Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond

A story about a wildfire in Northern Ontario. 

A story about creatures, both human and animals, coming together in their common fear.

Lovely illustrations!

Antonio Willie Giroux (a great name if ever there was one) lived with his mother who ran a boarding house on the edge of a lake in rural Ontario. 

It was a pretty great life for a kid--so much to see, so many people to dote on him and teach him how to do things. 

The second floor was full of sportsmen come to do some hunting and fishing. 

The top floor was filled with the French Canadians working in the nearby timber harvesting outfits. Willie loved spending time up there listening to words in French, English, and several different Native American languages. 

One summer day, smoke came out of the woods and threatened their lives. 

As the fire edged closer, people crowded into the lake for safety. 

And as it got even closer, wild animals fled from the woods into the lake with the humans. 

And they all stood together, uncommon companions, watching the fire rage by them. Somehow in their common fear, predators did not attack prey, but somehow understood that this situation was beyond the realm of their conventional relationship. 

By some miracle, the hotel did not burn down. So they crept back after the fire, remembering the moment they stood shoulder to haunch with the wild things of the forest. 

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B Williams

This is a marvelous book from my childhood. I remember an elementary teacher reading this story to us. I was entranced. I loved the idea of helping get something beautiful for my mother. I also loved the chair they eventually got--velvet with big fat roses! Completely marvelous to my little kid mind. 

This book was a Caldecott Honor book in 1983. The pictures are in a vibrant and happy primitive style. 

Rosa's mother is a waitress at the Blue Tile Diner. Sometimes Rosa gets to help out, washing salt and pepper shakers and the like. 

When Rosa's mother gets home, all her tip money goes into a giant jar of money. The small pay Rosa earns goes in there as well. If Grandma can save a few cents in her grocery shopping, the savings go in the jar.

Rosa's mother is sometimes exhausted after her shift, but Rosa and her grandmother count the money in the jar. 

Rosa and her mother live with her grandmother. I love the strong female characters in this book. Her dad is never mentioned, whether he died or is just not in the picture isn't discussed. But they seem to do okay without him. 

This chair is their goal--

A wonderful, beautiful, fat, soft armchair. We will get one covered in velvet with roses all over it. We are going to get the best chair in the whole world. 

One day, a year or so ago, Rosa and her mother were walking home from buying new shoes. They admired the bright spring tulips and thought how lovely the world was. 

Then they turned the corner into their street and into chaos. Their apartment building was burning.

They lost everything. But they didn't lose the wonderful people in their lives. Neighbors brought food to their new place. The family across the street brought furniture. Rosa's other grandpa brought a rug. Aunt Sally made red and white curtains. Mama's boss Josephine brought kitchenware. Rosa's cousin brought her own stuffed bear for Rosa. 

Grandma made a speech

"You are all the kindest people," she said, "and we thank you very, very much. It's lucky we're young and can start all over again."

I love optimism!

They had everything they needed, but they didn't have any comfy furniture for Mama to "take a load off my feet." So she brought the giant jar home to fill up with chair money. 

And finally, finally the jar was full to the gills. 

They wrapped all the coins in paper wrappers and took the money to the bank to change it for cash.

On Mother's day off, they took the bus downtown to go chair shopping. 

We tried out big chairs and smaller ones, high chairs and low chairs, soft chairs and harder one. Grandma said she felt like Goldilocks in 'The three bears' trying out all the chairs.

Then, their search came to an end. It was the chair. 

Aunt Ida and Uncle Sandy brought it home for them in their pickup. Rosa tried it out before it was even out of the truck.

They put it near the window so Grandma can talk to the people passing by. After supper, I sit with Mama and she can reach right up and turn out the light if I fall asleep in her lap.

Buying a snuggling chair is a marvelous way to use money. 

All together.

Mama's New Job By Stan and Jan Berenstain

Rather unexpectedly, I have a job. After 11 years of being a stay at home wife and mother. I saw this book in the kids's doctor's waiting room on Monday, right after accepting the position, so it seemed like the right book to do on my first day of work.

As a child of the 80's, Berenstain Bears were a large part of my life. They are somewhat formulaic and idealized and poor Papa never catches a break, but I still like them.  

I particularly liked this book when I was little. Papa doing his woodwork and Mama doing her thing. It was pretty much what I wanted my life to be like. As luck would have it, I married a woodworker (and leather worker, and construction guy, and cowboy, and... He has a lot of interests.) So I am just as good as the Berenstain Bears. Except I have never managed to grow cobalt blue tulips. 

And I lack Mama Bear's knack with needle and thread. 

Oh, I loved this page. I could (and can) think up so many lovely quilts. Or at least, they are lovely in my head. Once I try to make the designs come out my fingers in fabric form, they suddenly look quite different and I quickly move on to another beautifully designed imaginary quilt.

Mama just happened to hang her quilts out when Papa was having a furniture sale, and lo and behold! A business was born.  

Mama is very autocratic here. She doesn't seem to discuss going into business with Papa at all. A strong, modern woman is great, but I think a polite, "By the way..." before telling the cubs is only fair. Although Papa is infantilized so often in these books that she might just consider him to be one of the cubs at this point.

Papa quickly forgave her though and brought her feet hot water at the end of a long day.

Her quilt shop did a booming business. 

I love Mama's big bold quilts. If I were to make quilts, I would probably have to do big and bold. It looks like a lot fewer blocks to sew together. That is my kind of quilting. 

And now that Mama is a "business-bear wife and mama" they now eat at the Burger Bear. 

Apparently fast food and working mothers are closely linked.