A Chair for My Mother

Atender knockout—from the author/illustrator of, most recently and auspiciously, Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe. "My mother works as a waitress in the Blue Tile Diner," the little-girl narrator begins—and to the accompaniment of vividly colored, direct, proto-primitive pictures, the real-life-like story comes out. At home is a glass jar, into which goes all Mama's change from tips and the money Grandma saves whenever she gets a bargain at the market. "When we can't get a single other coin into the jar, we are going to take out all the money and go and buy a chair. . . . A wonderful, beautiful, fat, soft armchair." This is because—we see it as she tells it—all the family's furniture burned up in a fire; and though neighbors show more and friends and relatives brought replacements (a buttercup-and-spring-green spread to contrast with the charred gray gloom just preceding), "we still have no sofas and no big chairs." Only straight, hard kitchen chairs. Then the jar is full; the coins are rolled in paper wrappers, and exchanged for bills; and "Mama and Grandma and I" go shopping for the chair. This last sequence is a glory: Grandma feeling like Goldilocks, trying out all the chairs; the very rose-covered chair "we were all dreaming of," plump in the middle of the floor; the little girl and her mother, snuggled in it together. . . and she can reach right up "and turn out the light if I fall asleep in her lap." It's rare to find so much vitality, spontaneity, and depth of feeling in such a simple, young book. show less

This is a beautifully written and thoughtfully illustrated book that reflects the life of hard-working individuals, in a single-parent, multi-generational home, lived in by three women. A family endures painful experiences of love, loss and hard-work, which is naturally and intuitively observed by the young female child. The family works hard to save their money and buy a special chair, an indicator of happiness, and well-being for their sweet family. This is an incredible story to open a window into other home-life experiences, that many children have in lower-income communities, that not everyone is aware of. This book defies stereotypes and the narrative of a single-story by showcasing hard working females, and a community coming show more together to support a family in need. This book can lead to children’s involvement in their own community by supporting a Habitat for Humanity project, donating to a local women’s shelter, or hosting a lemonade stand to raise funds for a family who experienced a house fire.
This book is inclusive, supports social justice and allows for critical conversations about community support. Some quotes that are memorable are: “We are going to get the best chair in the whole world”, and “Sometimes my mama is laughing when she comes home from work. Sometimes she’s so tired she falls asleep while I count the money into piles.” show less

I really liked this book because it was about a topic not commonly in children's books. Because they are not extremely common events, most authors don't think to write about them because they're trying to write about something which their audience can relate or connect to. However, just because there aren't many doesn't mean there are no kids who can identify with being a victim of a house fire. For these kids, this book could be a huge life-changer. When Rosa talks about saving money in a jar, a child could go home and suggest this idea to their parents who are struggling after a house fire. For kids who have not been affected by such a circumstance, they can expand their thinking and empathy towards other people and realize that not show more everyone has the same life experiences. Next, I like the book for it's illustrations. The style of drawing reminds me of some books I loved when I was little, so it makes me feel comforted and familiar. Along with the plot and illustrations, I also really like the characters. They are relatable and display a family dynamic not always portrayed in media. The mother and grandmother live with Rosa, so there is the idea of a single mom introduced. This allows children with this experience to identify, and children without to expand their thinking and definition of a family. Overall, the big idea of this book is that families help one another out, no matter what the family looks like. A family could be as small as 2 people, or bigger than 20! show less

A little girl tells the story of how she and her mother and grandmother are all saving little by little to buy a large, comfy chair. They have a huge jar that they are slowly filling with change. This seems kind of silly at first until its revealed that the family recently lost everything in a fire. They are forced to live with her mother's sister while they try to rebuild the lives that they lost. Her mother now goes to work all day and has nowhere to rest when she comes home. In that context, a huge, comfy chair could be all the luxury in the world. When the jar is too heavy for the little girl to lift, they take the money to the bank and exchange it for bills so they can go chair shopping. When they finally get the perfect chair and show more get it home, it seems like a signal that the family is starting to rebuild their lives. show less

In my opinion, this is a fantastic book. Both the author and illustrator did a great job. First, I loved the illustrations. They are definitely a unique style, but I think they fit well with the book. They portray exactly what is happening and really match up with the text. For example, when the author talks about shopping for chairs, the illustration is of Vera's mother trying out different chairs in a furniture store. Second, I liked the point of view. The first person point of view made the story feel so much more personal. As I was reading, I truly felt excited for Vera's mom when she was finally able to get her new chair. If this story was written in third person point of view, I'm not sure that I would have felt that personal show more connection. Third, I really liked the way this book pushes readers to broaden their perspectives. For many students, buying something like a chair might not seem like a big deal at all. Their parents can just go to the store and swipe their credit card. For others, however, this can be a huge deal just like for Vera and her mom. The book encourages students to think about how there are many people that are less fortunate than themselves. The main idea of this book is that hard way pays off. Vera's mother was able to work hard and, in return, was able to save up some money and buy an item that she had been excited about. show less

A chair for my mother is deeply meaningful and touching. In this book the narrator explains how she and her Mama are saving up all the extra money they have in a huge jar for a special chair. All their possessions were burned away in a house fire and although they had very helpful and special people in their lives help get them back on their feet and supplied things for them to live with, they still did not have a nice chair for her Mama to rest her feet in after a long days work in the diner. So they decided they would get the biggest jar they could find and save up every last extra coin they had until the jar was full to the top. Even though at some points it felt like they would never get there, finally all their hard work paid off. show more They were able to go buy the perfect comfy chair they always wanted and curled up in it to relax together. This would be a great way to teach kids not to judge people on the outside, for you do not know what is going on in someones personal life. It would also be a good introduction to teaching the value of money and of course patience. It could also be for explaining the power of a close neighborhood and how helpful it can be. show less

This is a heart-warming book, telling the story of a little girl and her family who were saving up for a new furniture, specifically a chair, due to their old furniture, and everything else they owned, burning up in a terrible fire. Her mother worked at a restaurant and sometimes the little girl was encouraged to help her there, earning some money herself, by doing small tasks. Though it took a while to save up from their combined hard work of their family, it ended up paying off, as they eventually earned enough money to buy a beautiful chair-one they had been hoping and dreaming for. This story also displays a great example of how family and community members empathized with each other and donated items in which were needed, in order show more to help regain what was lost in their tragedy. Another quality about this story I found particularly impressive, is that the tone of the story was not dreary or saddening. The emotions and backgrounds of young children were really kept in mind as this story could have resonated with some children in a very negative way. Instead, the author chose to create a positive overall tone, which stressed the outcome that hard work and patience is rewarded. The illustrations also matched this positive tone, which also made the book feel very connected and drew you back to the theme. show less