Harold's Fairy Tale: 05/06/09

The second Harold book by Crockett Johnson is Harold's Fairy Tale. As with the first book, Harold finds himself unable to sleep and decides to go on a little walk to relax before bedtime. This time, though, he walks himself into a fantasy world full of a castle, a king, and a mysterious threat: either a witch or a giant.

Harold's Fairy Tale expands on the magical qualities of the purple crayon. In the first book the crayon's line has unexpected results — wiggly lines become waves and a dropped line becomes a cliff. Here though, Harold knows the crayon's power and takes full advantage of it. For example, when he can't get into the castle he draws a mouse hole for himself, thus making himself now small enough to sneak inside. Once in, he draws stairs just the right height for him to climb up, returning him to the scale of the people inside the castle.

While I enjoy the magic of Harold's Fairy Tale, Harold and the Purple Crayon remains my favorite for its simplistic charm. My kids though love the revelation of the monster attacking the castle. As with all things in the Harold book, it's the crayon that brings the truth to light and ultimately the crayon that saves the day.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Friday, May, 8, 2009 at 10:16:12

Jeane

When I was little I only knew the first Harold book- and loved it. Now my daughter has three of them- and her favorite is this one, the fairy tale.

Comment #2: Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 19:43:21

Pussreboots

We have five of the stories and both my kids love them.