Vera B. WilliamsCritiques

A girl, her mother, and her grandmother lost their home to fire. The community rallies around them, but the one thing they haven't been able to replace is comfortable chairs. The family saves up all their extra money to buy a big, comfortable armchair.

A girl, her mother, and her grandmother lost their home to fire. The community rallies around them, but the one thing they haven't been able to replace is comfortable chairs. The family saves up all their extra money to buy a big, comfortable armchair.

This is a heartwarming story of a young girl who lives with her mother and grandmother. After a fire destroys their old apartment, neighbors donate items for their new apartment. But there is nowhere soft and comfortable to sit. She wants to get a comfortable place for her mom to sit after working long days at a diner. So they all save up whatever they can in a jar and use that to go shopping for the perfect chair. This is the perfect book for a heartwarming read aloud that delves into the topic of community and caring for others.

Dulzura, una historia actual

Independent Reading Level: K - 3rd Grade
Awards: Caldecott Honor Award (1983)

EducatingParents.org rating: Caution - Read With Care
Warning: adoption story of a gay couple.

A Chair for my Mother is a story about a hard-working family that didn't have much. Mama works at a restaurant and each day she puts her coins in a jar. When the jar is full, they are going to buy a new chair since they lost everything they had in a house fire. The little girls tells the story of their house burning down and how they had to start over. People were so generous in giving them items for their home, but they sure missed their comfy chair. Finally, the jar was full and it was time to go furniture shopping. They found the perfect chair and were able to bring it home.

A story of a little girl and her family saving money to buy a new chair after their family lost everything in a fire. Through hard work and time they save enough money to buy a new chair.

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 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.

I adored this book as a kid. I wanted so much to be as creative as Bidemmi. I still get swept up in it as an adult.

Warning for parents: book contains memories and discussions about a house fire - nobody is hurt, but some children may find it scary or disturbing. Read it first and think about how to approach it with your child before sharing it.

Wonderful story full of great illustrations and opportunities to talk with your kid! I love the theme of saving up money for something you really want/need. Also the community and family support after the fire makes for great conversation and immediately lessens the stress or fear that may occur to small listeners or readers.

An awesome story! And multicultural to show students that we are not all the same

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 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.”

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 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.

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 get it home, it seems like a signal that the family is starting to rebuild their lives.

This book follows the story of a young girl who lives with her mother. The girl’s mother works hard as a restaurant employee as they save every penny in a jar and hope for a better life. When tragedy strikes in the form of a fire and burns their belongings, the community comes together to lift them up and help them rebuild. Finally, their coin jar is full and they are able to purchase a brand new chair.

Great book to read out loud to kids!

Reading level: 5-8 years; Caldecott Medal

A little girl saves up to help buy a chair for her overworked mother in the aftermath of a house fire. While struggling with limited resources, they live with a supportive network of maternal relatives and have good neighbors. The artwork is Vera B. Williams' usual style, which is not exactly to my taste, but the vibrant colors and engaging story make it work.

A book about fear, adoption, family, and the joy of fatherhood.

"Teacher's Helper", Gr 1, Feb/Mar 2007

"Teacher's Helper", Gr 1, Feb/Mar 2007

A story of courage, kindness, and perseverance. Williams' words tell a story of what happens when families work hard, stick together, and set goals. Life is not perfect, it has its struggles; and this story can help people relate to life and encourage them to "keep their chin up."

lovely, heartwarming story and innovative format.

This picture book is about a young girl and her family trying to find a comfortable chair for their new place, after their old furniture was destroyed in a fire. They have to save up money for it and the neighborhood community ends up coming together and provide them with a multitude of furniture pieces. At the end, they find the perfect chair for their apartment and they all enjoy it together. I think this book teaches about community, family, and lending a helping hand when possible. This would be good for young students to read in an English class.