The Big Red Chair

 I haven't reviewed a children's book in a long while and so I was pleased to receive The Big Red Chair from Canadian author Brenda J. Wood.

I'm going to guess that Brenda, who lost her husband last year, wrote this book for her grandchildren. Why? Because it deals specifically with grieving the loss of someone you love and it is done with the love of a grandmother's heart.

In the book, Afi, which is Icelandic for Grandpa, loves to sit in his big red chair. The big red chair holds special memories of Afi holding grandchildren, mommy and daddy snuggling and what seems to be a grudging respect for the chair from Amma (Icelandic for Grandma), who didn't really want The Big Red Chair. 

But, as the story unfolds in rhyme, we see the colourful pictures that are included in the book start to change, and Afi is now in a different kind of chair in the hospital, longing to be back home in his Big Red Chair. The author has included questions at the end of the book that guide children who are grieving and in addition, a CD is included of her reading the The Big Red Chair.

If you know of a little one who is struggling with grief, this would be a good book to read to them. To contact the author visit http://heartfeltdevotionals.wordpress.com