The Big Orange Splot (1977)

Mr. Plumbean lives on a neat street with identical houses all in a row. And then a seagull drops a can of orange paint on the roof of his house. His neighbors think it’s unsightly and they tell him to paint his house. So he does, but instead of repainting it the original color, he uses a rainbow of colors to cover his house with swirls and dots, elephants and lions. The neighbors are aghast! The next day he adds palm trees and a hammock. The neighbors are outraged! They send one of the neighbors to talk some sense into Mr. Plumbean, but the next morning the neighbors awake to find that the man has painted his house to look like a boat! Each time someone goes to Mr. Plumbean about his house, they wind up going home and remodeling their house instead. Now all the houses are different and if you ask why all the people would say, “Our street is us and we are it. Our street is where we like to be, and it looks like all our dreams.”

The book has a great message – that it’s great to be an individual and to have spectacular dreams– wrapped in a quirky, colorful story. Pinkwater’s illustrations are simple, yet highly imaginative. He used markers to create the illustrations, which creates a very color-saturated atmosphere. The text is straightforward and clear. The sentences are short with many repeating words, making this a great book for an early reader

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/04/book-94-big-orange-splot-by-daniel.h...

My K-2 students were absolutely enthralled with this story. As I read it aloud, they commented on Pinkwater's illustrations and laughed out loud. I do not think the illustrations are really anything special - seemingly rendered in marker, but they are appealing and they demonstrate the character of Mr.Plumbean well. The story is fun and provides the reader with an example of non-conformation. It shows us that we don't need to be like everyone else to be happy, and that we might be happier by following our own personal desires, not those of your neighbors. ( )

I think a friend introduced me to this title a few years back and I was blown away by it. It's such a simple story and the illustrations are ok, not blow me away fantastic, but the story...the story is powerful and such a great way to introduce the concept of diversity to kids.

When I first read this book I was an Art Education student and knew instantly that this would be a great story to build an art lesson around. I was working with elementary school students at the time and they loved the story and easily understood the concept of diversity and how it was important that not everyone be the same. And they enjoyed the art lesson of designing a house around their interests and what it would look like, much like the characters in the book. Overall an excellent short read that delivers an important and powerful lesson. ( )

Great Story.

It's easy to say this book is about non-conformity, but it's not, exactly. Our hero doesn't let the splot stay, doesn't paint his house to be a jungle, doesn't put up palm trees and sit outside drinking lemonade to be different. He does it to be himself.

It's a more subtle message, and one worth sharing with any loved child. ( )