Chrysanthemum
Picture Book Read Aloud
book summary
Chrysanthemum loves her name and thinks her parents picked “the absolutely perfect” name for her. "Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum!" she would sing to herself because Chrysanthemum absolutely loved her name. Then she starts school and a trio of girls start making fun of her long and unusual name. Rita, Jo, and Victoria would say…“You’re named after a flower.” and “It’s so long” and “It scarcely fits on a nametag.” After the teasing starts, Chrysanthemum doesn’t think that anyone likes her name (or even her) and her self-esteem plummets. Understandably, Chrysanthemum is sad when she gets home. Her parents work to bolster her self-esteem and bring back the love for her name that she had had her whole life.
But when Chrysanthemum goes back to school the next day, the same thing happens. Victoria says, “She even looks like a flower.” Rita says, “Let’s pick her.” Jo says, “Let’s smell her.” Who knows how long this bullying would have continued if it weren’t for the music teacher, Mrs. Twinkle. Mrs. Twinkle shares that she also has a long name, Delphinium, and was named after a flower. Mrs. Twinkle also shares that kids used to tease about her name, too. Mrs. Twinkle teaches the kids that they should not tease someone for their name because it is part of what makes each of them unique. Mrs. Twinkle continues to inform the class that she loves Chrysanthemum's name so much that she is going to give her baby the same name. The mean kids soon change their ways when they come to understand the power of uniqueness and creativity. The girls end up all wanting flower names. At that moment Chrysanthemum realizes she is extremely special and so is her name!
suggested teaching point
Use Chrysanthemum to model for students how an author’s word choice helps to make the text more descriptive which makes it easier for the reader to visualize what is happening in the story.
On page 6, (Note: Don’t show picture until after you have read the text on page 6) The author says that “Chrysanthemum wore her sunniest dress to school.” Close your eyes for a minute, and picture what her sunniest dress might look like. Now, turn to your partner and share your idea. (Now, show students the illustration and see if their predictions were correct.)
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