by Bayla Maya

Created on: March 07, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

A Chair For My Mother
Vera B. Williams
Published by Scholastic Inc.
Copyright 1982

This book is one of those heartwarming stories where a family struggles to bring some normalcy back into their lives. A fire had devastated their house, and they moved into an apartment. The characters work together to save money to buy a big soft armchair.

The narrative centers on a single mom, her daughter, and a grandmother living together as an extended family. They live in a multicultural, urban town where the neighbors are supportive. In this story the mother takes on the male dominated role of being the bread winner. Even though the mom is the main wage earner, the whole family takes pleasure in working together to save money towards the same goal.

It is the family's goal to raise enough money to buy a chair. The chair represents their comfort zone. It's the place at the end of a hard day of work where the mom can kick off her shoes and relax. All three characters use the chair to unwind and relax. It's especially comforting to Rosa because this is where she can spend some individual time with her mom.

Throughout the book, the characters share other warm moments. One of the most touching times is when the neighborhood replaces the family's belongings. Another moment was watching the family work together as they filled the jar with coins. Perhaps, it's all these encouraging times in the book that help the fire look not as scary.

One thing I didn't like is how they represented the fire with black illustrations. The children may view the color black in a negative manner. However, I do not think the color could have been avoided in this case. Also, the illustrations could have been a little more detailed to help us determine the ethnicity of the characters.

With everything considered I would recommend this book for kindergarten to second grade level. I think this is a book that the teacher may want to read and discuss with the class. The book teaches the children about an everyday real life family and how together they worked to overcome a difficulty. By reading this story one realizes that with a little support we can all find our comfort zone.

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