The Little Chairs [Paperback]

Kate Salley Palmer (Author)

Book Description

In The Little Chairs, a happy family--mama, daddy, and two children--suddenly faces a problem that affects the whole family. The daddy falls victim to sad thoughts and begins to sit in a dark corner. The daddy says he's making himself sad and doesn't know how to stop it. The mama didn't make him sad, so she can't make him happy. She wants to help him to stop sitting in his dark corner so she brings him little wooden chairs to paint. After four days and several coats of bright colors, the daddy feels like eating his supper with the family again.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Kate Salley Palmer is the writer and illustrator of this colorful little book, which deals sensitively with a situation children (and adults) may find very difficult and upsetting to comprehend. -- The State (Columbia, SC) Newspaper, January 30, 2000

The Little Chairs shows that a loving family member can reach out to someone who is troubled and let them know they are needed until they find their way back. -- The Anderson (SC) Independent-Mail, Nov. 14, 1999

About the Author

Kate Salley Palmer is author/illustrator of three children's picture books published by Warbranch Press - A Gracious Plenty, The Pink House, and The Little Chairs. The former nationally syndicated political cartoonist began writing and illustrating picture books in 1990, and now has seven that she's written and/or illustrated. Those illustrated for other publishers include: Octopus Hug and Upstairs (Boyds Mills Press), How Many Feet in the Bed (Simon and Schuster), and Night of the Five Aunties (Albert Whitman Co.). Kate has also illustrated 12 Reading Recovery books for children for Kaeden Corp. Kate and husband, Jim, started Warbranch Press in 1998 in order to publish her books. Currently, she's working on her political cartoon memoir entitled, Why Don't You Crawl Back into Your Gutter and Rot -- My Life as a Political Cartoonist. Hopefully, this book will be published in the fall of 2000.

Product Details

• Paperback: 36 pages
• Publisher: Warbranch Pr Inc (November 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966711424
• ISBN-13: 978-0966711424
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,955,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kate Salley Palmer is a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina and was a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist - winning the Heritage Foundation's Award for Editorial Cartoons in 1980. In the early 90's she began writing and illustrating children's picture books. She has had over 20 published by national and regional publishers, and her latest, Almost Invisible - Black Patriots of the American Revolution, was a 2009 finalist in SIBA's (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) Children's Book category. Kate lives in Clemson, South Carolina with her husband, Jim, and their two dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The kids liked it more than I did, March 20, 2001

By 

Tanja L. Walker "Tanja L. Walker" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Chairs (Paperback)

My reaction when I first got this book and read it too myself was that the story was unrealistic in its portrayal of getting the daddy out of his depression. The mamma responds to the daddy's depression by giving him chairs to paint, hoping to make him feel useful and needed. True, painting and other creative endeavors can help people who are depressed. That's the whole point behind art therapy often used in hospital settings. However, the author made it seem as though the daddy's depression went away after he painted the chairs. Painting may have eased the depression, but it can't cure the person.

That said, I still recommend this book because it resonnated well with my children. My five-year-old especially likes this book and has asked me to read it to her several times. Maybe I judge "unrealistic" optimism aimed at children too harshly. Perhaps children who have a parent with depression need such an upbeat and hopeful story to help them cope with the stress and confusion they feel.