Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, 1955.

Harold loves drawing things with his purple crayon. In fact, everything in the story is a creation of Harold’s, drawn with his purple crayon.

First, Harold decides that he wants to go for a walk in the moonlight. He draws a moon and a path that he can follow.

Along the way, he decides to draw a forest with an apple tree. However, he makes the mistake of drawing a dragon to guard the tree, and it frightens him.

Harold’s hand shakes, and he accidentally draws water and falls in. Fortunately, he also draws a boat and sails to a beach where he can have a picnic lunch.

After a series of adventures, Harold decides that he wants to go home, but he has trouble finding his home. He looks for his bedroom window, and then realizes that his window should look out on the moon, which is still in the sky.

After drawing his window and bed, Harold goes to sleep.

The story is rather surreal. We never see Harold’s real home or any other people who are not drawn by Harold. All we see in the story is Harold and the things he draws with his purple crayon. This is a story about the power of imagination, and at the end, we can only imagine Harold’s real life because we never see him return to it.

The book is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).