Noonie's Masterpiece in Purple

Noonie Norton is a "brilliant" 10-year-old artist just waiting to be discovered. Her mother died when she was just a baby, and Dad is traveling the world solving important peace matters, leaving Noonie with relatives who can't fully appreciate fine art, much less the abstract paintings that Noonie creates. Uncle Ralph is an unemployed, pool-playing salesman, Aunt Sylvia is obsessed with clean teeth, and Cousin Junior is a teen terrorist obsessed with aliens. But Noonie is inspired by the eclectic art teacher who tells her that artists have the power to change the world. She enthusiastically creates an abstract painting of her relatives for the school art contest. "They'll love it and then they'll love me," she optimistically proclaims. But the relatives loathe it and confiscate her paints. "You will never paint again!" they jeer. Noonie is visited by the spirits of van Gogh, Picasso and O'Keeffe who, with support and empathy, tell her that an artist never quits, and Noonie ultimately learns that artists do have the power to change the world.