"Her name must be everything she is, said her mother. Her name must be absolutely perfect, said her father."
Title: Chrysanthemum
Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Greenwillow
Date of Publication: 1991
Genre: Fiction
Readability Lexile: 410L
Summary:
Chrysanthemum loved everything about her name until she went to school for the first time. All of the other students make fun of her because her name is so long and because she is named after a flower. Chrysanthemum begins to hate her name. Her parents try to cheer her up by telling her that they picked a perfect name for her because she is perfect but Chrysanthemum doesn’t believe them… that is until she meets Mrs. Twinkle, the music teacher. Everyone loves Mrs. Twinkle, especially Chrysanthemum when she learns that she was named after a flower and has a very long name as well.
Evaluation:
This is one of my favorite mouse books. The story is fantastic and like so many of Henkes' books this one is easy for children to relate their own first day of school or bullying experiences to it. The events that take place in this book could really happen to someone on their first days of school. Chrysanthemum must overcome issues of bullying by her classmates. She loves her name in the beginning of the story, thinks its a curse in the middle of the story, and loves it even more at the end of the story. Chrysanthemum learns that her name is really important to her and that it is important to take pride in who you are.
Chrysanthemum is just an everyday girl with a super long flower-themed name. Many children go through a period when they would like to change their name or get made fun of because of their name. Chrysanthemum goes through both of these issues in this story.
The setting in this story is the school and Chrysanthemum's home. In the book, her house in her safe haven from the mean girls at school who make fun of her name. Her parents are always there to cheer her up. At school she has to face many issues but in the end she feels secure with who she is and school becomes a fun, safe place for her to be.
Literary Elements:
1. Descriptive Words: The author uses tons of adverbs and adjectives in this book which makes the writing very fun to read. He also uses many unique words that children don't hear on a daily basis such as winsome, envious, begrudging, discontented, and jaundiced.
2. Theme: The theme is this story is super important for students because bullying is a very serious issues in schools today and many children get made fun of because of their name or for other personal traits. This story gives those children pride in themselves and tells them that it is great to be different and unique.
3. Conflict: The author uses conflict in this story to show the tension between Chrysanthemum and her classmates and between Chrysanthemum and herself. She struggles with her self-identity in this story and the mean mice children don't help the situation. In the end, with help from Mrs. Twinkle, Chrysanthemum realizes that her same is an important part of who she it.
Illustrations:
Like all of Henkes' other books, the illustrations help to tell the story in many different ways. The pictures in this book show the many emotions that Chrysanthemum goes through - sadness, happiness, surprise, pride and shame. The pictures all help with the sequencing of this story. The pictures travel with Chrysanthemum from home to school and back again.
Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this story to teach the use of adverbs and adjectives in their writing. I would read the book aloud, discuss what an adverb and adjective is, and then have students write their own story using many adverbs and adjectives. As a reference, we would create a section on our word wall for adverbs and adjectives.
1. Descriptive Words: The author uses tons of adverbs and adjectives in this book which makes the writing very fun to read. He also uses many unique words that children don't hear on a daily basis such as winsome, envious, begrudging, discontented, and jaundiced.
2. Theme: The theme is this story is super important for students because bullying is a very serious issues in schools today and many children get made fun of because of their name or for other personal traits. This story gives those children pride in themselves and tells them that it is great to be different and unique.
3. Conflict: The author uses conflict in this story to show the tension between Chrysanthemum and her classmates and between Chrysanthemum and herself. She struggles with her self-identity in this story and the mean mice children don't help the situation. In the end, with help from Mrs. Twinkle, Chrysanthemum realizes that her same is an important part of who she it.
Illustrations:
Like all of Henkes' other books, the illustrations help to tell the story in many different ways. The pictures in this book show the many emotions that Chrysanthemum goes through - sadness, happiness, surprise, pride and shame. The pictures all help with the sequencing of this story. The pictures travel with Chrysanthemum from home to school and back again.
Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this story to teach the use of adverbs and adjectives in their writing. I would read the book aloud, discuss what an adverb and adjective is, and then have students write their own story using many adverbs and adjectives. As a reference, we would create a section on our word wall for adverbs and adjectives.
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