I loved this book as a kid. Purple house? YESSSSS!!! Where do I sign up? ( )

A cute story about a guy who just wants to establish a unique identity, dammit. ( )

Is this a simple & funny early-reader book about copycats? Or does it foster independent thought, nonconformity - is it profoundly incendiary? I think it's the latter, and I think it's a must-read. I also think it should have been included in the scholarly anthology [b:Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature|4620044|Tales for Little Rebels A Collection of Radical Children's Literature|Julia L. Mickenberg|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348650534s/4620044.jpg|4670027].

I wonder if the other Mr. Pine stories have such an important theme. Do you know? I'll work harder, now, to find other works by Kessler.

ETA: found [b:Mr. Pine's Mixed-Up Signs|930614|Mr. Pine's Mixed-Up Signs|Leonard Kessler|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347227166s/930614.jpg|915606] and was not nearly so impressed. I'll write a review for it, but basically it's just a funny story, worth reading if you find it in an old library but not meaningful or worth seeking out. ( )

Mr. Pine just wants to be different and stand out but when he tries all the neighbors just wanna be the same. He teaches them that differences are fun!

Mr. Pine has a problem. He can't tell his house from everybody else's.

So he tries one thing, and another, but people keep copying his good ideas! Finally he gets the idea to paint his house purple, and after a few mishaps he does - and starts a trend to paint houses all sorts of strange colors. But only one of them is purple :)

It's a cute story, though a little wordy for a read-aloud. ( )