Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes (1996)

Lilly the little mouse loved everything about school from the pointy pencils to the squeaky chalk, from her very own desk to fish stick Friday, but especially her new teacher, Mr. Slinger. He was a cool teacher, wearing sandals and brightly colored shirts and ties, saying "howdy" instead of "good morning, pupils," and providing truly tasty treats. She loved him so much that when he had bus duty, she'd stand in line even thought she didn't ride the bus. Lilly wanted to be a teacher just like him.

Until the day Mr. Slinger fell from his pedestal.

One morning after a weekend shopping with Grammy, Lilly was especially eager to get to school so she could show what she had. She was the proud new owner of movie star sunglasses, three shiny quarters and a purple plastic purse that played music when open. She was so excited she could barely stand it and had a difficult time sitting still or listening to Mr. Slinger's reminders to wait until recess or Sharing Time. Finally, she could take it no longer, and the good Mr. Slinger took. her. things. away!

Lilly was so upset she could barely concentrate the rest of the day. She couldn't even eat her treat. By the time she sat down at the Lightbulb Lab, her creativity was not put to positive use. Instead, she drew a picture depicting the "Big Fat Mean Mr. Stealing Teacher" and put it in Mr. Slinger's bag.

After school, Lilly received her possessions back from Mr. Slinger who had some very nice things to say. Lilly wasn't listening. She was still fuming. What she found when she opened her purse on the way home would make her ashamed of her actions and desperately needing to make amends. But how?

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes is a book that children can easily relate to. Every student has their favorite teacher when they are young, the one they idolize and would do anything for. Inevitably, something will happen to make the child lose that intensity of positive feeling at least for a little while. More often than not, it's over just this type of situation.

The book is aimed at ages 4 to 8 and will probably require assistance due to some larger words like uncooperative, demonstration, and surgeon. Whether read aloud by an adult or read alone by a child, it's definitely going to get its point across in an entertaining way. In fact, this would be a great book for teachers to read to their class as an opening to a discussion based on the reality of its content.

The illustrations done in pen and watercolor, also by Henkes, are so much fun. New details are noticed every time we read like the book Mr. Slinger reads in class, "Stuart Little," and the Groucho Marx glasses Lilly wears when she pretends to be him. Some of the drawings have extra little tidbits (in word form), like the one of Lilly frantically waving her arm in class and at the side it shows her saying "Call on me! Please! Please!"

My three favorites would have to be Henkes' rendition of Lilly's artwork, her time in the uncooperative chair, and the series of illustrations showing the progression of her mood while she's sitting at the Lightbulb Lab (I love that concept) deciding what to draw. I also thought it was clever how he showed, in pictures, that she actually felt smaller when she left school and discovered her surprise from Mr. Slinger after leaving the nasty note for him.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is a well done story that will delight children with both its relatability and its pure entertainment value.

If you liked Lilly here, try her other books

Chester's Way
Julius, the Baby of the World
Lilly's Big Day

Note: The product listing mentions a photo album. My copy, having been borrowed from the library, did not come with one.