Book Description

The money jar that Rosa, Mama, and Grandma filled with their coins will be emptied to buy Rosa whatever she wants for her birthday. But what can Rosa choose that special enough-unless it's a gift they can all enjoy!

Reviews (3)

Fabulous Book, Wonderful Story and Illustrations!
This story is absolutely fabulous! The illustrations are great and the book teaches kids about saving money to buy something special. The child in the story looks at several things and finally deicdes what would be the best present to purchase. Best of all, most of the money she spends comes from a jar of coins - this is a wonderful follow-up to the equally charming story "A Chair for my Mother" also written by Vera B. Williams.

something special for me
It was about a girl who was picking out a present for herself. Her mom was buying it for her. She didn't know what to pick. But finally she decided. Read this book to find out what she picked.

A great book if you love people.
I discovered this book in 1986. As I read it, I was astounded by how much the book mirrored by wife's life. Rosa, my wife played the accordion and was introduced to the instrument almost in the same manner that the character of Something Special For Me was. My wife died of cancer on March 23, 1999,and every time I read the copy that I gave her I cry. Thank you Ms. Williams! All of my wife's friends will receive a copy of Something Special For Me. ... Read more

Book Description

Here are
Little Guy,
Little Pumpkin,
and
Little Bird.

Their grownups
love them.
So will you.

Reviews (39)

A love story for your baby
I bought this book for my daughter, who is 18 months old. It took all of one reading to be added to her list of favorites--she constantly asks for "more more babies". The pictures are wonderful for toddlers, simple and brightly colored. Not only do little ones love the story--lots of repeated elements, little people like them--it's virtually impossible to read it to a child without cuddling. This has become part of my standard baby gift package.

Our whole family fell in love with this book!
This is a beautifully illustrated book with a sweet, touching text that should be "cooed" rather than read aloud. Author Williams tells anecdotes about parents and grandparents playing with and cuddling their babies. When my son was fifteen months old, this was his favorite book. He loved it so much, it soon became everyone's favorite book. One of my best memories is of listening to my husband reading the story of Little Guy being swung in the air by his daddy. Inevitably, when the story was over, my husband would swing his own little guy in the air.

However, don't believe the age range listed for this book in the on-line catalog. This is a book for and about BABIES. As soon as your little one has had enough of being known as "the Baby", you need to put this book aside and move on to another good book. My son outgrew this book with his toddler clothes.

Baby and Mom's favorite
We love this book. Super cute. It is written like you would talk to baby and you can do the cute things to your baby that the grown-ups in the book do to theirs-kiss toes, rock... I would get it!

I hate this book but my daughter loves it.
I have 20 month old twins and one absolutley loves this book while the other one could care less. The illustrations are what bug me. I know I should judge the book on its outdated artwork, but when you have to stare at it all day long and read it over and over it gets to you! The dad wears flip flops and short shorts. If you're a stickler for proper grammar, you'll hate this book.

Really cute book!
This book is different from most other children's books I've seen. I love it - hubby hates it. The grammer is creative (and described in other reviews) so it takes a few readings for it to be easy to read aloud, but the stories are sweet and multicultural, and each story has a nice, repetitive rhythm to it. We read this to our 4-month-old daughter as a bed time story, and she loves it. The rhythm is great for soothing her at bedtime. ... Read more

Book Description

After a fire destroys their home and possessions, Rosa, her mother, and grandmother save and save until they can afford to buy one big, comfortable chair that all three of them can enjoy.After their home is destroyed by a fire, Rosa, her mother and grandmother save their coins to buy a really comfortable chair for all to enjoy. "A superbly conceived picture book expressing the joyful spirit of a loving family."--Horn Book. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A favorite for generations
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.

wonderful story
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.

Happiness is a big comfy chair
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.

Even the very young will love this book
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!

A Chair for My Mother
This book is about a family that lost all of their furniture in a house fire. The family members decide to save coins to buy a new chair for their home. The mother is a waitress and tries to save all of the money she can to help out the family. The mother and daughter take all of the money they save it in a jar. When the jar is full they go out and buy a beautiful chair for the family to enjoy. This book is appropriate for ages 6 to 10. The illustrations are very meticulous with a painted appearance and show exactly what is going on in the text. Each page has an inventive and vibrant border on it that pertains to what is happening on that particular page. This is a Caldecott Honor Book that teaches a valuable lesson on how hard times can always be worked through and that working hard and giving 110% will always make a difference. ... Read more

Book Description

Follow the red canoe from page to page as it journeys down river carrying the family on a camping tour. It's the next best thing to paddling it yourself.

Reviews (1)

Excellent book for primary age kids while studying rivers.
We used this book as a spring board for an environmental unit. We planned mapping, canoe safety, first aide safety, camping and landforms. We also planned a field trip to a local park with a creek and set up stations that involved the different aspects of the book. We used newspaper ads and had the children decide what would be needed for a canoe trip and tied it in with math, teaching money. This was a great book. ... Read more

Book Description

A funny book that makes you cry. A sad book that makes you laugh. A book about two sisters and their family that makes you wish you were part of it--and grateful that you are not. In short, this book is one surprise after another. The only thing that is not a surprise is that Vera B. Williams has created a wholly unforgettable, absolutely wonderful portrait of Amber, Essie, and their world. Open the book. You will never be the same again.

Reviews (4)

This book is amazing for all it accomplishes!
Althought the age group listed for this book is 9-12, I first learned of it from a preschooler in my classroom. The girl who shared the book does not have a sister, lives with both parents in an upperclass neighborhood, and would seem to have little in common with Essie or Amber. And yet, this story reached her, she connected immediately with the strengths and longings of both children. She wants to BE these children, for their strength and humanity. What a great way to begin to bridge the socioeconomic gap! Other children from very diverse backgrounds in my class were also immediately drawn to the poetry of warmth, hope, caring, friendship amidst troubling circumstances.

Touching story of sisters
This is a touching story of two sisters who are dealing with a tramatic event that had a significant effect on their lives. The art work is enhances the story and is great in it's own right. After I bought this book, I couldn't wait to share it with my own sister and other close friends who I knew would love it too.

Sensitive, Heartwarming, and Unforgettable.....
Amber was brave..."She could get the grocery man/to trust them for a container of milk/though their mother/couldn't pay him till payday/Amber wasn't afraid of the rat/in the wall under the sink/or of climbing up in high places" Essie was smart..."Essie could read hard library books/could thread a needle/cook toasted cheese sandwiches/make cocoa/put the lipstick on just right/when they played dress-up" Amber and Essie, two sisters, caught in the day to day struggle of hard times. Their mother is tired and sad, and works long hours for minimum wage. Their daddy is in jail for forging a check when he lost his job and needed money. There is never much to eat, the radiator's always cold, and the phone is turned off until their mother can pay the bill. But there are still the small pleasures of childhood...jumping on the bed together trying to touch the ceiling, playing beauty parlor every Sunday night with Mommy, dipping toast triangles in hot cocoa, making a "best sandwich" together with Wilson the bear. And there is hope.... Vera B Williams has written an unforgettable and poignant portrait of a family clinging to the edge. Her evocative text, told in free verse, is powerful, yet gentle, sensitive without being maudlin, and really illuminates the joys and sorrows of Amber and Essie's life. Her expressive and understated black and white pencil drawings capture the tough times and happier moments without being distracting. And Ms Williams includes vibrant, colored pencil, self-portraits at the beginning to introduce the girls, and a wonderful family album drawn by Essie and Amber, to complete this remarkable and heartwarming story, after the happy and uplifting ending. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart is an engaging and endearing treasure, told with great insight and wisdom.

These poems reduced a non-"poetry lover" to tears.
WOW! I am not normally a man who reads a lot of poetry and I have occasionally been accused of being cold and unemotional, but this book is one that fulfills all of my requirements of "real" poetry. It is short, direct and highly evocative. When I heard these poems read on the radio, they reduced me to tears. Buy it, buy it, buy it! If even I like it, it's bound to be a sure winner for anyone. ... Read more

Book Description

When Bidemmi starts to draw, her imagination takes off. Enter her world, look at her pictures, and watch her stories grow and grow. You will never forget her.

Reviews (1)

This book is as sweet and juicy as a cherry itself...
As a teenager not many of my friends like children's books, but I have and always will have a profound affection for them. "Cherries and Cherry Pits" continues to be a favorite of mine- your minds eye can relish on the fresh, colorful drawings whilst you read of the simple pleasures derived from a yummy little fruit. This book always leaves me with a little dance in my step, an artistic itch in my fingers and a mouth watering for cherries ... Read more

Book Description

Dear Reader,
Here are the postcards and snapshots that Stringbean Coe and his brother Fred sent home from the long trip they made one summer in Fred's truck.

Their grandfather made this album for the family--and for you. Enjoy yourselves!

Love,
Vera and Jennifer

"A good-hearted celebration of life and experience, and a gift to the public."--School Library Journal ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Stringbean's Trip is a Journey for All
Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea by Vera B. Williams andJennifer Williams is a realistic and imaginative children's story.The format is a scrapbook that chronicles the road trip Stringbean and his brother take to the Pacific Ocean from their home in Kansas. The amusing text is written in the form of postcards the brothers send to family members as they make their way to their destination. The illustrations are unique, and are "photographs" and colorful postcards displaying Stringbean's experiences in a fun and personnal way. The reader feels s/he is actually looking at someone's scrapbook and as the story progresses feels like a family member to whom the postcards have been sent. As well as being entertaining, the book is a useful geography tool for children, allowing them to travel the journey on a map as the brother's make their way across country. ... Read more

Book Description

"Rosa organizes her friends into the Oak Street Band in order to earn money her family needs because of her Grandma's illness....Community, family and personal triumphs converge, making unforgettable music for everyone."--School Library Journal. ... Read more

Book Description

Despues que un incendio destruye su casa y todo lo que poseen, Rosa, su Madre y su abuela ahorran hasta que logran comprarseun sillÓn para que las tres puedan disfrutarlo.

Book Description

"Thirty authors and illustrators contribute original stories, poems, and artwork that explore and illuminate the theme of belonging, be it to a physical place or a family group. Thought-provoking and...first-rate." —H.

A Reading Rainbow Selection
Notable 1992 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) ... Read more

Book Description

Lucky listener! Lucky reader! Listen to this lucky song about Evie and her blue-sky, kite-flying day. But Evie's day wouldn't be nearly as special without a little help from her grandpa and grandma, and her mother and father and sister. The beloved picture-book world of Vera B. Williams comes vividly to life again with Evie in the warm embrace of her family. Young readers will want to hear her lucky song again and again and again.Lucky listener! Lucky reader! Listen to this lucky song about Evie and her blue-sky, kite-flying day. But Evies day wouldnt be nearly as special without a little help from her grandpa and grandma, and her mother and father and sister. The beloved picture-book world of Vera B. Williams comes vividly to life again with Evie in the warm embrace of her family. Young readers will want to hear her lucky song again and again and again. ... Read more

Book Description

El botellón que Rosa, Mama y Abuela llenaron de monedas, lo van a vaciar para comprarle a Rosa un regalo de compleaños. Pero...¿qué regalo puede elegir Rosa que sea verdaderamente especial ? Rosa desea un regalo que las tres puedan disfrutar. ... Read more

Book Description

La abuela de Rosa esta enferma, y el sillon de la sala ahora permanece vacío. También el gran botellón de la familia está vacío.Rosa está preocupada. ¿Qué puede hacer para ayudar?.Abuela se siente mejor cuando Rosa y sus amigas tocan música para ella y les dice que se siente como cuando era joven y bailaba en las fiestas .Al oirla, a Rosa se le ocurre una idea. ¡Si abuela le gusta su musica, a lo mejor alguna gente pagaríapara escucharlas!Asi nace la Banda de la Calle Oak. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Horn Book, Inc. on January 1, 1995. The length of the article is 74062 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The characters of 'Scooter,' the winner of the Boston Globe Horn Book Award for children's fiction in 1994, describe in their own words their reactions to winning the award. Each character's hand-written response is provided.

Citation Details
Title: Scooter is us. (award-winning children's book 'Scooter')
Author: Vera B. Williams
Publication: The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1995
Publisher: Horn Book, Inc.
Volume: v71Issue: n1Page: p22(8)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Let Grandpa Ben teach all you need to know about making, baking, and building a gingerbread house. His clear instructions unlock the secrets of a delicious holiday tradition for young and old alike. Ages 5 up. ... Read more