Purple, Green and Yellow

Brigid wants to have colored markers like her friends have, but Mom is uncertain . . . she doesn’t want marker drawings on the walls or the floor or on Brigid. Finally, with a promise that the marker color will wash off everything, Mom says okay and buys five hundred [!!!] markers for her daughter.

For a week, Brigid makes wonderful pictures and is content; then she asks for markers that smell. Mom sees her drawings and says, “Wow! My kid is an artist,” and buys her daughter five hundred scented markers. And, for another week, Brigid makes wonderful pictures and is content.

Reminding her mother that she didn’t draw on the walls, or the floor, or herself, Brigid then asks for the best kind of markers: show more super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you’re-dead-and-maybe-even-later coloring markers. So Mom buys five hundred super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you're-dead-and-maybe-even-later coloring markers and for three weeks Brigid makes wonderful pictures and is content.

Then she gets bored.

And Brigid colors her fingernails . . . her hands . . . her face . . . her belly-button . . . and almost all of herself until she looks like mixed-up rainbows. And, of course, the color refuses to wash off. So Brigid finds a marker that is just the right color, the color of herself, and colors herself all over until she is her regular color again.

But Mother discovers what Brigid has done; she calls the doctor, and Brigid gets an orange pill. What will the orange pill do? And what is the big surprise about Dad?

This cute picture book is sure to have young readers giggling . . . especially at the surprise ending. Filled with exaggerations, predictability, over-the-top silliness, and brilliant illustrations, the target audience for this giggle-fest is the young reader, ages four through seven. The repetition is perfect for young readers as is the predictability of the story; the laugh-out-loud silliness is simply delightful.

For those who insist that every book written for children must teach a lesson of some sort, perhaps the one to learn here is that actions have consequences, or that you should always be true to your word.

But shouldn’t it be okay to have a book to read just because it’s ridiculously silly, because it makes the Little Ones laugh . . . and maybe it teaches the most important lesson of all, the one that says that reading truly is fun?

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This is cute--it starts out as a simple story about the infinite maw of a child for child-oriented consumer goods, and ends up a surrealistic tale where the girl turns invisible and has to paint herself a new face and turns her father into a corpselike horror.

When Brigid wants to color with markers (every one else in her class is doing it), she begs her mom to buy some. After promising not to color on the walls, or the floor, or herself, her mom decides to purchase washable markers. Brigid is such an artist that her mom eventually agrees to buy her markers that smell. Soon, Brigid is bored with these special markers, and convinces her mom to buy the super-indelible-never-come-off-until-you're-dead markers. Her mother agrees because Brigid has been so studious in following the rules. However, the time comes when even these super markers bore her, and she decides to color a fingernail. One fingernail doesn't count as coloring on herself, right? Soon, she has colored all her finger nails, and show more then her hands, and eventually her whole body! That definitely breaks the rules.

The silly adventure continues as Brigid tries to cover up her crime. She colors over the other colors with markers that match her own colors; unfortunately, these colors don't stick to the colors underneath, and wash off in the water. Brigid's mom discovers her disobedience, and takes her to a doctor who gives her a large orange pill. It certainly takes the color off - all of her colors. Now Brigid is invisible! She is clever and creative, though, and with the use of some never-come-off-until-you're-dead markers, she might figure a way out of her mess after all.

As a family, we enjoy Munsch's books. The stories are goofy and engaging. They capture a child's imaginative world. How many children have colored on themselves? Likewise, how many children have imagined that permanent markers will never wash off? Although the chain of events is completely unrealistic, realism isn't what we are looking for, and besides, children's tales often employ a great deal of exaggeration and fantasy. In fact, this book reads like an story out of oral tradition. I can easily imagine hearing it told and being just as captivated as I am while reading it. That being said, the bright and comical illustrations are just as strong an element in the book as the text. Don't search for a moral, either; Munsch's books focus on the entertainment, and don't often judge (although some certainly impart a message about life, like The Paper Bag Princess). In this instance, Brigid may learn her lesson from the ordeal that follows upon coloring herself, but the book never deals with that aspect. She actually solves her problem by coloring on herself again. If you have a child prone to coloring everything in sight, skip this book until they are older. Otherwise, enjoy a fun break in your day with story telling that is certain to appeal to your young reader. show less

If I hadn't read this after so many others in [b:The Munschworks Grand Treasury|285755|The Munschworks Grand Treasury|Robert Munsch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390869389l/285755._SX50_.jpg|277243] would I have liked it more? Maybe a bit. At least in this one the naughty kid doesn't triumph, so that's different. But is it a good or bad thing? Don't we read Munsch for that reason, a la' [b:Mortimer|285788|Mortimer|Robert Munsch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579741042l/285788._SX50_.jpg|2052495]?

Such a funny story about a little girl who just can't stop drawing on things. The colorful illustrations blend perfectly with the vivid descriptions of the markers Brigid uses. She draws, and draws and marks, and draws some more, until one day she may have gone a little too far. But will anyone notice?? Fun book!

The family dynamics here are only a little exaggerated. ALL Brigid's friends have colouring markers that wash off with water and make lemons that are yellower than lemons and Brigid PROMISES to be careful ... so her mother buys her 500. And then ALL her friends have new colouring markers that smell like roses or lemons or cow plops ... so her mother buys her 500. And then ALL her friends have the best kind of super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you're-dead-and-maybe-even-later markers .... but her mother should never, never have bought her 500 of those!

You give them an inch, and they will take a mile. That was the lesson that Brigid’s mother learned when her daughter covered herself in her new permanent markers. I enjoyed this book for several reasons, the first being the colorful illustrations. The illustrations were bright and added a depth to the story. The language in this story is very patterned and descriptive. The writing followed patterns by repeating certain words or phrases like, “’Well,’ said Brigid.” This repetition made the book easy to follow along. The descriptive phrases like “super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you’re-dead-and-maybe-even-later” used to describe the markers added a humorous tone to this children’s story that even adults can show more appreciate. The point of view that followed Brigid throughout the story created a sense of innocence that was easy to relate to, as Brigid got a little too creative with her markers. Overall this story was funny while still being relevant, and is something many children will be able to relate to. show less