"It's so long," said Jo.
"It scarcely fits on your name tag," said Rita, pointing.
"I'm named after my grandmother," said Victoria.
"You're named after a flower!"
"It scarcely fits on your name tag," said Rita, pointing.
"I'm named after my grandmother," said Victoria.
"You're named after a flower!"
Chrysanthemum is a 1991 children's picture book by Kevin Henkes.
Chrysanthemum is a little mouse girl who loves her name. But on her first day of school, everyone laughs at her name because it's so long, because it hardly fits on her name tag, and because she's named after a flower. With everyone being so mean, will Chrysanthemum ever stop being embarrassed about her name?
In 1998, Weston Woods Studios produced an animated version of the book, narrated by Meryl Streep.
For other books by the same author, see Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Wemberly Worried.
This picture book provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: Mrs. Chud, the homeroom teacher, doesn't stop anyone from laughing at Chrysanthemum's name, and doesn't admonish Victoria when she raises her hand to say rude things about Chrysanthemum during naptime. But Mrs. Twinkle, the music teacher, gets everyone to stop making fun of Chrysanthemum by revealing that she's named after a flower, too.
- An Aesop: You should always love yourself, even if other people tease you about the things that make you special.
- Alpha Bitch: Victoria is a mean girl in Chrysanthemum's class who bullies her over her long name.
- All of the Other Reindeer: On the first day of school, everyone giggles at Chrysanthemum's name because of how long it is.
- Ancestral Name: Victoria brags that she's named after her grandmother, and makes fun of Chrysanthemum for being named after a flower.
- Arc Words: "Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum."
- Bookends: The first page with a baby mouse being born, and her parents naming her Chrysanthemum. The last page ends with Mrs. Twinkle having a baby of her own and giving her the same name.
- Break the Cutie: Chrysanthemum's first day of school doesn't go so well when everyone laughs at her name.
- Casting Gag: In-universe, Chrysanthemum, a girl named after a flower, is cast as a daisy in the class play. Victoria, Jo, and Rita think it's hilarious, and chant, "Chrysanthemum's a daisy! Chrysanthemum's a daisy!"
- Comfort Food: After a disastrous first day of school, Chrysanthemum feels better after her parents make her favorite dinner, macaroni and cheese with ketchup. The second day isn't much easier, but she feels better again after her favorite dessert, chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.
- The Dog Bites Back: Victoria bullies Chrysanthemum all through the book for her long name. In the epilogue, Chrysanthemum gets the last laugh as she giggles over Victoria playing the Fairy Queen and forgetting all of her lines in the class play.
- Embarrassing First Name: Chrysanthemum loves her name... until the first day of school, when everyone laughs at how long it is. Then, she starts to wish she had a different one.
- Empathic Environment: When Chrysanthemum finally starts to love her name again after some encouragement from her music teacher, the background is filled with a beautiful rainbow.
- Family Theme Naming: Delphinium Twinkle, who is named after a flower, names her baby daughter Chrysanthemum.
- First Day of School Episode: Chrysanthemum is excited about her first day of school, only for it to go badly because everyone laughs at how long her name is.
- Floral Theme Naming: Chrysanthemum is named after a flower, and discovers that her music teacher's first name is Delphinium.
- Funny Animal: The cast is made up of anthropomorphic mice.
- Girl Posse: Victoria is the most vocal about teasing Chrysanthemum, while her friends Jo and Rita follow her example.
- Good Parents: Chrysanthemum's parents clearly love her very much, and the first page says that "the day she was born was the happiest day in her parents' lives." They also do their best to make her feel better after everyone laughs at her name.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Mrs. Twinkle wears a beautiful purple dress.
- Idiot Hair: The Alpha Bitch Victoria has a large cowlick with a star decorated on the top.
- "Near and Dear" Baby Naming: At the end of the book, Mrs. Twinkle gives birth to a baby girl and names her Chrysanthemum after one of her students, the titular Chrysanthemum.
- Nightmare Sequence: After her second day of school, which isn't much better than the first, Chrysanthemum has a nightmare where she's a real chrysanthemum, and Victoria tears out all her petals and leaves until "there was nothing left but a scrawny stem."
- One-Word Title: Chrysanthemum.
- Opinion Flip Flop: Jo, Rita, and Victoria think that Chrysanthemum being named after a flower is simply dreadful. But after Mrs. Twinkle, the music teacher everyone admires, reveals that she's named after a flower too, they decide they want flower names of their own — Marigold, Carnation, and Lily of the Valley.
- Performance Anxiety: At the end, Victoria forgets all of her lines in the class play, letting Chrysanthemum get the last laugh.
- Playing a Tree: Used as a plot point. The titular character, who is already being bullied by her classmates for her Embarrassing First Name, is cast as a daisy in the class musical, prompting Victoria, Jo and Rita to laugh at her even more. However, their music teacher gets them to stop teasing her by revealing that she is also named after a flower and that she thinks Chrysanthemum's name is beautiful. Even the nature of the trope itself is subverted; the epilogue reveals that "Chrysanthemum was absolutely perfect as a daisy", while the Alpha Bitch forgot all of her lines.
- Protagonist Title: A book titled Chrysanthemum after its protagonist, Chrysanthemum.
- Shout-Out to Shakespeare: Chrysanthemum's father is seen reading a self-help book titled "A Rose By Any Other Name...Understanding Identity."
- Strange Minds Think Alike: The title character's parents and her music teacher both think the name Chrysanthemum is "absolutely perfect."
- Strong Family Resemblance: Chrysanthemum and her mother both have pure white fur.
- Stock Animal Diet: Chrysanthemum is a mouse, and her favorite dinner is macaroni and cheese with ketchup.
- Your Favorite: Chrysanthemum's parents make her favorite dinner to cheer her up after everyone at school is mean to her.
