Chrysanthemum | Kevin Henkes | The Need For Hugs, Kisses And Parcheesi

Chrysanthemum | Kevin Henkes | An absolutely perfect name!

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Chrysanthemum

	Chrysanthemum Kevin Henkes Mulberry Books, 1996 - 32 pages average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Need For Hugs, Kisses And Parcheesi

CHRYSANTHEMUM wonderfully explores the common but often painful transition from safe preschool life at home to the larger world of life at school. Chrysanthemum is a sweet little mouse eager to start school who is soon mocked by her more conventionally named classmates for her thirteen letter long flower name her mother and father find "perfect". Though her classmate's taunts make her "wilt" at school she "blooms" at home in the evening from the comfort of her understanding parents and their hugs, kisses and games of Parcheesi. This picture book is a great read aloud since Chrysanthemum's comically cruel peers can be given individual humorous voices by the reader. All is resolved with a creative, happy (albeit far fetched) ending and the book can also be a good starting point for class discussions on tolerance and kindness to others. Cute, appealing drawings by author/illustrator Kevin Henkes really enhance this beautiful little story.

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An absolutely perfect name!

Chrysanthemum adores her name until she goes to school and gets teased about it. The kids pick at her because she's named after a flower, and her name is so long. The class has a music teacher who happens to be pregnant. She hears the children's opinions of Chrysanthemum's name and announces to the class that she also has a long name and is named after a flower. And, if her baby is a girl, she is thinking of naming her - Chrysanthemum! The kids change their minds about Chrysanthemum's name and decide that it really is pretty cool. The teacher has her baby, and named her Chrysanthemum.

This has long been one of our favorite books, I enjoy reading this as much as my daughter does listening to it! The story is cute, with a good little message and the pictures are adorable!

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Chrysanthemum hits a nerve!

Chrysanthemum hits a nerve with all the first graders I have ever taught in school. Everyone is so afraid of being teased about something and Chrysanthemum scores a victory in the end. It's great for the first of school for the young set.

a wonderful addition to any classroom

This is a wonderful book, which is a great addition to all elementary school classrooms. It will help children learn how to embrace diversity and be proud of who they are.

A Big Name And A Special Message

Chrysanthemum... Chrysanthemum.. Chrysanthemum... Who does not like the name Chrysanthemum? Well, the little mouse in the book loves her name. She loved the way it sounded when her mother said it. She loved the way it sounded when her father said. She even loved the way it was spelled.

That is, until the day that Chrysanthemum started school and her classmates started to tease her about her name. "It's too long.", one child chided. "You're named after a flower!", exclaimed another. "If I had a name like yours, I'd change it."

Sure enough, the continuous taunting made Chrysanthemum feel misreable. She went home and wished that she had a different name. Her parents tried to reassure her and tell her that her name was beautiful, perfect, priceless but that didn't help much until Chrysanthemum met her music teacher and discovered that Mrs. Twinkle's first name was just as spectacular as Chrysanthemum. The children stopped teasing Chrysanthemum after that and all wanted to change their names too (Marigold, Carnation, Lily of the Valley).

This story is effective in portraying the feelings that a child feels around others at times (insecurity, awkwardness, self-doubt) and wishes there is something they could change about themselves that they don't like. It also expresses the idea that even though we are all different, everyone is special in their own way.

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