Children's literature, especially in lower elementary, excels at featuring problems real children face. Both Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Knuffle Bunny Too feature a beloved object being taken away at school because the character couldn't handle having the object in school. This is a problem that I often faced as a teacher, and it could be a frustrating one (even if I tried not to show my frustration).
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse features a recurring character in the Kevin Henkes world. Lilly is the main character in this book and in Julius, the Baby of the World, but she first showed up in Chester's Way as a new neighbor. Lilly's creative behavior confused Chester and his best friend, Wilson, but the three became friends (of course).
Lilly is back in her third book, this one taking place mostly at school. Her new teacher, Mr. Slinger, is her favorite. He is interesting and funny, and she loves him. The first 1/3 of the book establishes her appreciation. She writes stories about him, she plays teacher at home, and she talks about him to her family. After a weekend with her grandmother, however, Lilly ends up having her first problem with Mr. Slinger. She received a new purple plastic purse, some quarters, and new sunglasses from her grandmother. Lilly brought them to share during the student sharing time, but could not resist trying to share them earlier in the day. This results in her new gifts being taken away for the rest of the day. Lilly goes through a natural progression of feelings (sad to angry to furious) and then she draws a new picture of him. You can imagine what a furious young mouse would draw. It's not good. She sneaks it into his bag at the end of the day. Uh-oh.
On the way home from school, Lilly discovers that Mr. Slinger put a nice note and some extra snacks in her purple plastic purse. The note says, "Today was a difficult day. Tomorrow will be better." This simple message (that we all need sometimes) sends Lilly into a tailspin. She puts herself in her "Uncooperative Chair," tells her parents, and writes a new story and picture to try to make it better. Lilly learned an important lesson that adults struggle with: don't do X when you are angry. The next day, she makes it better right away. She gives Mr. Slinger the new note and picture, and her parents have helped by writing their own note to Mr. Slinger and by providing delicious snacks. All is forgiven and Lilly returns to her cheery, creative, eccentric self, but she keeps that lesson close.
Anger is not a bad emotion. Anger can be useful and helpful. Misplaced anger, however, hurts others. Lilly learns this the hard way, but Lilly is a character that shows she learns from mistakes. This book is fun to read but also is helpful and students can relate to Lilly. It was always a class favorite!