks the end of my recent Harold project. I never read Harold and the Purple Crayon or any of its sequels as a girl, so I am very glad to have finally become acquainted with this creative toddler and his crayon-fueled play. As with its predecessors, I appreciated the depiction of Harold's imaginative world, and the strength of his creative process. I was particularly impressed here by the way the letters were incorporated into the story and the artwork. A well done alphabet book, and a fitting conclusion to a brilliant series of tales!

[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.

[Shraddha Kapadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnson, Crockett. Harold's ABC (1963). Harper & Row Publishers.

It is an alphabet concept book about a boy names Harold who decides he want to go out on an adventurer through the alphabet from A-Z. with this purple crayon. To go from letter to letter he uses is crayons to draw on, in, or to letters to create new pictures that match the letter such drawing lines on to the letter K to make a kite.

This is a creative trip through the alphabet. It is a good book to read to someone as most preschoolers and kindergartners would have difficulty reading it on their own. Though this book makes for a good read a loud its sheer size makes it good for reading to one student or a small group. The there is a lot of text for a young audience and I can imagine toddlers squirming or getting the wiggles while listening to this story as it may be a lot of their attention spans and to sit through. The illustrations are clean and at times appear as though it would be something a child would draw. It simple in its use of color black for the alphabet letters and the drawing Harold adds on in purple. The simplicity of the illustrations makes it easy for young readers identify the alphabet letter and differentiate it from the full drawing.

Target audience: Preschool - Kindergarten.

Though I personally would not use this in my classroom, I can understand the appeal to use at home with a child of my own.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Harold's ABC, Harold can't sleep and he goes on a nighttime walk with his trusty purple crayon. As he walks he works his way through the alphabet from A to Z.

As his journey progresses his creativity gets the best of him. Soon he finds himself lost and eventually he's on the moon. Thankfully some quick thinking and one last bit of creativity will see him home and in bed sound a sleep.

As a child I liked seeing how Harold's night time world grew out of the letters of the alphabet. The page that sticks with me most is the city filled with skyscrapers, all made with E shaped windows.

Now that Harriet's a little older, she has also discovered the Harold books. She likes to see how he builds things from the letters. Sometimes I can hear her giving a running commentary of what Harold is doing. It's cute to listen to.

[Sonya Feher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Associative leaps from rhinoceros to sea serpent as a means of traveling through the alphabet and the storyline. Integrating the brown letters into the purple illustrations allows the alphabet to be distinct enough that this book could be used as a teaching tool and connected in a way that makes one aware of how the drawings themselves are being made. I like that the story is a commentary on its own making. My son uses the book for object recognition practice.

[Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite thus far, of the series. The playful creativity is clever. He spends more than one page per letter to keep the flow of the story, illustrating each word associated with the letter wt ith the shape of the letter being Incorporated Into the image; tangible, or not. I is for Idea, as an exclamation point, O for Our (Earth).
He travels to the Moon, meeting Queen Urania, and Uranus along the way.
The copy I read had been colored-in pages which only seemed right.

[Maddison Askew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harold's ABC book is an excellent book to read to children in kindergarten. This book takes you on an alphabet adventure with Harold starting from letters A to Z. This book includes pictures that go along with the given letter. You could use this in the classroom by giving each student a letter and having them draw something that starts with that letter.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very long bedtime read, but I love the unexpected words Johnson picked to represent each letter. Stretches my little guy's ears and it's so fun to hear him echo back pages from memory "He came to an enormous edifice. The tallest building in the world."

[Taylor Machado]

Harold takes a journey with his purple crayon exploring the ABC's. He draws something that starts with each letter in the alphabet in this book. I think this is a good book for learning the abc's and it is very interactive for kids. I would definitely recommend it.

[Rachel B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to give Harold a low rating because I love the imagination of this entire series of books. However, as a board book (which is what we brought home from the library), there were too many words per page to keep my toddler's attention for an entire reading in one sitting.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each letter is incorporated into the story as Harold sees it and makes it into a picture. It is fun and fantastical. A quick read is enjoyable. However you can gain more from each page by taking time to look at how the letter shows up, the words he uses, and how he draws on/around it.

[Wayne Farmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Harold and his crayon drawings and my 7th month old seemed to like it too. The only reason it loses a star is that some of the word choices are very American and I really didn't like X=Xxxing out (Crossing out).

[jenna Hudrlik · Rating 4 out of 5]

harold rocks / this story is a clever take on the alphabet - drawing one letter at a time he turns each one into its own little adventure to help him travel to the moon and back

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable little ABC book where Harold (known for his Purple Crayon) draws his way through the alphabet, telling a story of his adventure along the way.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

these books were favorites of min--though my kids were less enthusiastic and truthfully, there were more choices for them

[Sharlet Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought all Harold books were wordless. This one has a great imagination going through the abc's

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sixteen month-old just sat through this entire book. I was astounded.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy for an ABC book. The hunt for letters in the illustrations was fun.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ABC book by Harold. He draws his world and adventures with letters of the alphabet.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

My 1 year-old and I both loved this book. It was quick and fun and very creative. I highly recommend it.

[Kourtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very creative way to go through the alphabet.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally Harold books are 4 or 5 ⭐️ for me.
However, the educator and parent in me CANNOT overlook the letter “Ii” page. It mentions the word idea and the illustration is an exclamation point. Exclamation ‼️ Really? I was severely disappointed. Any child learning the English alphabet would think the ! mark is the letter. Yikes!

[Summer D Clemenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe I have read all or at least most of Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon books, but I must admit, Harold’s ABC’s is my least favorite of these children’s classics. The story and the art was tedious and forced to include all the letters of the alphabet in order. This is very unlike the natural flow of Harold’s natural drawing imagination.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is a step above most of the sequels while not quite achieving the glory of the original. Definitely helpful for learning the alphabet and fun to boot!
Oh! And...

Ah, the somewhat disguised childhood of The Purple Man (Zebediah Kilgrave). Fascinating reading for one who knows the truth.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventh and final Harold book in the original Harold series.
A very inventive and creative way of working through the alphabet in Harold's unique style.
Not as strong as some of the earlier books but still a worthy book.
Thanks Harold!

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harold and his purple crayon are drawing another adventure starting with the letter A and turning each letter into something that begins with that letter and forwards the story. Preschool and up

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harold and his purple crayon are back, but this time they are using the letters of the alphabet to create pictures. Darling!