How to draw the world Harold and the purple crayon and the making of a children's classic

Nel (Was the Cat in the Hat Black?), an English professor at Kansas State University, presents a cerebral examination of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon series, the first of which was published in 1955. He argues that Johnson's style and narrative choices were influenced by modernist painter Paul Klee's art school lectures (collected in the 1925 compilation Pedagogical Sketchbook), pointing out that Klee's discussion of "how receding railroad tracks persuade the eye to 'see' three dimensions" is reflected in a scene from A Picture for Harold's Room when "Harold steps off the railway he has drawn, and suddenly realizes that his apparent smallness is all a trick of perspective." Speculating on the inspiration behind the Harold series, Nel suggests that the FBI's investigation into Johnson's left-wing political associations might have influenced the book's veneration of free artistic expression. Elsewhere, Nel offers a thought-provoking exploration of whether Harold's "tawny skin" constituted an attempt by Johnson to smuggle a subtle pro--civil rights message past his unsympathetic editor. Some of Nel's assertions are too nebulous to convince, as when he contends that the "most powerful effect" of Harold's Garamond font "is the invisibility of its legibility," but Nel's serious consideration of Johnson's artistic process makes a strong case that "children's books are not a lesser art form." It's a loving, scholarly ode to a children's literature classic. (Nov.)

Tracing the backstory of a beloved book. Nel's interest in the picture bookHarold and the Purple Crayon began five decades ago, when he encountered the book as a child. In the ensuing decades, he not only wrote a biography of the book's author, Crockett Johnson, but also aspired to write the current volume, which he calls "a biography of a book." True to his intent, Nel traces the book's origins, evolution, and cultural effects, beginning with the premise that picture books should be treated as works of art. He writes, "As one of our earliest aesthetic experiences, picture books shape our perception of what art is and why it matters." Drawing on the work of scholars like Jean Baudrillard and artists like Paul Klee and Joan Miró, Nel argues that theHarold series was revolutionary not only because it explored the power of imagination, but also because it took children--and their art--seriously. Perhaps most fascinating is Nel's interrogation of whether or not the protagonist is white: Nel draws on Johnson's support of the Civil Rights Movement and the perceptions of Black artists like Prince to argue that Harold is not. Like the picture books themselves, Nel's work is formally inventive, including a series of reflection questions for readers and two blank pages to "pick up your purple crayon, and just start drawing." At times, the author slips into an academic register, slowing the book's otherwise steady pace. Overall, though, this is an insightful, lyrical, and profoundly researched read. An inspired and fascinating look at a popular children's picture book. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.