Pistes d'exploration

Discuss the situation of the girl and her mother. Clarify what a shelter is and who might use one. What kinds of things might be found in a shelter for the children who stay there? 

Imagine you have some magic beads. Write a piece about all the interesting things you could do with them.

Design an advertisement. Imagine that magic beads are real and you are responsible for selling them. How will you tell people about them? 

Discuss shelters and why Lillian and her mother needed one. Why is Lillian nervous and how do you know? How did you feel when you started school or moved to a new school or neighbourhood?

Plan a Show and Tell week and take turns talking about some object that is important to you.

Write down suggestions that might help Lillian adjust to her new school and apartment. Share these with the class.

Something Beautiful, A Chair for My Mother

Mots-clés

Picture book , acceptance , anxiety , belonging , displacement , family violence , homelessness , imagination , resilience

Commentaire descriptif

Lillian must do a Show and Tell in her new school by the end of the week. The butterflies in her stomach turn to grasshoppers and, as the week proceeds, to animals even bigger and more unruly. All children will relate to Lillian’s concern about being different. Lillian’s life with her mother in a women’s shelter is inserted gracefully, as backstory to Lillian’s school woes. The issue of family violence is treated in a comprehensible, child-friendly manner while the language is skillful in grounding complicated and ambivalent emotions for young readers: “They’d moved into the shelter because he had a bad temper. . . . They’d left all their things behind. Including Lillian’s toys.” The illustrations are bright and sketchy, alive with movement and expression. As Lillian frets about her lack of toys for Show and Tell, her innocuous necklace of plastic beads appears in every image. She wears them in class; she drags them behind her on the walk back to the shelter. They are tossed on the bed when Lillian cuddles with her mother. Finally, when it’s her turn to Show and Tell, Lillian wows the class—and readers—with a presentation about her “magic” beads. The uplifting finish suggests to young readers that we all carry within us almost everything we need.