Can you believe it friends? Where has the summer gone! Where??? It’s mind boggling how fast time flies by. Time to think about school, and I have picked a book to review with you that I think you could read and discuss with your grand-darlings. The title is Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Grade level is Pre-K to 2nd grade, but even older children will identify with this read. It was named Most Notable Book for Children by the American Library Association. The themes are: teasing, self-esteem, and acceptance.

Chrysanthemum thinks her name is perfect, and is looking forward to her first day at school. However, her classmates tease her and tell her she is named after a flower, and her name is toooo long! They tell her that maybe they should pluck her or smell her. She returns home after school, with crushing disappointment, and feels her name is dreadful! Her wonderful parents comfort her with hugs, kisses and Parcheesi, then send her off again the next day, reminding her that they think her name is perfect. Then, joy of joys, a beautiful and enchanting music teacher comes to teach them. Her name is Mrs. Twinkle! And her first name is..(are you ready for this?) Delphinium! She is expecting a little baby, and she tells the children that she is going to name her baby CHRYSANTHEMUM! Now all the girls wish they had flower names as well, and our little protagonist is off to a wonderful school year. This is such a cute story that can lead to discussions about kindness, friendship, envy, and even fun talk about why your grandchildren received their names. Hope you can pick up a copy and read it to your cuties before school starts!

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