Anyone who grew up finding marshmallow chicks in their Easter basket can relate to this story. When i was a kid they were yellow. Now these chicks come in all colors. I am a kindergarten teacher. My students loved this book. Now, one child takes it home with an Owen plush and a plastic egg with a marshmallow chick inside. They don't know what color their chick is until they get home. I provide a journal for them to document the color, write a story about their visit with Owen and draw a picture. They LOVE it!

This story is a perfect read for Easter or any time of the year! While my child loves to bite the head off of his marshmallow chicks, he could understand Owen's attachment to the treat. Owen projects his emotional attachment of his favorite blanket onto the marshmallow chick (that is the same color as his blanket)and doesn't gobble it up like his other holiday treats. This ending is absolutely priceless and we read this story at least once a week. Since there is no focus on spirituality or religion in this board book, it would be appropriate in a home of any faith (especially with those who are fans of marshmallow chicks!). Highly recommended!

No author captures the essence of a preschooler like Kevin Henkes. "On Easter monring, Owen's basket was full." Little blanket toting Owen jumped for joy as he first surveyed and then gobbled down all his "favorites." There were jelly beans and gumdrops, buttercream eggs and a big chocolate bunny. And then there was a little yellow marshmallow chick. "It was the same color as his fuzzy yellow blanket." And Owen loved it. He didn't eat the chick, but played with it all day. At bedtime, Owen decided to put "his favorite" on the shelf with his best toys. Sweet dreams..... Henkes' simple and gentle text is kept to a minimum. The real story is told through his bright and engaging artwork, and youngsters will enjoy the charming facial expressions and special details in each illustration. Perfect for little ones 4 and younger, Owen's Marshmallow Chick is a sweet and tender board book you don't want to miss.

Ever had to watch someone elses ill-behaved child? That is the storyline of "Weekend With Wendell". Sophie is informed by her parents that Wendell is coming to stay while his parents go out of town. Wendell begins to wreck havoc the second he steps into the house. He not only tears up Sophie's room, but he always insists on making the rules. E.g.: when they play "hospital", Wendell is the doctor, the nurse, and the patients...Sophie gets to be the desk clerk.

At dinner, Wendell claims he's allergic to anything green, thereby escaping the vegetable problem. He also takes an opportunity to sccop the whipped cream off Sophie's dessert. "When is Wendell leaving?!?", Sophie constantly asks her parents, who reply "Soon!". After Wendell pinches her, tries to make a long distance phone call, and gives Sophie a hew hairdo with shaving cream, she's had it. She convinces Wendell to accompany her outside to play "firechief" for her revenge. You can guess who gets to be the firechief, and who gets to be the burning building.

We love all the Kevin Henkes books, some of which (including "Weekend With Wendell") are now available on DVD and read by the likes of Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mary Beth Hurt. Any Kevin Henkes book is a valuable investment in your child's library. You'll enjoy them as much as they do.

This book cracks me up. I like all of Kevin Henkes' books, but for some reason, this one really makes me laugh (I especially like when they play bakery and Sophie has to be a sweetroll). More importantly, my 4-year-old loves it too. And, of course, buried deep in this story is a nice lesson about being polite to a guest, no matter how difficult that can be.

This is another great book by an outstanding writer and illustrator. Henkes is very good at capturing the little things in the minds of our little ones. I have a 2 1/2 year old boy and a 6 year old girl, and they both really like this book. As a matter of fact, so does this 35 year old. It's not quite up there with Sheila Rae, the Brave and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, but it's very close. Highly recommended.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is a favorite in our house, from our youngest to the adults. As any parent with young childrent, you can excpet to read a favorite book over and over, almost to the point of going crazy, but this book is a rare treasure because you never giet tried of reading it. The illustrations are sweet and full of humor and emotion. The words flow easily off the tongue, and the moral is something any child or adult can relate to.

The Lilly Doll is adorable and very child friendly. And what's truly great is that er clothes come off and withstand regular use. A great find.

As a second grade teacher, I find that every year Lilly is one of my class's favorite characters. She is bold, funny, and irresistably lovable. I especially love the part where she simply must show off her sparkly purple movie star sunglasses despite the warning from her teacher. Children can really relate to her. Kevin Henkes has truly created a character that will stand the test of time with children.

I love Lilly. She lets her emotions get the best of her, just like we all do. Then she has regrets for her actions. What's very nice is that Lilly turns to her parents for help. They understand and help her take steps to rectify the situation. This is a funny book for kids, but it also gives parents and kids a chance to talk about what Lilly did well and what she should have done differently.

Bailey's older siblings are off on a camping trip, but Bailey's too young to go. What to do? Why, have an indoor camping adventure, of course.

This simple, sweet, warm, loving story will really appeal to younger children. The illustrations are wonderful, the text is straightforward and the situations ring genuinely true. This is the sort of tale that leaves a fond smile on everyone's face. Be advised, however, after reading it you'll likely be looking for an old blanket to thrust into tent duty fot the afternoon!

Do your whole family a favor and go camping with Bailey!

The story of a little brother who is too young to do all the fun things his older brother and sister get to do, so his parents create a special day just for him. The wonderful illustrations and simple story are enough to make any little child love this book. Camping indoors is fun for any age, but especially for a little boy bunny who gets to do all the things his older siblings get to do. Beware! You may have to recreate the fun of camping indoors for any toddler who has this book read to them. Oh well, there are worse things! Great book!

This is a great book to start off the school year. The childrenwill enjoy this wonderful story of a little mouse who loves her nameuntil she begins school and is made fun of for it. It is a great way to start discussions on diversity in the classroom, how to treat people equally and nicely, and except everyone and anyone for who they are.

Lily's Mom is pregnant, and she can't wait for the new baby. Things take a dramatic turn for the worse, though, when baby Julius actually arrives. Lily stops singing to the baby, takes back "presents" she "gave" him before he came, and tries to manipulate his future thinking capabilities by reciting numbers and the alphabet out of order. She also spends more than her share of time in the "uncooperative chair". Once her Cousin Garland voices her digust at baby Julius, however, Lily becomes the fiercely protective older sister and learns to love her new baby brother in the process. This book is my 3 year old daughter's new favorite, since she has a 2 year old brother and another brother arriving in approx. 3 months. A great gift for any older siblings-to-be, especially girls. Kevin Henkes always seems to have a book that deals with one childhood trauma or another, and we just can't get enough of them!

Kevin Henkes has written some wonderful books but Juilus steals my passion for reading. Everytime I read this story and act out Lilly's intolerable personality towards her baby brother Julius my students go wild. They especially love the part when Lilly is bending over the crib telling Julius the wrong order of the ABC's and 123's. I plan on buying all of Kevin Henkes books. I already have Chester's Way, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Shelia Rae the Brave, Chrysanthemum, A Weekend With Wendell, and Jessica. He is a great author and his books exhibit his talent.

The big sister is not at all thrilled by her baby brother until another kid at school disparages him. A great lesson in family stick-togetherness. "Julius" is a very good book for a mom (or dad) and kid read-aloud. My little girl begs for it, perhaps because it involves a baby and a big sister, which is something she knows a lot about. And I like it too, because as many times as I am requested to read it, I never tire of it. This is due in part to the thoughtful, colorful illustrations. But also, it is a very sweet story.

My four year old loves this book, when Lilly does her stuff my son loses it, he actually gets belly laughs. We read his book five nights in a row when we first got it, and we didn't mind reading it over and over. Lilly really is a crack up. The moral is great. I have since bought "Julius Baby of the World" and we have read this the past three nights in a row, and we look forward to reading more by Kevin Henkes.

We are going to be using this book on our unit on Friendship. We will discuss the likes of each of the characters in the book, and how different they may be, but how they are friends. Kevin Henkes has a wonderful website as well, where you can get reproducibles. As a counselor and parent it is an invaluable resource!!...

When I read this book it made me reminisce about my friend and me. We do everything together.
When Lilly moved in, it was bad for Chester and Wilson to not like her. Then it was nice of her to help them out when they were in a predicament.

Henkes is my favorite children's author. I especially like Owen because so many kids do have a little "comfy" that they depend on and would just hate to give up. My son carries around a stuff blue turtle everywhere. The pictures are wonderful. Henkes can show expressions and emotions in the most minute way (like widening the eyes to show fear or surprise). The characters are precious. If you have a little one with a favorite blanket or stuff toy, this would be a great book to read out loud to them.

Owen has a yellow blanket that is worn, tatty, and just plain raggity. But he doesn't care; his blanket "Fuzzy" has been with him through haircuts, dental appointments, sleepless nights, and other milestones in a child's life. Owen's parents are at a loss over what to do; fortunately, nosy Mrs. Tweezers, the next door neighbor, has several suggestions, none of which work. Only Owen's Mom can come up with the perfect solution to change "Fuzzy" into a big-boy item. A perfect book for parents who are having a hard time getting ther child to part with "security" items told in a way that only Kevin Henkes can tell.

...I love this book! Once again the author Henkes created a loveble and real character that young children (especially ones with "blankies") can relate to!! I find "Mrs. Tweezers" (the nosy next door neighbor) absolutely hysterical as she constantly harasses Owens parents to get rid of his blanket... "Haven't you ever heard of the vinegar trick? The Blanket Fairy? Just saying no?" Owens mom ultimately saves the day in a way which even Mrs. Tweezers can't object! Owen is a book which children love... and adults don't CRINGE while reading!

This is a book that adults will appreciate as much as children. Pay close attention to all that's happening in the illustrations. You can't help but love Lilly, she means well but like any of us she finds herself in trouble. Mr. Slinger, Lilly's teacher is a hero. This is a must read for all kids. Makes a great gift, look for a purple plastic purse and movie star sunglasses to go a long with it! After reading this book you'll find yourself looking for and falling in love with all of Kevin Henkes' books! Wow! That is all I can say. Wow!

Lilly loves school and especially her teacher, but can't help breaking a rule one day. Alienation and guilt soon follow. Note that Lilly punishes herself!! Her parents help her reconcile and by the end of the book the world is restored to it's former glory. Great book for giving young kids a roadmap for overcoming conflict and reassuring them that their parents will help them when they make a mistake. This is the book I give most often as a gift. Every child should have this in their library.
Any of the nearly 18,000 graduates of the Education for Ministry program (University of the South at Sewanne, TN), will immediately recognize the Hebrew Scripture's cycle of "Creation, Sin, Judgment, Repentance, and Redemption" in this extremely well written and illustrated book, though you won't see those loaded words anywhere in the text. Perhaps every adult should have this book as well.

Kevin Henkes' "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" has long been a big favorite in our family. Henkes not only does superbly human-like mice for the illustrations, but he has a firm grasp on what it is that makes kids tick: the impulsiveness, the buoyancy, the peevishness, and more. He makes Lilly, our heroine, not only, well, human (even though she's a wee white mouse), but utterly sympathetic despite her faults.

Lilly has a fierce admiration for her very cool teacher, Mr. Slinger. Then one fateful day, Lilly shows up with a totally fashionable purple plastic purse (accompanied by "glittery movie star sunglasses with real diamonds"). She, of course, is feeling that she's the height of mouse fashion and glamour, but Mr. Slinger puts a stop to that. He irritates her by taking away the glasses and purse when it's clear that they're impeding Lilly's attention in class. Lilly is furious and takes out her anger on Mr. Slinger in a sneaky way. He meets her anger with patience and understanding, and she is apologetic. All's right with the world by the end of the book.

Henkes has a marvelous and intuitive feel for the way little kids think and how they express themselves. That, combined with his completely charming drawings, means that "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" is a grand way to spend twenty minutes reading to the nearest mouse-loving kid.

I love Kevin Henkes' other books, and I love dogs (we have three). So you'd think that this book would have been love at first sight. But I don't get it. Sorry Kevin! Give me more Lilly, Julius, and Wendell.......and I'll keep coming back for more.

My girl just turned 4 and is very artistic/graphic, and she just thinks this book is terrific (even though it says babies to preschool). I agree with the other reviewer, the plot is rather, um... lacking or bizarre (ie. it's never going to be one of my favorites). But she likes the pictures and the conceptualization of it, so I think that's the point. Now she goes around town and see's large O's and says "circle dogs!"

Our three-year-old, who's a big fan of Margaret Wise Brown, absolutely loves the sounds and rhythms of this story, and wants it read again and again. She now recites it word for word. The illustrations by Dan Yaccarino give this book a really different feel from Henkes's books about mice but that's okay. In fact, the change magnifies the strength of his writing for small children. Like Margaret Wise Brown, he really understands their world view. A great book!