Crockett Johnson Books In Order

Publication Order of Barnaby Books

Publication Order of Harold Books

Publication Order of Children's Books

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Harper Trophy Books Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Crockett Johnson is a pen name used by David Johnson Leisk, an American cartoonist and illustrator of children’s books.

Crockett was born on October 20, 1906 in New York City. He passed away July 11, 1975. Many knew him for his comic strip Barnaby which ran from 1942 to 1952 as well as his Harold series. Many readers will be familiar with the debut story in this series just due to sheer popularity, Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Johnson also painted quite a bit. Starting in 1965, he came up with over a hundred paintings, many of them relating to math and math physics. The National Museum of American history houses eighty of them in its collections.

Crockett grew up in Queens and graduated from Newtown High School. His father was from Scotland and his mother from Germany. He studied art at Cooper Union in 1924. He then studied at New York University in 1925. His pen name is explained as his childhood nickname combined with the Johnson of his real name, as Leisk is difficult to pronounce.

Johnson would become art editor at trade publications for McGraw-Hill by the late twenties. He became politicized by the Great Depression and joined the Book and Magazine Writers Union. He also started up his cartooning career in 1932, contributing to New Masses (a Communist Party publication) and joining up, becoming art editor and redesigning the layout. He was there until 1940.

Johnson decided to start his own career drawing comics for a Collier’s magazine series called The Little Man with the Eyes. He then made the Barnaby strip in 1942 for PM, which would eventually lead to his great fame.

He married Ruth Krauss in 1939, a writer. They did not have children but did work together on many books for children. They reside together in Westport, Connecticut. His book Harold and the Purple Crayon came out in 1955. The books he collaborated on with his wife include The Carrot Seed, How to Make an Earthquake, Is This You?, and The Happy Egg.

Many of his books were adapted, including Harold and the Purple Crayon, A Picture for Harold’s Room, Harold’s Fairy Tale, a television series based on Harold and the Purple Crayon that ran from 2001 to 2002, and a 2024 movie adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon starring Zachary Levi and directed by Carlos Sandalha.

Johnson’s series of mathematical paintings were inspired by mathematicians and geometric principles. He has painted layered geometric shapes that have been based on The World of Mathematics and other math books. The paintings are inspired by mathematicians from Descartes to Euclid and Galileo, with titles of paintings referring to each mathematician, such as “Pendulum Momentum” (Galileo) or “Square Root of Two” (Descartes).

He would go on to make his own inventions. Many of the images that he has painted in abstract have been done with house paint on masonite. He has also tried to make his paintings different from other contemporary art works in that his are based on geometry’s math as well, not the shapes alone.

Johnson described the type of geometric painting as using lines and shapes to try and experiment with color as well as using optic illusion for decoration, to provoke emotion, to represent ancient symbols or for other reasons that have nothing to do with geometry. He was able to paint over a hundred works in the time from 1965 to 1975 relating to math and mathematical physics.

Barnaby is an early illustrated comic from Crockett Johnson. This was an immensely famous comic at the time and what made the author so beloved and well known!

Dorothy Parker said that it was the ‘most important addition’ to the realm of American arts and letters in whoever knows how many years.

The book is done in full color for readers to enjoy. It also features the comic creations of everyone from Gorgon to Gus to McSnoyd and Mr. O’Malley. These are thirteen of some of the most popular adventures featuring that character.

It also extends to the scrap iron drive as well as the hot coffee ring escapades. If you are a fan of the comic or have been wanting to check it out or just love classic American art, then be sure to check out this book and see what you think!

Harold and the Purple Crayon is an early book from Crockett Johnson. If you have kids and want to share this classic book with them, have never read this book, or just want to go on a fond walk down memory lane, check out this novel!

The main character in this book is a kid named Harold. He decides one evening that he is going to go for a walk. As he walks, he begins to fill in the scene in real life using his purple crayon.

Imaginative and fun, this is an adorable story that will win you over from the start. Check out this book and then check out the many adaptations of this work, including the 2024 feature film, to see Crockett Johnson’s vision adapted to the screen!