A biography of the book that inspired Prince to adopt purple as his signature color, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Richard Powers to become a writer, and countless other creative people to become artists. A primer on the art and design of children's picture books, renowned children's literature scholar Philip Nel takes the reader on an illustrated tour through all that made Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon an astonishing success: from Harold's clear line, Johnson's carefully planned improvisation, the Garamond typeface, the real “Harolds” who inspired the title character, how Johnson overcame his editor's initially lukewarm reaction, to the role of the book's three colors (purple, brown, white), and whether or not the tan-hued Harold himself is a child of color. In a series of microhistories that ripple outward from Harold and the Purple Crayon, 30 brief chapters explore the big ideas behind this small book. Johnson's classic raises questions about the nature of reality; creative expression during the Cold War; the implied audience of children's literature; abstract art versus representational art; and the color of crayons, ink, and people. All of these questions depend upon how children's picture books work--in this case, the apparent invisibility of Johnson's design choices, the limits imposed by the offset color lithography printing process, the history of the crayon, and the book's circulation into the hands of many real children around the world. This small book explores the pleasures of looking closely. Indeed, picture books are many people's introduction to looking closely. As a portable gallery, the picture book is a democratic art form, requiring only a library card to view. In modeling the pleasures of sustained attention, this book invites you to look closely at art that interests you--picture books, of course, but any kind of art. When you look, listen, or read closely, what questions does the art invite?

Prizes

Winner of Winner of the PROSE award in Literature, 2025.

Philip Nel's enlightening book, How to Draw the World: Harold and the Purple Crayon, and the Making of a Children's Classic, reads as though Nel himself were using a magic crayon to explore the importance of creativity. His book is a remarkable biography and autobiography, a creative analysis of Crockett Johnson's marvelous works. Nel captures their essence and significance for young and old. * Jack Zipes, Author of Ernst Bloch, The Pugnacious Philosopher of Hope and The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest *
Nel praises, properly, Johnson's purple prose and pictures. A perfect book for reading under a purple moon. * Lane Smith, Caldecott Honor winner & author and illustrator of the New York Times bestseller It's a Book *
Forest
Harold drew a world of possibilities for all us childhood dreamers. Now Phil Nel draws us into the life of Harold's creator--in all its scribbly contours. A delightful portrait. * Scott McCloud, Author of Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art and Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels *
Perhaps most fascinating is Nels interrogation of whether or not the protagonist is white: Nel draws on Johnsons 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, Nels 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.' This is an insightful, lyrical, and profoundly researched read. * Kirkus Reviews *

Philip Nel is University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University and the author or co-editor of 13 books, including: Keywords for Children's Literature (with Nina Christensen and Lissa Paul) and a double-biography of the children's writers Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss. His Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature and the Need for Diverse Books was one of the catalysts for Dr. Seuss Enterprises' March 2021 decision to stop publishing six Dr. Seuss books that contain racist imagery.