🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Crockett Johnson
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.
All Book Series by Crockett Johnson
Is This You?
Series opener · book 1 of 11 · published 1955 Co-authored · Ruth Krauss
Hurry Home, Candy
Series opener · book 1 of 29 · published 1953 Anthology · Meindert DeJong
The Summer of the Falcon
Book 5 of 29 · published 1962 Anthology · Jean Craighead George
The Seventeenth-Street Gang
Book 8 of 29 · published 1966 Anthology · Emily Cheney Neville
The Sign of the Chrysanthemum
Book 12 of 29 · published 1973 Anthology · Katherine Paterson
A Stranger Came Ashore
Book 14 of 29 · published 1975 Anthology · Mollie Hunter
The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl
Book 20 of 29 · published 1983 Anthology · Virginia Hamilton
Desdemona-Twelve Going on Desperate
Book 22 of 29 · published 1986 Anthology · Beverly Keller
The Two-Thousand-Pound Goldfish
Book 23 of 29 · published 1987 Anthology · Betsy Byars
What's So Terrible About Swallowing an Apple Seed?
Book 25 of 29 · published 1996 Anthology · Harriet Lerner,Susan Goldhor
Pilot Down, Presumed Dead
Book 28 of 29 · published 2009 Anthology · Marjorie Phleger
Will Spring Be Early? Or Will Spring Be Late?
Latest in the series · book 29 of 29 · published 2018
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Crockett Johnson?
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.
Which Crockett Johnson series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Barnaby series, the earliest of Crockett Johnson's multi-book series: it opens with Barnaby, Vol. 1: 1942-1943 (1942) and runs to 4 books across 1942–1948, ending with Barnaby, Vol. 4: 1948–1949 (1948). Crockett Johnson's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Crockett Johnson written?
Crockett Johnson has 55 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1942 and 2018. 40 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the Harper Trophy series with 29 books — and 15 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Crockett Johnson's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Crockett Johnson's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Barnaby (1942–1948, 4 books), Harper Trophy (1953–2018, 29 books) and Harold (1955–1963, 7 books).
How are Crockett Johnson's books organised into series?
This guide splits Crockett Johnson's 55 books into 3 named series and 15 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Harper Trophy (29 books, 1953–2018); Harold (7 books, 1955–1963); Barnaby (4 books, 1942–1948).