Horrible Harry and the Purple People

Horrible Harry #8

by Suzy Kline, Frank Remkiewicz (Illustrator)

Book by Kline, Suzy

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Chapter Books, Contemporary, Humor, Middle Grade

51 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Suzy Kline, nee Weaver, was an elementary school teacher for 25 years and most of her books are based on the experiences she had while teaching. Suzy and Rufus got married and had two daughters named Jennifer and Emily. Now, more than 24 years after writing her first book, Suzy has traveled all over the United States helping children learn how to enjoy reading and writing.

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly bizarre story, with or without the nod to Alice in Wonderland. It was a fun story to read aloud, though, and our oldest likes that Harry is in Second Grade (like her) in this story. The book encourages imagination and creativity and discourages bullying and mean behavior.

This is one of the first books we've read in the Horrible Harry series by Suzy Kline and Frank Remkiewicz. We enjoyed reading this book together and I am sure we will read more of the books in this series soon.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrible Harry has a HUGE imagination. The last week of school Harry gets a new ruler. He shows it to his friend Doug. Doug comments on the drawing of the purple monsters at the top of the ruler. “They are not picture of purple monsters. They are pictures of the Purple People” Harry says. So begins another one of Harry’s stories. Harry was famous for his huge imagination but this time he had gone too far! Then when a bee flew in the window, Harry knew just how to prove that the Purple People were real. He waved his ruler, “Pur-ple Peo-ple, Pur-ple Peo-ple, Save the tea-cher, from the bee!” Suddenly the bee that had landed on the teachers head moved to the ruler and Harry took it to the window. Now the children are curious and dare Harry to prove the Purple People are real and show Purple People to them. Harry promises to bring one to the class tea party the next day. Harry noticed that one of the girls in his class was whispering to all the other students later that day at lunch. Harry just knew she was talking about the Purple People and he was getting mad. Mary was the class know-it-all. She was making the Purple Peopl angry too.When the class came in from recess they noticed “The Invasion of the Purple People!” Mary had made little purple monsters and strewn them all over the class. Harry was furious. The next day at the tea Harry had was ready for revenge. He told Mary to hold a mirror while he opened up his thermos. Slowly he poured some of the purple grape juice in his cup. “Mary, you are about to meet one of the purple people”. Doug noticed what was about to happen and just as Harry was dumping the cup, Doug jumped in front of Mary. Mary got to meet a Purple Person that day!

[Rachel Inbar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my kids (aged 5 & 6m took ~20 minutes) and just didn't feel there was anything special about it. I liked the fact that Miss Mackle doesn't mind a bit of nonsense, but the whole thing about the Purple People just seemed stupid. I was kind of waiting for something to happen and then nothing did.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Horrible Harry books are my 6 year old's latest craze. They aren't anything amazing, but they are a nice change from the Magic Tree House books.

[Lelouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

harry was mean. He agrees to show a classmate invisible purple people by dumping grape juice on her. there are pictures in the book though!

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for book club with my nephew, and this time Grandma joins in as well!

My biggest complaint is that the book is called Horrible Harry. Harry is certainly not horrible, and I object to a child being labeled as such. If anything, this should be called Mean Mary the Big Bully.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had this for Sam and Elena to read but I finished mine so I picked it up to see what it was like- I haven't read any Horrible Harrys yet and want to be sure I want my kids reading them. It took me maybe 20 minutes- probably less. I found it cute- funny, without anything I'd really worry my kids pick up on. Yes, Harry does try to dump juice on Mary, but Doug stops him- so we have a good example that wins out and everybody is happy. Great for newly independent readers!

[Rebecca Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suzy Kline is a very creative and imaginative author. She uses an element of fiction and incorporates reality in her chapter books. "Horrible Harry and the Purple People" is appropriate for children above the age of seven. This book is not too long, but it gives children the opportunity to imagine "purple people" and keeps them engaged. I would recommend teachers read this book to their class because it is a fun, easy read book.

[Endira77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your children will learn numerous synonyms for "nonsense" as well as the idiomatic expression, "being a wet blanket." They'll learn a way to prevent conflict and get along with one another. There are fun references to Alice in Wonderland, too! It's a quick read with a hint of suspense and developing social relationships.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry sure has a wild imagination and I believe his antics would really get newly independent readers interested. I will definitely keep this book around. Hopefully the rest of series, is as good as this one.

[Minjun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purple people NEVER exists

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the cutest Horrible Harry book I've ever read, but my 6 year liked it.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book that explores the positive side of using imagination.

[Shelby Troutman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shows that imagination can be both positive and negative, in this case, Harry's imagination brought some of the children together to help Harry prove the purple people existed.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this thinking I read it as a kid but it didn't sound familiar to me at all. The story wasn't bad.

[Benedict Randhawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In room 2B everyone know harry have HUGE imagination, but this time he is gone too far. He start talking about the purple people that only he can see! No one believe in harry not even his best friends. But then weird thing start happening that nothing else can explain.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

In room 2B everyone know harry have HUGE imagination, but this time he is gone too far. He start talking about the purple people that only he can see! No one believe in harry not even his best friends. But then weird thing start happening that nothing else can explain.

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was smart that Harry was going to make Mary a purple person. I didn't like this book because Doug stopped all of the fun by jumping in front of Mary and making Harry dump grape juice on him instead.

[Savani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the books in the series I remember from my younger years. Honestly I don't remember reading it then and reading it now makes me wonder if I read it before.

Mary was such a witch. Luckily Doug was there to defuse the situation at the end.

[Joy Keil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of a large series of fun stories following the antics of Doug, Harry and their friends through 2nd and 3rd grades. Excellent to listen to (available on Hoopla), and usually around 30-45 min, these are enjoyable for kids and adults alike. I highly recommend for your next car ride!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harry is a boy with lots of imagination!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little chapter book about Harry and his big imagination. The class enjoys some hooey and learns a lesson on how to act to your friends along the way. Good for early chapter book readers.

[Lorri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute! Read to Tatum.

[Laurie Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this doing research for a grandchild. Meh. Maybe if I were six or seven years old it would appeal more.

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of purple . My sun had to read this for homework short read I’m so glad it’s over because from an adult standpoint this book was dull , hard to innerstand , and forced

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize that I had actually read this before, but only recognized the story when Doug jumps in front of Mary to prevent Harry from throwing grape juice on her.

[Bailey Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would read this book aloud to my class as it would allow them to come up with their own "purple creatures". This is a fun and quick read but includes a lot of bizarre ideas. I had never read a "Horrible Harry" book but I think it would be good for beginning readers and would have them in my classroom for readers who enjoy this type of book.

[Jocey]

Horrible Harry and the Purple People, by Suzy Kline, is a book about a boy named Harry who sees purple people. The main character is Harry. The book takes place in a school. His main internal struggle is that he sees purple people. His main external struggle is that no one believes him.


During my time reading this book I made a text-to-self connection. Throughout the book Harry tells people he sees purple people but know one believes him. That reminded me of myself. Sometimes I would say something and my friends wouldn’t believe me. Even though people don’t believe us we stick by the truth. We learn that if we try to convince people they may not believe you.


I would give this book 4 star. I liked how I could easily connect to the character. I also liked how the book is easy to understand. I would recommend this book to someone who likes books that are easy to understand. Also to someone who likes books you can connect with.

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this series when I was a child, and I loved Harry's imagination. I loved it so much that I even made my own sort of purple kind of creatures, but they were made out of like a clay sort of substance and they weren't really monsters but cute little creatures I called Chilly Willies that looked sort of like deserts who lived in Alaska.

I know Harry does some horrible things sometimes, but I think he's a pretty cool guy.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one believes Harry about the Purple People. Not even Doughis best friend. The class is reading "Alice in Wonderland",and everyone thinks that Harry's Purple People are as real as the Cheshire Cat. Then a few strange things happen, and no one knows just what to think.