Splodge
LIGHTER WITH WHITE
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Splodge is a round, soft blob of white paint, as white as a cloud and as soft as a pillow. Splodge lives on the paint tray with three friends: Scarlet the red, Goldie the yellow and Bluebell the blue.
One morning Bluebell feels a little too dark and deep, like the sea at night. "I wish I could be the colour of the sky," says Bluebell.
"I can help," says Splodge, wobbling over. "Watch." And Splodge gives Bluebell a gentle hug in the mixing well.
Swirl, swirl, swirl.
Bluebell turns lighter and softer, the soft blue of a morning sky. "Ooh," says Bluebell. "I feel like a sunny day."
"That's my idea," says Splodge, very pleased. "A little dab of white makes any colour lighter. Not gone, not new, just softer."
Then Scarlet wants a turn. Splodge hugs Scarlet, just a little, and Scarlet turns pink, like a petal. Splodge hugs a little more, and Scarlet turns paler still, like a seashell.
"A little white, a little lighter," sings Splodge. "More white, lighter still. And I never rush. One dab at a time, so you can see it change."
That is Splodge's soft idea.
A little white makes a colour lighter and softer.
A grown-up can paint too! Put a colour in the well, then add one dab of white and look. Is it lighter? Add one more. Say the colour out loud together: "pink", "sky blue", "light green".
At the end of the day Splodge settles down on the tray, round and calm and cosy, glad to have made the whole world a little softer. "Light colours," Splodge yawns, "are like a quiet morning. Shhh."
A dab of white. A little lighter. That's Splodge.
Hear it as an audio drama
A short play starring Splodge, from PaintTots. Different voices, same idea. Listen any time after you read.
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Read the drama script
- Narrator: From Spark and Anvil and PaintTots — this is Splodge, in chapter 1 of the PaintTots cast.
- Narrator: This drama uses an AI-generated voice. Voiced via Gemini 2.5.
- Narrator: On the paint tray, the friends are painting a picture of the night sky. Bluebell is painting it. And Bluebell's night is very, very dark.
- Bluebell: It's so dark, I can't see the sky at all. Can the sky get a little bit lighter?
- Splodge: I can help. I'm white, and white makes things lighter. Watch.
- Narrator: Splodge rolls into the mixing well. Just a little dab of white. Swirl, swirl, swirl.
- Bluebell: Ooh! Now I'm the blue of a sky just after the sun goes down.
- Splodge: A little dab of white makes a colour lighter. Shall we try one more dab?
- Narrator: Swirl, swirl, swirl.
- Bluebell: Now I'm the blue of a morning sky!
- Narrator: Scarlet the red rolls over. She has been listening.
- Scarlet: Can you make me lighter too, Splodge?
- Splodge: Let's see. A little dab of white. Swirl, swirl, swirl.
- Narrator: And Scarlet turns soft. She turns pink, like a petal. Like a sleepy cheek.
- Scarlet: I'm pink! I'm still me, but lighter.
- Splodge: That's my idea. A little dab of white, and any colour gets lighter and softer.
- Narrator: Can you say it with Splodge? A little dab of white makes it lighter. Next time you paint, try a dab of white, and see what your colour does.
- Narrator: You've been listening to a Spark and Anvil chapter, written by the Spark and Anvil writing team for ages 9 to 14.
- Narrator: Spark and Anvil is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) pending. Apps stay free forever.
- Narrator: Curriculum aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
- Narrator: Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 for educational reuse. Visit Spark and Anvil for the full transcript.
Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up
For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.
Let them finish it
Say “Splodge says: a little dab of white makes …” and stop. Let them finish it.
Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.
Circles together: 0
The PaintTots ensemble
Splodge is one of the friends in PaintTots. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.
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Scarlet
Two colours make a new one - Scarlet the red paint, who hugs a friend in the mixing well and out comes a colour neither could make alone: red and yellow make orange, red and blue make purple
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Goldie
One dab at a time, then look - Goldie the yellow paint, who adds a little, stops, and looks at what changed before adding more
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Bluebell
No mistakes in paint - Bluebell the blue paint, whose muddy brown mix is not wrong but new: keep going and see what it can become
