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Summary: It takes talent to make a book about chairs interesting
Review: A Chair For My Mother, by Vera Williams(More, More, More Said the Baby) is about a young girl who's home was recently damaged by a fire, leaving the whole area a dull charcoal color. They paint the walls yellow and a few family members and friends pitch in to make to house nicer than it was after the fire, but still all the chairs in the house are burned and, as I would imagine, very uncomfortable.
This is where the title comes in. The girl, her mother, and grandmother start saving loose change to help buy a new chair for the girl's hardworking mother. About a year later they have the money and exchange it for ten dollar bills at the bank. They finaly have a new, rose-covered chair.
The simplistic illustrations enhance the books warmth and make this book and easy read for bored readers.
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Summary: Three strong women and a caring community
Review: A working-class family consisting of a daughter, mother, and grandmother have lost their house in a fire. Although the community banded together to help them assemble the essentials, they have been saving their change in a jar for a year to furnish their bare living room in their apartment. They dream of the perfect chair and, when the jar is finally full, like Goldilocks (as Grandma said), they go searching for and find a chair that's just right.
This book focuses on three generations of women who are self-reliant. The illustrations are bright and colorful and each spread is embellished with a floral or geometric border. I especially love the illustration of the community showing people of many hues coming out of their houses and lining up to deliver household items to the family in need.
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Summary: A Very Memorable Read
Review: I am almost 20 years old and I won this book when I was in pre-kindergarten---I love it as much as I did then. The pictures are (obviously) marvelous and the story is very touching. It's one of those books that an adult can read and enjoy as much as the child. You find something new in it each time you look at the pictures. The story is especially current as it discusses hard financial times, single parenting, and families struggling to make it. All in all, its great!
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Summary: Even the very young will love this book
Review: I borrowed this book from the library to read aloud to my 2 year old. He loves it and I'm adding it to my wish list.The story is about a family of mother, grandmother and daughter (maybe 7 or 8 years old). The mother works as a waitress to support her family. The little girl realizes and appreciates how hard her mother works - she often helps out at the diner herself after school. She's learned from her mother the value of saving - when her mother's boss gives her some money for filling the salt shakers, she puts half in the big jar at home. The little girl speaks of a fire that detroyed their home and all their possessions. Through the help of extended family and friends they are able to start over. However their new apartment lacks a place for her mother to "take a load off [her] feet" The family saves coins in a big jar for a year to be able to buy a new easy chair - from the mother's tips, from the grandmother's market savings, from the little girl's "earnings". The pictures are beautiful - colorful, almost luscious. Our favorites are of the mother collapsed in a chair while the little girl counts her tips and a picture of the little girl's fantasy chair - huge, covered in velvet with roses on it. The words are simple enough that beginning readers will be able to master it, especially after having listened to it being read aloud over and over again. My son has asked for it at least a dozen times in the last week!
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Summary: wonderful story
Review: I really loved this book. It tells a sweet story about how a family is supported by friends and family after they lose their house to a fire. It also shows how the family works together to save up for a chair so the mother, who works as a waitress to support them, can have a comfortable place to sit. I give it 4 stars only because my son did not care for it. I can only assume it is because none of the characters were boys and, it's really not a "boy" story, I suppose. He may also have had a difficult time relating to the whole idea of single parenthood. This is a rather foreign thing to him.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful story
Review: I really loved this book. It tells a sweet story about how a family is supported by friends and family after they lose their house to a fire. It also shows how the family works together to save up for a chair so the mother, who works as a waitress to support them, can have a comfortable place to sit. I give it 4 stars only because my son did not care for it. I can only assume it is because none of the characters were boys and, it's really not a "boy" story, I suppose. He may also have had a difficult time relating to the whole idea of single parenthood. This is a rather foreign thing to him.
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Summary: A favorite for generations
Review: Mama brings home the biggest jar that she can find. They all save their change until the jar is filled. They had a fire and are starting out new again. They really want a big comfy chair. My mom loved to read this to my brother and I when we were young. I love reading it to my son and he loves the book too. This book goes in our book box with just our favorite books.
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Summary: A Chair for My Mother
Review: Once a little girl's mother wanted a chair.
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Summary: Reaching one's goals.
Review: This is a small children's book about a little girl and her waitress mother who are saving change in a jar to buy a new chair for their apartment. The book was a 1983 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children. It shows the joy of attaining one's goals after continued effort.
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Summary: Happiness is a big comfy chair
Review: Vera B. Williams's best known book. In this story a young girl, her single mom, and her grandmother all occupy the same apartment after their home is destroyed by a fire. To fill their empty space the women scrimp and save for a big comfy armchair. This is a story of perseverance, but it isn't preachy in any way. The family looks to be South American, but this isn't drummed into the readers' heads. All it's trying to do is tell a story about getting what you want when you've faced a disaster of some kind. Though I've never really been a fan of Williams's art, this book is very well done. Ms. Williams works with a rough watercolor style that leaves little room for fine details. Just the same, when the mother in this book sees her house on fire after buying new pumps, the next picture displays the woman, new shoes in hand, sprinting towards the house. It's the little touches that make any book interesting, and this book falls into that category. Finally, it's a bright cheerful story that is smart enough to acknowledge sadness and hardship. An excellent book for kids.
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