The glasses were so glittery.
The quarters were so shiny.
And the purse played such nice music, not to mention how excellent it was for storing school supplies.
"Look," Lilly whispered fiercely. "Look, everyone. Look what I've got!"
The quarters were so shiny.
And the purse played such nice music, not to mention how excellent it was for storing school supplies.
"Look," Lilly whispered fiercely. "Look, everyone. Look what I've got!"
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is a 1996 children's picture book by Kevin Henkes.
Lilly loves everything about school, including her amazing teacher, Mr. Slinger. One day, she comes to school with a brand-new purple plastic purse, three jingly quarters, and movie-star sunglasses. She wants to show them to everyone, but when she can't hold it in until Sharing Time, Mr. Slinger confiscates them for the rest of the day. As a result, Lilly is so upset and angry that she ends up doing something she really regrets. Can she fix her mistake?
For other books by the same author, see Chrysanthemum and Wemberly Worried.
This picture book provides examples of:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Lilly and her purple plastic purse.
- An Aesop:
- There's a time and a place for showing off.
- Sometimes, when you are angry at the people you care about, you might end up lashing out and doing something you regret. But that doesn't mean your actions are unforgivable, as long as you apologize and do your best to make up for it.
- Apology Gift: To apologize for drawing a mean picture of Mr. Slinger, Lilly draws a nicer picture of him and writes a story about him, too. Her mother writes a note and her father bakes some tasty snacks to go with it.Lilly: These are for you. Because I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really sorry.
- Attention Whore: Lilly really, really wants everyone to see her purple plastic purse, shiny quarters, and fashionable sunglasses.
- The Cameo: Chester, Wilson, and Victor from Chester's Way can be seen running to catch up with Lilly before the first page.
- Cool Teacher: Mr. Slinger wears a different tie for every day of the week, brings tasty snacks for his class, and arranges desks in a semicircle. Lilly admires him so much that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, too.
- Good Parents: Lilly's parents are understanding about the situation with the purse and the drawing, and help her make some snacks to give to Mr. Slinger as an apology gift.
- Idea Bulb: One appears above Lilly's head when she's sitting at the drawing table and gets the idea to draw a mean picture of Mr. Slinger as revenge for her purse getting confiscated. Guess they don't call it the Lightbulb Lab for nothing...
- Moment of Weakness: Lilly greatly admires her Cool Teacher, Mr. Slinger, and usually does her best to be a good student. But one day, when she is angry with Mr. Slinger for confiscating her purse, she draws a mean picture of him that says "Big Fat Mean Mr. Stealing Teacher!" and sneaks it into his book bag. She ends up regretting this later.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After she draws a mean picture of Mr. Slinger as revenge for her purse getting taken away, Lilly feels absolutely horrible after she gets it back and finds a bag of tasty snacks in it and a note that says, "Today was a difficult day. Tomorrow will be better."
- Overly Long Gag: Lilly says "really" a total of 18 times while expressing to Mr. Slinger how sorry she is for drawing the mean picture.
- Riddle for the Ages: What was in the note that Lilly's mother wrote to Mr. Slinger?
- Shameful Shrinking: When Lilly’s purse gets confiscated by her teacher Mr. Slinger, she’s so angry that she draws a mean picture of him and puts it in his bag. She gets her purse back at the end of the day, and finds a bag of tasty snacks and a kind note in it. When she sees them, she feels so horrible about giving him the mean drawing that the illustration shows her shrinking over four panels.
- Shout-Out: At one point, Mr. Slinger is shown reading Stuart Little to his students.
- Show-and-Tell Antics: More like Pre-Show-And-Tell Antics, but Lilly gets in trouble when she keeps trying to show off her purse, glasses, and quarters before Sharing Time. Mr. Slinger confiscates them as a result.
- Stock Animal Diet: All of the characters are mice, and Mr. Slinger's students love his cheesy snacks. One of the illustrations also shows Mr. Slinger giving a lesson about different types of cheese.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: Lilly can't resist showing off her purse when she's not supposed to, and as a result, Mr. Slinger takes it away for the day. She's so upset that she can't even bring herself to eat the snack he serves before recess.
- Wingding Eyes: Lilly's eyes turn into orange spirals when she's really mad about Mr. Slinger confiscating her purse.
