The Big Orange Splot

It's been more than two decades since I first read this story and it still makes me smile whenever I see the neighborhood at the end of the story.

Mr. Plumbean lives in a "neat" neighborhood - not neat as in cool or awesome, but neat as in strictly regulated by a HOA. Every single house in the neighborhood looks EXACTLY the same.

Then one day, a seagull flies over the neighborhood with a can or orange paint in his beak (?!?) and spills some of it right on Mr. Plumbean's roof, leaving a big, orange splot.

The neighbors want him to get that mess cleaned up right away, but Mr. Plumbean takes a while to get it done. One night, he starts painting and when the neighbors wake up, they see:

You can imagine how they react and the word about the neighborhood is that Plumbean has "popped his cork, flipped his wig, blown his stack, and dropped his stopper." But he pays no attention and over the next few nights, he adds a clock tower, foliage (including two palm trees), a hammock (hence the palm trees), and an alligator.

Day after day, Mr. Plumbean lays in his hammock and drinks lemonade. Night after night, each neighbor takes a turn visiting him to plead with him to return his house to normal, so their street can once again be "neat." To each person, Mr. Plumbean calmly replies, "My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams."

Day by day, the neighbors awake to find one more home that looks like the owner's dreams until the entire neighborhood is filled with unique homes and happy owners who have all adopted Mr. Pumbean's mantra.

"Our street is us and we are it. Our street is where we like to be, and it looks like all our dreams."

Not only will children enjoy the humor, but this story is a great springboard for conversations about learning to be okay with your uniqueness, and of course, you've got to let each child draw their own dream house - they come up with amazing designs!

Take time to let them drink in the illustrations, you may need to explain a couple of them, and I would definitely discuss what each neighbor's dreams might look like based on the house they designed. This will result in a much richer product when the students design their own dream house.

Pinkwater illustrated the story himself using markers, which make it bright, child-friendly, and fun.

This link will take you to Amazon to purchase The Big Orange Splot.

Jennifer Veneracion reading aloud The Big Orange Splot