#BOOKREVIEW
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK REVIEW AS A WRITER AND A READER

Title: Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
Author & Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Genre: Fiction, Children’s Picture Book
Target Reader: 5 – 7 years

Lilly loves school and everything about it. The most important reason she enjoys her school life is her teacher, Mr. Slinger. She pretends to teach her little brother just like Mr. Slinger at home, because she wants to become a teacher when she grows up.

One day, Lilly took her purple plastic purse, shiny coins, and glittery movie star sunglasses to class to show everyone, and in her excitement, she became disruptive. Mr. Slinger had to take away those things to teach Lilly an important life lesson.

Like most children, Lilly wants to be the best at everything. As a teacher for 6–7-year-old kids, I see many similarities between Lilly and the kids I teach. I had a good laugh while reading this book as Kevin Henkes, the author and illustrator, has captured the true nature of children of that age. Every time Lilly does something in school, I see a child I taught over the years.

Children at this age have a deep desire for acceptance and love, and they keep themselves away from getting into trouble. Although that’s true for every human being, children 0-7 years old are expressive in showing that need. 

Kevin presented Lilly as a good girl who is always ready to make her teacher happy. She reminded me of one of my six-year-old students. That child loved writing stories and was so kind and innocent that I worried that people might take advantage of her innocence when she grows, or she might have a hard time voicing herself. Seeing her, I felt sad about the world we are part of, and I worried that people could take advantage of her innocence. I wish that she would become bold and strong as she grows.

Then I could picture some students who are always eager, like Lilly, to answer every question, even when they don’t know the answer or speak out of turn because they lack patience.

Through this story, Kevin teaches children the importance of patience as a virtue. Kids love to show off their favourite gift received from parents or grandparents. Some become overexcited, while others remain subdued, but all want to display it to the entire class. They often lose patience and wish to carry that item all the time and everywhere in school. It can even distract the teacher and the class. For children, that object means everything to them. It helps them become the centre of attention.

The story – Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse – highlights the natural behaviour of a child seeking acceptance and just being a child. It presents an opportunity to talk to children about patience and also teaches adults how to calmly and respectfully manage children’s emotions and intense reactions.

I loved reading and reviewing this book. Kevin loves to use animals as characters in his books, and that is a brilliant way to grab children’s attention. I wish the title of the book and the story were a bit shorter. I feel the target audience for this book is 5 onwards due to the length of the story. The pictures are eye-catching and well-illustrated.

It is a good read. Children like Lilly, always full of energy and dreams, keep the class environment happy and enthusiastic. 

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