Stories for Growing
Cover of Lilly’s Purple Plastic PurseAges 5 to 8
Making things rightHandling big feelings

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse

Kevin Henkes

Ages 5 to 8
About this age guidance

Kirkus: 5+; Publishers Weekly: 4+. Best fit here: 5–7.

The age tag follows Kirkus review; editorial read-aloud judgment. Other sources may suggest different ages. This is audience guidance, not an independent reading level.

This parent reviewer recommends the story for its familiar burst of excitement and the way Lilly takes responsibility for her mistake.

Lilly loves school and her teacher, Mr. Slinger. Then she brings a musical purple purse to class and cannot wait to show it off. When he takes it until the end of the day, she slips a mean drawing into his bag. His kind note makes her regret it. She makes a new picture, apologizes, and tries again the next day.

Good forActing before thinkingBeing unkind

Recommended by Don’t Read This to My Kids

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What children see in the story

Lilly makes a new picture and apology story at home, then goes to school early to apologize to Mr. Slinger herself. The next day, Lilly waits for Sharing Time to show her purse. Afterward she keeps it in her desk and enjoys looking at it without interrupting the class.

Why it’s on these shelves

Making things right
Lilly makes a new picture and apology story at home, then goes to school early to apologize to Mr. Slinger herself.
Handling big feelings
The next day, Lilly waits for Sharing Time to show her purse. Afterward she keeps it in her desk and enjoys looking at it without interrupting the class.

Why pick it up?

Lilly’s delight in her new purse, her fury at her teacher and her enormous regret make a lively school story. The small drawings and expressive mouse faces give you plenty to notice together.

A note for parents

Lilly draws a mean picture of her teacher. The story gives time to her regret, apology and changed behavior. She also puts herself in an “uncooperative chair”; that is part of the story, not a parenting suggestion.

Where this recommendation comes from

Don’t Read This to My Kids

This parent reviewer recommends the story for its familiar burst of excitement and the way Lilly takes responsibility for her mistake.

Read Don’t Read This to My Kids’s recommendation
Sources and review status

We checked parent recommendations, independent professional reviews and the story’s resolution, and approved this recommendation with the content caution above. We have not personally read the full book. The detailed account of the next day’s waiting comes from one parent review.

Publisher or literacy resource · Original recommendation

Our explanation of the value fit is separate from the original reviewer’s judgment. Their inclusion here does not imply an endorsement of Stories for Growing.

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