Author: Kevin Henkes
Title: Chrysanthemum
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Genre: Picture Book
Subgenre: Bullying, School
Theme: Being happy with who you are.
Primary and Secondary Characters: Music Teacher Delphinium Twinkle, Classmates Victoria, Jo, Rita, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum’s Mother and Father
Awards: Horn Book Fanfare,ALA Notable Children’s Book
Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.
Date of Publication: 1991
Brief Summary and How to Use With Students:
Chrysanthemum is a beautiful perfect young girl who LOVES her name, but when she starts off for her first day of kindergarten this all changes. A group of children make fun of her for having a name that is different and comes home upset. It is not until she meets the vibrant music teacher Mrs. Twinkle that the other students acknowledge that being different is something positive to be embraced. Now all of the students wish to have a name as unique as Chrysanthemums.
Chrysanthemum teaches children to embrace who they are. I also love how when Chrysanthemum returns home upset from school her parents are there to comfort her with her favorite foods and reading to find ways to support their child. It also shows that as a teacher you must pay attention to when situations like this occur in the classroom and to create a positive environment as Mrs. Twinkle in the story had done.
Flower/writing activity: The kids make a flower out of construction paper. ( pre-make tracers of the leaves, petals, and center of the flower). Put their picture in the center of the flower. Then they make a petal for each letter of their name, and a leaf for each vowel in their name on the stem. Example: "Jose" would have four petals and two leaves on his flower. Then, they complete the sentence: My name is ___ and it is absolutely perfect because ___.
