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

In my opinion, “A Chair for My Mother” is an extraordinary picture book for children to read. It is one of the warmest children’s books that I have ever read. The plot is the best part of the story because it is very relatable for many children. The story tells of a mother and little girl who live together in the city. The mother works as a waitress at a diner, and she struggles to pay the bills. The little girl and her mother had recently lost everything they owned in a fire. The little girl sometimes meets her mother at the diner and helps. They put their coins that they get from the job into a jar. They want to get a chair with the money once they have enough. The mother’s feet are always hurting her from work, and she really show more just wants a big, comfy chair. The writing is very appealing because the book is entirely narrated by the little girl in the story. The little girl’s point of view makes the story so much more endearing. For example, the little girl says, “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. Some days she has lots of tips. Some days only a little. Then she looks worried. But each evening every single shiny coin goes into the jar.” The colorful, eye-catching illustrations are very engaging. The illustrations consist of fine paintings that capture the various emotions that the little girl and mother feel throughout the book. Towards the end of the story, the girl and her mother have enough coins to go get the chair that they want. The mother and daughter lay in the chair together and fall asleep. This story pushes readers to broaden their perspectives about what is really important in life. The big idea is to teach students that “It is not what you have that matters. The people that are by your side matter.” show less

In my opinion, this is a great book. A chair for my mother is about a young girl Rosa, her mom, and her grandmother who save their coins in order to buy a new chair after their home was destroyed by a fire. The first reason I like this book is because the point of view is in first person. I think the book being written in first person allows the readers to feel the emotion expressed throughout the book. For example, “right outside out house stood two big fire engines. I could see lots of smoke. Tall orange flames came out of the roof. All the neighbors stood in a bunch across the street. Mama grabbed my hand and we ran.” As a reader, I read this quote and just imagined what it would be like to have my house burn down. The second show more reason I enjoyed this book is because of the conversational language. With the book being written in first person, it seems as if the narrator is talking to the readers. For example, “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. Yes, a chair.” The author most likely presumed the readers would question if they were really going to buy a chair with their money and then answered the question as if she was having a conversation with the readers. The last reason I liked this book is because the illustrations are appropriate for the text. For example, there is an illustration of the people bringing Rosa, her mother, and her grandmother household items after moving to a new apartment. The text says neighbors brought them pizza, cake, a table, a rug, etc. and the illustrations show people with those items. I think the big idea of this story is that generosity is important, especially during hard times. show less

When read this story to my Kindergarten son, he really wanted to know how their house caught on fire. And he said an audile, "Ohhh!" when the story told us that all of their things were burned up. This would be a good story to talk about fire safety, and saving money for a special reason, and about helping others like the neighbors helped this family when their things were destroyed. It's also about working hard to get what you want while being satisfied with what you have in the meantime. Discussing tragedy is an important topic for showing compassion to each other and building community. A lovely story.

"A Chair for My Mother," is one of my favorite children's books. The author does a great job of portraying a family that some children can relate to. The family, especially the young daughter, works very hard to save up money in order to buy a chair for their new home. The mother and daughter try and pick up the pieces after their home burns down, and is an emotional story within a family. When reading this, children either can relate, or become exposed to how others live, which I feel is great message that this story relays. This book as engaging and can be a great book for the classroom. I would highly recommend this story for all children!