A chair for my mother

A Chair for My Mother is about a mother, daughter, and grandmother who have lost their home to a fire. Friends and family have given them several things to refurnish their new home but there is no comfortable chair for the mother. The mother puts all of her change she gets from work into a big jar

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and she says when it is full, they can go buy a new chair. One day the jar is full and they go and buy the new chair. The daughter feels really proud because she helped save for the chair by putting money in the jar and she feels happy that her mother has some place to relax in after working so hard.

I remember this story from Reading Rainbow. It’s a great story on how family pulls together through good times and bad. The illustration in this book is really colorful and cheerful.

Once I have read this story to my class, I would bring out a jar, pickle jar or one similar in size, and I would challenge my students to fill it up. Once that is done, we can count the money and decide as a class what to buy. It can be something for our class or another class. I would suggest books or pencils and paper or other school supplies. This is one great way to introduce community service. When counting the money, students will be learning how many pennies are in a dollar or that ten pennies make a dime, ect. Great money lesson. Estimation can also be used by estimating how much do we think is in the jar.

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The story of a young girl and her waitress mother saving money to buy a soft chair to relax on at the end of the day. A Caldacott honor book for it's beautiful watercolor illustrations.

Classroom connections: This book could be used to introduce money and saving money. Also to talk about hard work

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and perseverance. The book can also be an introduction the the Caldacott award and the medium of water color for illustrations.

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It's strange how sometimes the quietest, most unassuming books end up being the ones you fall in love with. This one's just a simple story about a girl, her mother, and her grandmother all saving up money in order to buy a comfy chair for them to relax on. All of their old possessions were burned

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in a fire. The family makes do with donations from their nice new neighbors, but when they finally save enough to buy something comfortable, pretty, and their own, it's a truly inspiring moment!

The illustrations are lovely; each two-page spread has a pretty tonal watercolor background in differing hues. The art is done in a flat-perspective, almost folkart style.

This is one of those picture books that is really a cohesive unit - both pictures and words combine to create an infinitely greater and more beautiful whole than they would otherwise provide. Just wonderful.

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This book was amazing. It was so sweet I wanted to cry. The content and moral of this book is so great to teach in your classroom. The pictures were really good also. I know for a fact that I am going to purchase this book and have it in my classroom.

After a fire burns down their home, a girl, her mother, and grandmother save their money to purchase a chair.

This book is about a little girl who tries to help her mother raise money for a new chair after their old one was destroyed in a fire. It tells about how they saved money everyday until they had enough yo buy the new chair.
I really liked this book. It shows how the community helped the family in

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need. It shows that helping others is not always difficult. Sometimes it just takes a small step to make a big difference.
I may use this book along with a community helpers unit to show that everyone can help others.

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A little girl who lives with her mother and grandmother discusses how they lost their old house to a fire. All the neighbors pitched in to furnish their new apartment. The little girl and her family started saving coins in a big glass jar to buy a new chair. the girl helped her mother at work after

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school to earn money. They saved enough and bought the perfect chair they had wanted.
This is a neat way to show kids responsibility. I liked this book because it shows that we havve to work at accomplishing something- not everything is just given to us.
I would have each of my students bring something into class to give to a shelter. We could pull all of their items together into a basket for the shelter.

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Brightly colored, bordered illustrations about a girl, her mother and grandmother saving coins for a comfy chair, which, in turns out, is needed because they lost everything in a fire. Neighbors helped them with basic furnishings. Teaches about kindness, friendship, community, saving money, thrift,

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delayed gratification (they don't buy the chair on credit), moving forward. A picture with the mother sleeping with a cat in her lap reminds me of Picasso's Le Reve.

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This is a story of a young girl who lives with her mother and grandmother. The girl’s mother works a long, hard day shift at a local café, and the little girl wants to save enough money to buy her mother a big comfortable chair to sit in when she gets off work. The family once had nice thing,

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but a house fire destroyed everything. The community came together to help refurnish their new home, but comfortable furniture was absent. They use a large jar to save all of their extra change, and though it takes them a while to save the money, the three ladies finally get their fat, soft armchair.

This is a fantastic book. It inspires hard work and saving money for a purpose. It also demonstrates the importance of community and sharing. I absolutely love books that show children the importance of giving back to other people and the practicality of hard work. The characters were very realistic and I know that some children would relate to the family make-up.

One extension idea would be to use the book as a discussion starter on community and sharing. We could discuss that if another student doesn’t have certain supplies or if someone needs help doing something that as a classroom community should help. Another idea would be to use a big jar to save money to buy a big chair for the reading center, buy something else for the classroom or give to charity.

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It’s a great story with so much to learn in it. It is based on how family pulls together through good times and bad. It is a good way to show children responsibility and learn about how people experience loss, and the importance of hard work through the story.

Great book. This book is really sweet. Here family works to be able to buy a chair for her family because it was burnt in a fire.

This book is ia story about a daughter and her family trying to please their mother with her own chair. They experience some hardships, but as a family they overcome!

This is a story of a young girl who's family loses everything in a fire. The girl, her mother, and grandmother live in an apartment with no furniture. They all save up the money to buy a chair for their home in which they all can enjoy and this chair is an encouragement to the family after a really

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challenging time.

I was pleasantly suprised by this book and actually had a student who had been through a similar situation and was encouraged to see how this book inspired my student.

I would use this book during my thematic unit for Fire Safety Week. I would have the students make fire safety posters to display. Another extension idea would be to have the students discuss what items would be important for them to replace if there was a fire in their home and ways they could save money to replace that item.

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This book is about a mom and daughter who work in a diner. They are trying to save up for a chair. Their house caught on fire and everyone helped them get back on their feet. They continued to work hard and finally got enough money for chair. This book is done in watercolor and students of all ages

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will enjoy this book. It teaches optimism and determination.

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This is a classic story by now. I tear up every time I read it when we get to the part about the whole neighborhood helping them move into their new house after the old one burns down. It's a wonderful example of community, and very realistic.

I will note that this book is a bit wordy, and may not

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hold the attention of children under the age of 5 or so. If your kiddo has a short attention span, wait a year before reading this one.

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This book is excellent for teaching the concept of saving. Economics is included in the Social Studies Standards. It is necessary for American students to understand their role in the economy and the virtues of patience and saving.

This story of a family who has lost all their belongings in a house fire is a good read to children who may have lost their homes to the same circumstances. The family is given several items by friends and family for their new empty home. They put a jar on the table and begin to collect coins in

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order to purchase their very own recliner where the grandma can skin potatoes and speak to passer bys, during the day and the mother can rest her feet after work, and the narrator a little girl can be rocked in her mothers lap.

I like this book as a family read as well. It can be used to express hospitality and explain to young people what it is. It can also be a coping strategy for families in tough situations.

I would use this book with younger children and incorporate it as a lesson in citizen skills. I would ask them to tell me different things they can do to be a good citizen and then illustrate it. I could also have them make story books about good manners and citizenship skills.

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A great story about a family saving up to buy a chair.

The Second Graders that I read this book to really enjoyed it.
The story has some good points.The family had lost everything in a fire, and yet the grandmom's attitude was that they are lucky they are young enough to start over. The family works hard and saves every coin in order to buy a chair.

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They don't just go out and charge it on a credit card--I found this to be a lovely example for people today.
Everyone chips in to save coins. Even the daughter works.
And when the fire occurs, all the neighborhood helps out by donating items to the family.
Many lovely lessons in this book.

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The book tells the story of a little girl's family who lost everything in a fire. Since the fire, the young girl, her mother, and her grandmother have lived in an apartment with little to no furniture. The young girl's mother is a waitress who seemingly works her butt off. Together the three have

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been saving their change to purchase a chair in which they can all enjoy. After a year of saving, they finally save enough to buy their deserved, special chair. The book shares the story of a family who rebuilds their live after tragedy strikes them. It's encouraging for readers of all ages!

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Chair for My Mother tells the story of a family who lost everything they own in a house fire. It teaches how a diverse community shared their possessions with Rosa, her Mother, and Grandmother so they could start over again. The money jar teaches how the entire family worked hard and saved to buy

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the beautiful chair.

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This is a cute story with great illustrations. It shows how family and friends are important and pull together in times of need.

Summary:
After a fire destroys their home and possessions, Rosa, her mother, and her grandmother save and save until they can afford to buy one big comfortable chair that all three of them can enjoy.
Personal Reaction:
This was a great story of how a family can come together in hard times. It also can

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teach about saving money and working together to achieve a goal. I really enjoyed this book.
Classroom Extension:
1. Have the class bring in unwanted clothes and or toys from home to donate to a shelter for victims of a fire.
2. Have the class think of a gift that they had received, that means a lot to them, and write a story about the person whom gave that to them and how much did that person have to save to buy that gift.

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When you read aloud a book that you love to your child, your love of the book will be contagious. This is a heartfelt story of a daughter, mother and grandmother's struggles, closeness and ability to save together for a chair for mama.