Chrysanthemum

Little mouse Chrysanthemum thinks she has the most perfect name in the whole world...until the first day of school, when classmates, particularly a bratty little girl named Veronica ("I'm named after my grandmother; you're named after a flower"), cause poor Chrysanthemum to wilt. "School is no place for me," she moans after each new day brings fresh injury ("let's smell her!") from her peers. Based on Kevin Henkes superb 1991 picture book, director Virginia Vilkos' animated adaptation is fueled by a souped-up-V8-level narration job by Meryl Streep (One True Thing) who switches between many voices (including a drop-dead on-target ‘90s MTV pre-teen girl) with the consummate ease of a master. Viewers will commiserate with poor Chrysanthemum's all-too-common dilemma, and will be rewarded with the feisty mouse's eventual triumph and Veronica's sweet comeuppance. The Ernest V. Troost score is run-of-the-mill Troost (which is to say, uniformly excellent). Author Henkes has the knack for guiding wonderfully cuddly creatures through painful situations (see Owen in VL-5/96), and--once again--Weston Woods has done him proud. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: K, P. (R. Pitman)