A Chair for My Mother

A Chair for My Mother. ISBN:0-688-04074-8. Vera B. Williams. (1982) Caldecott Honor Book; ALA notable Book; Reading Rainbow Feature Selection; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration. Realistic Fiction. Recommended ages 4-8. Latino, single mother, multigenerational home, low middle/working class.

This book is a story told by a little girl, Rosa, who lives in an apartment with her mom and grandmother under her aunt and uncle's house. There was a fire in their home and everything they owned had been burned. Friends, family, and neighbors helped them out by bringing food, household items and toys. Her mom was a waitress. The family had a big jar that they used to save the coins that her mom earned as tips to save for a new chair. The chair was for her mom to rest in when she was done with work. Rosa and her grandmother would also use the chair, but her mom really needed it. Rosa made a little money helping at the diner and Grandma put money she saved at the grocery store in the jar. Together they were able to save enough money for the chair.

The pictures are water color and all of the pages have borders. The colors are very vibrant and uplifting. Rosa tells the story, but the pictures reveal how the characters feel. From the pictures we are able to see how exhausted her mom is when she gets home from work. We are able to see the urgency and drama taking place during the fire; the page showing their home in ashes is dull and gray and makes you feel very sad and empty, but following that page, there are bright colors as well as friends and neighbors lined up to help Rosa and her family. This transition gives the reader a feeling of hope. The people helping are of all different nationalities; seeing this in the pictures gives me a peaceful feeling.

This book would be wonderful to use in a family unit. You could have the children list the ways people in the book helped each other out. You could also have the children make a list of needs that they see around them in their own families and challenge them to help fulfill those needs. You can talk about family loyalty, sharing and happiness.

This would also be a great book to use in connecting literature with math. You could tie this book in with a math unit on counting and saving money. You could discuss needs and wants. Children could make a list of things in their home or bedroom and sort them in columns of needs versus wants. Discuss if their needs and wants differ from others in the class. What about in other countries? They could also learn to estimate. During a penny drive at school, you could have the children estimate how much money is in a large jar and then ask them to estimate how big the jar would have to be to save enough for a chair if you use pennies, nickels, dimes and/or quarters, and compare.