Chrysanthemum (book)

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Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum (Henkes book).jpg
Paperback cover
AuthorKevin Henkes
LanguageEnglish
SeriesMouse Books
GenrePicture book
PublisherGreenwillow Books
Publication date
September 16, 1991
ISBN0-688-09699-9
Preceded byJulius, the Baby of the World 
Followed byOwen 

Chrysanthemum is a 1991 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Kevin Henkes.[1]

Chrysanthemum was chosen as an ALA Notable Book and the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and it is on the Horn Book Fanfare Honor List.[2] Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children."[3] It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.[4]

Summary[]

The plot deals with a young mouse named Chrysanthemum, who loves her long, beautiful name until a girl named Victoria and her friends, Rita and Jo, tease her about it. In particular, Jo makes fun of her long name, Rita points out that it hardly fits on a name tag while pointing at her, and Victoria finds her being named after a flower funny. Every time they do this, Chrysanthemum expresses her sadness to her parents, who calm her down with her favorite meals and a game of Parcheesi while her father secretly reads a book on child psychology.

One day, her class gets a new music teacher named Ms. Twinkle to help them with an upcoming musical. Chrysanthemum is assigned to be a daisy, which makes Jo, Rita and Victoria make fun of her once again. When Ms. Twinkle comes over, the three tell her the things they make fun of Chrysanthemum about, only to be shocked that Ms. Twinkle's first name, Delphinium, is also long, hardly fits on a name tag, and is the name of a flower — just like Chrysanthemum, who becomes happy.

The three apologize to her, and she finally doesn't think her name is perfect, she absolutely knows it. Later, Victoria forgets her lines during the musical, which Chrysanthemum finds funny. Ms. Twinkle gives birth to a child, whom she names Chrysanthemum.

Adaptions[]

In 1998 Weston Woods developed an animated story based on the book's illustrations, which was narrated by Meryl Streep. In 2002 it was produced by Newvideo and Scholastic and bundled with 5 other animated stories on a "Scholastic Storybook Treasures" DVD.[5]

In popular culture[]

References[]

  1. ^ Handy, Bruce (May 13, 2007). "Getting Better All the Time". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes". FantasticFiction. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. ^ National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  4. ^ Bird, Elizabeth (July 6, 2012). "Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results". School Library Journal "A Fuse #8 Production" blog. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  5. ^ Scholastic Inc. (2002). "Scholastic Storybook Treasures Chrysanthemum and More Mouse Mayhem DVD". Retrieved November 2, 2013.
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