Vera B Williams

A child, her waitress mother, and her grandmother save dimes to buy a comfortable armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire.

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.

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.

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...

Rosa is excited when her new cousin, Benji, is born, but when Grandma wants to remove a beloved armchair, Rosa puts her foot down and insists that the chair, just like Benji, is a member of the family.

Stringbean describes his trip to the west coast in a series of postcards.

Chair for my mother: A child, her waitress mother, and her grandmother save dimes to buy a comfortable armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire. Something special for me: Rosa has difficulty choosing a special birthday present to buy with the coins her mother and grandmother have saved, until she hears a man playing beautiful music on an accordion. Music, music for everyone: Rosa plays her accordion with her friends in the Oak Street...