Rosa Books

Listen to four stories about Rosa and Her Family: A Chair for My Mother, A Caldecott Honor Book, Something Special for Me Music, Music for Everyone, A Chair for Always, plus Cherries and Cherry Pits and An Interview with the Author

The jar of coins is full. The day has come to buy the chair--the big, fat, comfortable, wonderful chair they have been saving for. The chair that will replace the one that was burned up--along with everything else--in the terrible fire. A book of love and tenderness filled with the affirmation of life. The jar of coins is full. The day has come to buy the chair - the big, fat, comforable, wonderful chair they have been saving for. The chair that will replace the one that was burned up - along with everything else - in the terrible fire. A book of love and tenderness filled with the affirmation of life.

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!

Rosa's grandma is sick and must stay upstairs in bed. And so the big chair in the living room is often empty. And the money jar--in which the family saved their change to buy the big red chair and Rosa's accordion--is empty too. All extra money must be used to take care of Grandma. After school Rosa and her friends Leora, Mae, and Jenny often make music for Grandma. She says their playing makes her feel like a girl again, dancing at a party. And that is the beginning of Rosa's wonderful idea. A kaleidoscope of emotions--joy, sadness, merriment, and love--bursts from the pages of this exuberant book.

There are some things that Rosa just knows. She knows that she can't wait to meet her new baby cousin, due to be born at any minute right upstairs. She knows that she will grow up and move away and maybe go to college, and perhaps even become the president of the United States. And she knows that the chair-that wonderful, beautiful, beloved chair, the chair for her mother-will always be there. Always. Just the way it is. Covered in velvet with roses all over it, ready for who-knows-what new adventure . . .