The Welcome Chair by Rosemary Wells (review)

In the early nineteenth century, Sam Seigbert, Rosemary Wells’ great-great-grandfather, leaves Bavaria for New York, finding a solid job there as carpenter and bookkeeper there for the Hinzler family housewright business. When Mrs. Hinzler has a baby, Sam crafts a beautiful wooden rocking chair. The chair goes with Sam and the Hinzlers to the Midwest, where Sam meets and marries Ruth, and where the chair rocks her and their children. It goes back east when Sam’s daughter marries, and then it’s given to the Irish seamstress of the household. Eventually it’s donated to the Salvation Army, where it’s found and renovated by nuns escaping the Dominican Republic under Trujillo. After them, the chair goes to a few more American families, each time adding a new line to the many-languaged words of welcome carved on its back. There’s a folkloric flavor to this tale of an object that welcomes a sequence of North American newbies; while the chair’s trajectory is a contrivance, it works as a metaphor for the commonality of immigrant experience and needs. Pinkney’s familiar character-rich line and watercolor art moves easily through the decades and from city to country; the deep tan of the chair, often set off against slightly paler backgrounds, makes it easy to spot for kids following the visual thread. This could be a great prompt for kids to ask at home about their own family heirlooms or to create stories about the reclaimed objects in their lives. A note from the author about her family story and support of immigration and a note from the artist about his process are included.