Crockett Johnson Books in Order
25 books are credited to Crockett Johnson, published between 1942 and 2018; 2 of them appeared after Crockett Johnson's death in 1975. The first book is Barnaby, Vol. 1: 1942-1943 (1942) and the newest is Will Spring Be Early? Or Will Spring Be Late? (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 25
- Published
- 1942–2018
- Pages on record
- 1,791 in 11 of 25 books
Crockett Johnson was the pen name of David Johnson Leisk (1906-1975), an American cartoonist and illustrator of children's books. Johnson drew the comic strip Barnaby from 1942 to 1952, collected in volumes beginning with Barnaby, Vol. 1: 1942-1943. Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) launched the Harold books, followed by Harold's Fairy Tale and Harold's Trip to the Sky. In the last decade of Johnson's life, from 1965, came over 100 paintings on mathematics and mathematical physics, 80 of them held by the National Museum of American History.
How many Crockett Johnson books are there?
Crockett Johnson has 25 books, released between 1942 and 2018. 2 of them were published after Crockett Johnson's death in 1975. They include 2 series and 13 titles listed outside any series.
Crockett Johnson Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 25 Crockett Johnson books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119423191/4
- 219443751/4
- 319463711/4
- 419483721/4
- 51955–1/4
- 6Is This You?1955 · confirmed 1/41955–1/4
- 7Barkis1956 · confirmed 1/41956–1/4
- 81956641/4
- 91957641/4
- 10Magic Beach1957 · confirmed 1/41957–1/4
- 11Terrible, Terrifying Toby1957 · confirmed 1/41957–1/4
- 121958–1/4
- 13The Blue Ribbon Puppies1958 · 31 pages · confirmed 1/41958311/4
- 14Ellen's Lion1959 · confirmed 1/41959–1/4
- 151959611/4
- 16The Frowning Prince1959 · confirmed 1/41959–1/4
- 171960–1/4
- 18The Lion's Own Story1963 · confirmed 1/41963–1/4
- 191963641/4
- 20The Emperor's Gifts1965 · confirmed 1/41965–1/4
- 21Castles in the Sand1965 · confirmed 1/41965–1/4
- 22We Wonder What Will Walter Be?: When He Grows Up1966 · confirmed 1/41966–1/4
- 23Who's Upside Down?1969 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/41969301/4
- 24Time for Spring2016 · 40 pages · confirmed 1/42016401/4
- 252018–1/4
Crockett Johnson books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Harold in order
7 booksBarnaby in order
4 booksHarper Trophy Books in order
1 bookStandalone books
13 books13 Crockett Johnson titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Crockett Johnson books in order?
You only need to read Crockett Johnson books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Crockett Johnson
Start with Barnaby, Vol. 1: 1942-1943 (1942), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Crockett Johnson book?
Will Spring Be Early? Or Will Spring Be Late? (2018) is the newest Crockett Johnson book released so far.
Is there a new Crockett Johnson book coming?
No next Crockett Johnson book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Crockett Johnson has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Crockett Johnson. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Kiddo Leespluim2001Won
Crockett Johnson at a glance
- Died
- Crockett Johnson died in 1975, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Crockett Johnson are still being published after Crockett Johnson's death in 1975; the newest appeared in 2018.
- Release pace
- Crockett Johnson books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 1,791 pages across the 11 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 64 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Crockett Johnson books, 12 of 25, were published in the 1950s.
What the Crockett Johnson books are about
13 of the 25 Crockett Johnson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 7 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Children's fiction 7 of 13 books
- Comics & graphic novels 4 of 13 books
- Fantasy 4 of 13 books
- Magic 4 of 13 books
- Caricatures and cartoons 3 of 13 books
- Boys 3 of 13 books
- Fairies 3 of 13 books
- Harold (fictitious character : johnson) 3 of 13 books