[1] The protagonist, Harold, is a curious four-year-old[2] boy who, with his magic purple crayon, has the power to create a world of his own simply by drawing it.

Using his purple crayon, he goes on many adventures including encountering a dragon guarding an apple tree, boating through deep waters, eating a picnic consisting only of nine flavors of pies, and flying in a hot-air balloon that saves him from a fall.

[8] In 2001, the stories were adapted by Adelaide Productions into a 13-episode television series for HBO narrated by Sharon Stone and featuring Connor Matheus as the voice of Harold.

In February 2010, it was reported that Columbia Pictures was developing a live-action film adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon, to be produced by Will Smith and James Lassiter, and written by Josh Klausner, but it never came in the fruition.

[14] It was also announced that David Guion and Michael Handelman replaced Klausner and Clayton as screenwriters, with John Davis producing.

It will feature an original score by Jack and Ryan Met from the band AJR and will focus on an adult version of Harold facing challenges in everyday life without his magical purple crayon.

Harold and the Purple Crayon has consistently been well regarded as a children's literature favorite and has been praised for its combination of themes of childhood imagination and reality.

As such, Nel posited that Harold's skin tone may have been a "subtle political statement" intended to provide "cover" to Johnson and his publisher.