Lily's Plastic Purse
In “Lil’s Purple Plastic Purse” by Kevin Henkes, Lily is a mouse who loves, loves, LOVES, school. She wants to be many things when she grows up, but really wants to be a teacher because she has a fabulous example–Mr. Slinger, who provides the necessary snacks, wears a different colored tie for each day of the week, and seems really cowboy (if you ask me). Lily has always admired Mr. Slinger, until she gets into trouble because she won’t stop showing off her new belonging, and does something she deeply regrets.
I think Lily’s Plastic Purse is great because it can really teach younger children a valuable lesson: to think before you act.
I really like this section: “Lily’s stomach lurched. She felt like crying. Her glasses were gone. Her quarters were gone. Her purple plastic purse was gone. Lily longed for it all morning. She was even too sad to eat the snack Mr. Slinger served before recess.” I love the quote so much because I can relate to it. When you can relate to a book, you know that the author has truly used the right descriptive words. If I get in trouble in class I ALWAYS want to cry. I never wanted to disappoint my teachers or get them upset with me. Especially when I have a really good teacher.
I really enjoy the Mr. Slinger character because he’s a very compassionate teacher: when Lily gets into trouble he doesn’t make a big deal about it. He just handles it the way it should be handled. I’ve always had teachers like that, and I still do. Anyway, Mr. Slinger also is a fun and energetic teacher with all the snacks and outfits. He is a great example for Lily.
Kevin Henkes has not only written children’s books, but books for older children. He’s written too many for me to list here. There are several books about Lily and other mouse characters, so that would be a good place to start.
I recommend “Lily’s Plastic Purse” to parents who want to read to their babies and toddlers, and to children of any age who love mice, purses, purple, and who LOVE to read. Your reading level at school should never stop you from reading an “easy” book, because we all need a brain break sometimes.
Lily wants you to read about her purple, plastic, purse!