{"product_id":"the-welcome-chair-9781534429772","title":"The Welcome Chair","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"An eloquent account of the American immigrant experience.\" --\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Deserves to become a modern classic.\" --\u003ci\u003eBookPage \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"A resounding welcome to immigrants.\" --\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased in part on a 100-year-old family journal, Rosemary Wells brings to life a story that the diary's fragile pages tell. It's the story of a wooden rocking chair handmade in about 1825 by her great-great-grandfather, an immigrant Jewish boy who made his way to America from Germany in the early 1800s.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1807, Sam Siegbert is born in southern Germany. Sam's favorite pastime is carpentry, much to his father's displeasure. His mother says he has a gift from God in his hands. After moving to America, he builds a wooden chair with the word \u003ci\u003eWILLKOMMEN\u003c\/i\u003e on the back. The chair's back panel was later marked with \u003ci\u003ewelcome\u003c\/i\u003es by four generations of the family in four different languages. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter the family lost track of the old chair, the author created a new life for it among new owners from other corners of the world. All the families who loved the chair came to America, escaping religious conformity, natural disasters, tyrannies, war, and superstition. In its lifetime, the rocking chair, with its earliest word \u003ci\u003eWILLKOMMEN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003estood for openness, hospitality, and acceptance to all who owned it or rocked safely in its embrace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRosemary Wells is the author of more than one hundred and twenty books for children in her forty-five-year career, including more than forty about the beloved bunnies, Max and Ruby, who star in their own television show on Nick Jr. She lives in New England. Visit her online at RosemaryWells.com. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJerry Pinkney (1939-2021) illustrated 100 children's books, and his work earned the 2010 Caldecott Medal, five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, five Coretta Scott King Honors, five \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Best Illustrated Book awards, and, in 2006, the Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators. Jerry Pinkney's many acclaimed titles included \u003ci\u003eJohn Henry\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMinty\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSam and the Tigers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Ugly Duckling\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMirandy and Brother Wind\u003c\/i\u003e. Find out more at JerryPinkneyStudio.com.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster\/Paula Wiseman Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50554068369682,"sku":"9781534429772","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f64dd81d-0a4e-4094-a188-057022f6f78a.jpg?v=1731706492","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-welcome-chair-9781534429772","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}