Harold and the Purple Crayon: Meet Harold! (I Can Read Level 1)

Harold and the Purple Crayon is coming to the big screen in Summer s023, featuring stars Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Lil Rel Howery, and Ravi Patel!

Meet Harold and his best friends, Moose and Porcupine, as they go on an incredible journey with the help of Harold’s magical purple crayon!

Harold and the Purple Crayon: Meet Harold is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

PreS-Gr 3-Since its publication in 1955, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson has been a children's classic. In the story, Harold is a child with agency who learns to create the universe he needs by drawing it with his purple crayon. In this Level 1 reader, which features short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts, the beauty of the language and the wonder of Harold's feats have changed. Harold's crayon is now magical-though nowhere in the original book is it ever called magical. Instead, readers are left to determine for themselves if it is magical, or if it is the creativity Harold holds within himself. This adaptation tends to explain rather than show, which changes the tenor of the story. The art is minimal as it is in the original, but the new illustrations are almost cartoony. VERDICT This new beginning reader is tailor-made for children who want to start reading on their own and will fit nicely in the beginning reader sections of school and public libraries. Still, educators should share the original so children can be exposed to a truly lovely story.-Joan Kindigα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.