Happy Birthday to Books

   Two children’s favorite books are celebrating anniversaries this year. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson and The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. Both books were married in the early 1940s and collaborated on several children’s books.
   The Carrot Seed, celebrating its 60th birthday, has never been out of print. It tells the story of a little boy who plants a carrot seed, carefully tends it, and patiently waits for it to grow—Even though people say it will never grow. HarperCollins has published a sixtieth anniversary hardcover edition of the popular book.
   Harold and the Purple Crayon is fifty years old and is the story of a little boy who takes a purple crayon with him on a walk. As he draws a path, he encounters many adventures drawn with a crayon. HarperCollins has also published a fiftieth anniversary edition of Harold.