Author | Kevin Henkes |
---|---|
Illustrator | Henkes |
Cover artist | Henkes |
Language | English |
Series | Mouse Books |
Genre | Picture book |
Publisher | Greenwillow Books |
Publication date | September 16, 1991 |
Publication place | United States |
ISBN | 0-688-09699-9 |
Preceded by | Julius, the Baby of the World |
Followed by | Owen |
Chrysanthemum is a 1991 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Kevin Henkes. [1]
The book 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]
Chrysanthemum is a young mouse who loves her unique name, until she is teased about it by her classmates. Her main tormentors are three mice named Jo, Rita and Victoria, who ridicule her for being named after a flower and point out that her name is so long it barely fits on a name tag. Chrysanthemum expresses her sadness to her parents, who comfort her with her favorite meals and a game of Parcheesi while her father secretly reads books on child psychology.
One day, her class meets their pregnant music teacher, named Mrs. Twinkle, who helps them with an upcoming musical. Chrysanthemum is assigned to be a daisy, which makes Jo, Rita and Victoria tease her once again. However, Mrs. Twinkle confronts them, and reveals that her first name, Delphinium, is also long and inspired by a flower. The three then apologize, and Chrysanthemum’s confidence in her name is restored. Later, Mrs. Twinkle gives birth to a daughter, whom she also names Chrysanthemum.
Kirkus Reviews said Chrysanthemum is "another winner from this perceptive artist," saying "Henkes's language and humor are impeccably fresh, his cozy illustrations sensitive and funny, his little asides to adults an unobtrusive delight." [5]
The Horn Book Magazine named Chrysanthemum one of the best books of 1991. [6]
In 1991, the book won the Council of Wisconsin Writers Children’s Book Award. [7]
In 1998, Weston Woods developed an animated story based on the book's illustrations, which was narrated by Meryl Streep. The film was included on the ALA Notable Children's Videos list in 1999. [8]
Bridge to Terabithia is a children's novel written by Katherine Paterson; it is about two children named Leslie and Jesse who create a magical forest kingdom in their imaginations. The book was originally published in 1977 by Thomas Crowell, and in 1978, it won the Newbery Medal. Paterson drew inspiration for the novel from a real event that occurred in August 1974 when her son's friend was struck and killed by lightning.
Make Way for Ducklings is an American children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941 by the Viking Press, the book centers on a pair of mallards who raise their brood of ducklings on an island in the lagoon in the Boston Public Garden. It won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey's illustrations, executed in charcoal then lithographed on zinc plates. As of 2003, the book had sold over two million copies. The book's popularity led to the construction of a statue by Nancy Schön in the Public Garden of the mother duck and her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and adults alike. In 1991, Barbara Bush gave a duplicate of this sculpture to Raisa Gorbacheva as part of the START Treaty, and the work is displayed in Moscow's Novodevichy Park.
Suzanne Collins is an American author and television writer. She is best known as the author of the young adult dystopian book series The Hunger Games. She is also the author of the children's fantasy series The Underland Chronicles.
Natalie Zane Babbitt was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Her 1975 novel, Tuck Everlasting, was adapted into two feature films and a Broadway musical. She received the Newbery Honor and Christopher Award, and was the U.S. nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1982.
The Hundred Dresses is a children's book by Eleanor Estes, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin, published in 1944. In the book, a Polish girl named Wanda Petronski attends a Connecticut school where the other children see her as "different" and mock her.
Kevin Henkes is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. As an illustrator he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of his books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean in 2004 and The Year of Billy Miller in 2014. His picture book Waiting was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book. It was only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.
Margaret Crosby "Peggy" Rathmann is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books.
Aileen Lucia Fisher was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and articles for magazines and journals. Her poems have been anthologized many times and are frequently used in textbooks. In 1978 she was awarded the second National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Born in Michigan, Fisher moved to Colorado as an adult and lived there for the rest of her life.
Dear Mr. Henshaw is a juvenile epistolary novel by Beverly Cleary and illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".
Elizabeth Partridge is an American writer, the author of more than a dozen books from young-adult nonfiction to picture books to photography books. Her books include Marching for Freedom, as well the biographies John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth, This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, and Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange. Her latest book is the middle grade novel, Dogtag Summer.
The Year of Billy Miller, a 2014 children's book written by Kevin Henkes, was a Newbery Honor book in 2014.
Green is a children's picture book by American author and artist Laura Vaccaro Seeger. It was first published in 2012 by Roaring Brook Press. The pages illustrate different shades of green in nature, with cut-out shapes linking the different scenes.
El Deafo is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is a loose autobiographical account of Bell's childhood and life with her deafness. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic bunnies. Cece Bell, in an interview with the Horn Book Magazine, states "What are bunnies known for? Big ears; excellent hearing," rendering her choice of characters and their deafness ironic.
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is a children’s book by author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen. It was published by Candlewick in 2014 and was selected as a Caldecott Honor Book in 2015.
Where is the Green Sheep? is a children's picture book written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. Published by Penguin Books, it depicts various coloured sheep in various activities, with the protagonist, the green sheep, not being seen until the final pages.
Flossie & the Fox is a 1986 picture book by Patricia C. McKissack about a girl, Flossie, who takes some eggs to a neighbor, meets a fox on the way and manages to outwit it. In 1991, a film adaptation of the book was made with the author narrating.
Melissa Sweet is an American illustrator and writer of nearly 100 books for children and young readers.
Elizabeth Acevedo is an American poet and author. In September 2022, the Poetry Foundation named her the year's Young People's Poet Laureate.
Watercress is a children's book written by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin, and published on March 30, 2021 by Neal Porter Books.
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre is a picture book written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Published on February 2, 2021, by Carolrhoda, it tells the history behind the Tulsa race massacre in verse.