Peter's Chair (Picture Puffin Books)

I came to Ezra Jack Keats' _Peter's Chair_ with high expectations. My two-year old and I both love his other books, like Goggles, A Letter To Amy, and Whistle for Willie.
_Peter's Chair_ is something of a disappointment. Drawn in the same style as his other titles, it's the story of Peter, who becomes an older brother for the first time. He rebels when he finds out that all his baby things are being reassigned to the baby girl, and given a fresh coat of PINK paint. Eventually he comes to accept that he's got to share the spotlight, and all is well.
When a younger sibling is born, it's nearly always a struggle for the older child to learn to share the parental attention. This is a common issue dealt with in children's books. Sad to say, it isn't dealt with very well in this book. _Peter's Chair_ just isn't a very good story, and children of the 1990s and later, who can't see that PINK MUST EQUAL GIRL and BLUE MUST EQUAL BOY are going to be confused by this implication.
Please, go look at the author's other titles: Goggles, A Letter To Amy, and Whistle for Willie, among others. They are most wonderful books by Ezra Jack Keats. Sad to say, I can only give _Peter's Chair_ 3 stars.
ken32

Excellent book to add to my First Grade collection. This series is wonderful as Read Alouds for teaching Realistic fiction, and how character feelings change throughout the story. I am very satisfied with the product and the seller.

While the illustrations are beautiful, the content has two major flaws. First, it reinforces stereotypical gender norming: the family is painting all of the little boy's blue furniture pink for the little baby sister. Second, the story itself really has no arc or point; issues are brought up and one thinks they would be resolved, but they never are. It doesn't actually prepare kids for baby arrival, nor does it help parents have any meaningful conversation about the pending change in the family. I have a four year old who loves books, so we are very familiar with the kid school genre, and this one is just not worth your time or money.

I bought most (8) of the Ezra Jack Keats series for my 2 year old. Love that I can give him a series of stories with the same main character who is also a little black boy on an adventure.

This book was so sweet about a little boy who does not know why all his things are being painted pink. The kids loved this read. My son also read this beloved book at school as well. Simplistic, timeless illustrations. Kids and adults will enjoy this book.

We read this book as part of our kindergarten reading curriculum. The class has given this book 5 stars! Many of us can relate to how Peter was feeling during this book. We are glad Peter did not runaway too far! We thought it was nice how Peter changed his mind and made a big decision to share his things with his baby sister. What a good kid of character.

It did make us laugh when he tricked his mom. We won't spoil how he did that though!

(We wrote this together as a class during our lesson on opinion writing)

This story explores Peter's feelings about his new sister. Ezra Jack Keats stories are always engaging for children with just the right amount of emphasis on the emotional theme. Kids want to read it again and again because it speaks subtly to their hearts.

Absolutely love this author. I heard these stories in school and can now read them to my grandchildren.

One of my son's favorites

Purchased for an elementary school.