Chrysanthemum

by Kevin Henkes

Paperback, 1996

Status

Available

Collection

Publication

Greenwillow Books

Description

Chrysanthemum loves her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of it.

User reviews

LibraryThing member rdg301library
Chrysanthemum is about a girl who loves her name but is teased for it at school. She slowly starts hating her name but the adults in her life cheer her up and remind her of why her name is perfect.

This is a great book to have in the classroom because some students will be made fun of for their
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names just like Chrysanthemum was in the story. The characters develop and change over the course of the story. The plot is imaginative and the setting is rich in details so that the reader can visualize the story. The theme of this story is discovered rather than taught. Chrysanthemum’s theme is to stay true to yourself and be proud of who you are. This is so important to teach to children because bullying is such a problem in schools.

Reading Level: K-3
Genre: Fantasy
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LibraryThing member parejess
This was a great story. Chrysanthemum loves her name in every way, whether that is writing it down or hearing it said by her parents, but when she gets to school, the other kids tease her because she is "named after a flower." This brings up the theme of bullying, and how kids will find anything
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they can to pick on. Instead of ignoring her classmates and holding her head high, Chrysanthemum "wilts" and starts thinking that maybe they are right. This brings up peer pressure in a way that the young audience can understand it; instead of being confident about her own name and not caring what other people think, Chrysanthemum succumbs to her classmates' peer pressure and begins to dislike her name. However, in the end, she regains that confidence about her name when she finds someone she can relate to, and the other kids learn that making fun of her isn't the right thing to do. There are a lot of life lessons packed into this book.
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LibraryThing member jgiann2
In my opinion, this is an excellent book that teaches a valuable lesson to young children. There is a repetition of the main character’s name, “Chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum,” which is helpful for readers who are pronouncing this complex word. Some advanced vocabulary terms are
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used in the book. This is great way to get readers introduced to new “wow” words. The illustrations are gorgeous and filled with detail and vibrant colors. The plot of the story is Chrysanthemum loved her name and thought it was beautiful and perfect. But then her new classmates make fun of how the name is long and silly. Chrysanthemum then thought her name was “absolutely dreadful.” The language makes the reader feel sympathy for poor Chrysanthemum. Fortunately, Mrs. Twinkle reveals she also has a flower name that is very long. She loves flower names and wants to name her new baby Chrysanthemum. All the students are then jealous of the name and Chrysanthemum realizes her name truly is “absolutely perfect.” The character of Chrysanthemum is relatable and believable. Some readers understand the pain of classmates making fun of them. The book pushes readers to think about bullying and how this negative behavior affects other individuals. The big idea of the story is to be proud of who you are and realize that your unique qualities are what make you special.
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LibraryThing member lgrube4
I LOVED this book!! I've always loved Kevin Henkes' books as a child and just remembered why! One of my favorite books as a child was "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse", which was also written by Kevin Henkes. I love his illustrations and the stories behind his mouse characters. Chrysanthemum was about
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a little girl who absolutely loved her name, but when she started going to school everyone would make fun of her for it. Until one day when her music teacher (who they all loved) told the class that her name was a type of flower as well. After that, Chrysanthemum became friends with her classmates and loved her name again because the teacher they all looked up to stuck up for her. It's a lovely story because it talks about the fears some children face when going to school. It's a very fun and colorful story, and I love how Kevin Henkes characters are always mice. It brought back a lot of memories for me. The illustrations were realistic and creative because he portrays the mice as real children which characteristics of humans. The plot was also organized, there was enough detail to keep you interested, but the story was simply enough for children as well.
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LibraryThing member hnnewton
I absolutely loved this book. It would be a great character education book to read about respect. The students learn to appreciate things.
LibraryThing member t1bclasslibrary
Chrysanthemum things her name is perfect- until Victoria won't stop harassing her about it. After that she hates it and wants it to be like everyone else's, until a teacher tells her it's great. An important reminder to be on the look out for things like that, so you can change them.
LibraryThing member kidlit9
Chrysanthemum loves her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of it.
LibraryThing member SJeanneM
I loved this book. It is a such a great example of overcoming peer pressure. It is the story of a little girl who goes to school and everyone says terrible things about her name and teases her. She goes home every night and hates her name more. Her parents reassure her that her name is perfect. She
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finally meets the coolest teacher who has a similar name and she thinks that the lead characters name is fabulous and all the other kids are terribly jealous of her cool name now. Great example of why kids shouldn't tease other kids and hurt feelings. Also, there are a lot of really great big words in this book but they are well enough integrated that a child can understand by the context what they mean.
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LibraryThing member KelleyRosenboom
I simply love books that encourage children to be themselves. There is so much pressure on kids to "grow up" and I think it is sad that we want to rush the most innocent and carefree days of their lives! The author takes us on the journey of not liking your name simply because of what others think.
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Finally, accepting herself for who she is and loving herself inspite of what others may think or say sends a message to kids to love everything about themselves no matter what. Another fantastic read!
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I love this book - the illustrations are adorable, and the theme of learning to appreciate oneself is charming. Chrysanthemum's parents are loving and helpful, the other girls are obnoxious! and her teacher is one in a million.
LibraryThing member Runa
Adorable as ever :) I'm thinking I might use this for my children's lit paper, hey, why not? Love it just as much as I loved it when I read it years ago. The illustrations are still great (and snarky!), and the writing's just perfect, capturing the imaginations of both young and old. It's truly a
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tale of individuality for the ages.
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LibraryThing member RyaneClayton
this was a charming book about a young mouse and her absolutely perfect name, Chrysanthemum. The book tells of her anxiety of starting school and how other students make fun of her unusual name. The embarrassment of her name finally goes away when a very popular teacher shares her approval of the
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name and even names her own daughter Chrysanthemum.
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LibraryThing member Charlee526
This is a great book about loving your name when other people make fun of it. It also shows kids that they shoud not make fun of people because of theit name.
LibraryThing member eayerby
This book was absolutely fabulous and had a great story to it. The pictures were also very bright and went really well with the story. The pictures also had little hidden meanings in them and the author had a good sense of humor. I think any child would love this book, I know I did. It would be
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appropriate for younger age children but I think any age group would enjoy it.
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LibraryThing member johns058
Chrysanthemum is a wonderful book for children in kindergarten and first grade. It is an excellent book that helps children learn and love their name. I loved the pictures and story line was terrific. It is also a great book for teaching children self confidence.I would encourage everyone to read
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this book to their students.
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LibraryThing member jycorkren
I really enjoyed the message that this book portrays to children. Chrysanthemum is picked on in school because of her name, but in the end the book shows in a nice way that individualism is nothing to be ashamed of.
LibraryThing member mbberg
I really enjoyed Chrysanthemum. I thought the story had a good message of teaching children to respect and embrace each other's differences. I also thought it helped to boost children's self essteem who have unique qualities about themselves that they are ashamed or embarrassed of. Overall I loved
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the book!
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LibraryThing member baphilipson
I liked this book because it teaches children to not be self conscious. Chrysanthemum didn't like her name because everyone was making fun of it, but when she saw that someone everyone liked liked her name she changed her mind. It also shows children some of the effects bullying can have on a
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person. We all saw how sad Chrysanthemum was when the other children were teasing her.
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LibraryThing member ceklepper
I thought this was a really good book to read to students in probably 2nd or 3rd grades. I have a very different name, and sometimes I did not like it when I was younger. My best friend's name, was Jessica and I always thought I would like to be a Jessica. I think this book could serve to help
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students to be confident in who they are not want want to change who they are.
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LibraryThing member sdglenn
A little girl named after a flower loves her name unitl she starts school and the other children start to make fun of her. The children start to like her name after their very fascinating and pregnant music teacher is named after a flower and plans to name her unborn child Chrsanthemum. Very good
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book. Appropriate for k-3.
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LibraryThing member mlsullivan
I thought it was a book that showed children how to be unique. It taught us to be proud of who we are. In the end, everyone realized the beauty of her name and wanted to have a fun name as well.
LibraryThing member sldavis2
This is a good book to read to children not only to entertain them, but also for encouragement. My children like this book and so do I, it also is a good book to read and then discuss why Chrysanthemum was being teased, and how being teased can make us feel.
LibraryThing member rdbyars
I loved this book. I liked it because it tricked me. I did not know that the person that was scared about going to school was the teacher until the end. I thought the whole time it was the little girl. It was a fun book that was fun to get into. Kids would love it.
LibraryThing member ccondra
A very cute children's book. It has a good lesson on believing in yourself no matter who puts you down. Also to be proud of who you are.
LibraryThing member rjmcwhorter1
This book is adorable, and I really liked it a lot. It could be read to children on the first day of school, to ease their first day fears.

Awards

Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 1994)
Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominee — Picture Book — 1994)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 1994)
Flicker Tale Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 1993)

Language

Original publication date

1991

ISBN

688147321

Barcode

269
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