A Favorite Book is Back in My Bag

I recently found a favorite book in a box full of my son's things in the back of his closet. I remember carrying this little paperback, dog-eared copy with me for years when my son was little. It was often found in the diaper bag, under the seat of my car, in the toy bin, in his little toddler bed, in my purse...

Written in 1955 by Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon is the story of Harold who creates his own world and adventures by drawing them with his purple crayon, always with the moon following him. There is a dragon who guards an apple tree, a "very hungry moose" and a "deserving porcupine" who eat pie, and Harold's adventures by sea, mountain and balloon. The drawings are simple, the story is charming and the creativity is wonderful.

I don't know why I'm carrying this little worn copy in my purse again. My son is too old to be read too but as I re-read the story I imagine my little boy as Harold all grown up now and creating his own adventures in the world and always with the same moon I can see following him.