And isn't he quite the cutie-patootie? I'm referring, of course, to Harold and the Purple Crayon. On the inside flap of the picture book where Harold lives, the audience level says, "Ages 3-7." Hmmm, I think we could squeak a lot of thinking out of our older students with this little charmer.
Take, for example, page one: "One evening, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight." Now, here's a superb case of illustrations working in perfect unison with the text. If we had only the text, we might think, "Okay, interesting, let's turn in the page and see what happens." But instead, we look at the picture and see a child whose head easily comprises over 40% of his chubby, pint-sized body. He looks like a standing eight-month old, right down to his footy-pajama'd toes. So, before we turn the page, we laugh. A baby "thinking it over for some time?" Funny. And a good chance to talk about irony with our older students.
And then things get totally bizarre. Every time Harold wants or needs something, he simply draws it with, I'm not afraid to say, his rather phallic-looking purple crayon (yes, he even holds it at "that" angle). No moonlight? Simply draw it. Hungry? Nine pies should do the job. Can't find your way home? Just draw home, window, and bed, and crawl right in.
Oh, the places we can go with this ... stream of consciousness? Existentialism? Sexual symbolism? The hero's journey cycle?
In the hands of a mature classroom engaging in serious literature study, this book offers a wealth of possibilities for sophisticated conversation. Heck, scratch that. Why not a rowdy group of ninth graders not sure how to establish a direction for their lives? Or an art class where the kids are afraid to make their first mark on all that white space?
Glad to meet you, Harold.
Hello Melissa,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the world of Harold. He has long time been one of my favorite children's characters. Not because he is a unique shade of purple, but because his message to me as a young girl is still as clear to me today as a woman. You can create anything that you put your mind to and though you cannot erase your mistakes (despite the advent of 'erasers' that claim to erase marks off the walls) you can still create your destiny and draw it to your own specifications.