Realistic Fiction: A Chair for my Mother

A Chair for my Mother

By: Vera Williams

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Grade: 2

Have you ever saved up for something for a long time? Have you ever pitched in to help a friend or another family member? Have you ever faced a difficult time and turned to your family and friends for support?

In A Chair for my Mother, Vera Williams explains the importance of family and community through the eyes of a young girl, Rosa. When a fire destroys her home, she, her mother, and her grandmother must move to a cluttered and empty apartment downstairs from her aunt and uncle. With nothing but a few donated pieces of furniture, Rosa and her mother save up coins in a jar from their tips at a local diner to buy a big, comfy chair for her the three to relax in at night. Finally, once they have saved enough money, they buy the biggest, softest chair at the furniture store and set it in the apartment. Rosa realizes how important her family and community are in times of need and that material objects can be replaced but the love and friendship of others are what make life meaningful.

Williams illustrated A Chair for my Mother just as well as she wrote it. Using vibrant colors, Williams creates a warm, comforting feeling of closeness that this family has. These illustrations greatly supplement the close bond this family shares in this story as well as compliments the struggle they face of being economically disadvantaged.

Williams effortlessly ties in the realistic fiction literary elements one would find into A Chair for my Mother. Rosa displays typical actions and thoughts of a school-aged girl throughout the story. After the fire, Rosa realizes that money is now hard to come by. She takes pride in helping her mother work at the diner because she knows she will help buy the chair. Because she is still a young girl, Rosa views the fire in a naive manner just as a real girl would, never stating that she is stressed nor tired. The setting is believable as well. Taking place in a neighborhood of a city, many can identify with the closeness of neighbors and the community. When their house burns down, the family and community immediately rushes to donate furniture, decorations, and even toys for Rosa. The close-knit community in which Rosa lives is not only life-like, but it connects to the major theme in the book – the importance of community.

Not only does William’s writing style encompass the struggle that the three women face in the plot of Going Home, but it also keeps the reader engaged in the relationships that Rosa shares with the other characters in the book. Williams beautifully captures Rosa’s naive point of view in this story, calling attention to the fun she has counting the tips going into the jar. From what seems to be a stressful event for most of us, Rosa enjoys spending time with her family, even if it involves saving small amounts of change. Through her descriptions of the kind actions of her community, Rosa makes it clear that even though the family is poor, they are very rich in community and in loving relationships.

I find that there are endless conversations teachers can have with their students centered on the themes in this book. Children can think critically about how families and friends can help each other, that we can be happy with what we have, and that if we work hard things will get better. Teachers can also talk about all of the kind things their parents do for them. Personally, I think that this book can be used around Mother’s Day, and to remind us that we can thank our mothers for everything they do. Also, students can discuss ways to save money, what to save their money for, and how much to save.

Going Home corresponds to the MA ELA frameworks, especially standard 8 (Understanding a Text), 10 (Genre), 11 (Theme), 12 (Fiction), and15 (Style and Language).