Grandma's Purse

The award-winning story, Grandma's Purse by Janice Tingum, appeared in the December 2006 issue of Highlights for Children magazine. Grandma's Purse was a winner of the 2005 Highlights for Children Fiction Contest, which solicited funny stories. The magazine is distributed to 2 million subscribers.

Grandma's Purse is the story of a child who has heard that Grandma has everything in her purse except the kitchen sink. The child sets out to discover exactly what Grandma carries in her big black purse. You'll have to read the story, though, to learn what outrageous items it held!

Tingum explains that the idea for Grandma’s Purse arrived the day she glanced up from her computer and saw on the shelf a small black coin purse that used to belong to her grandmother. It was a little reminder of her grandparents, who are no longer living. She recalled how her Grandma used to fill it with so much change that it bulged. She would carry the coin purse inside of her much larger black purse.

Tingum's grandpa loved poetry and used to challenge his grandkids to memorize the poems of William Wadsworth Longfellow and other famous poets. If the children were able to recite a poem from memory, he’d give them a quarter. Tingum recalls that she memorized “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” and more with the enticement of a quarter.

But sometimes, Grandpa was out of quarters and told the kids to get one from Grandma. Then Grandma would open up that big black purse and fish around till she found the bulging coin purse.

Tingum says, "I figured the expression 'she has everything in her purse except the kitchen sink' was true. With a little imagination, the story took wing."

Grandma's Purse is nicely illustrated by Maurie J. Manning, a talented artist who employs digital watercolor to render her artwork.