Annie's Chair

by Deborah Niland

It's so hard to share your favorite thing.

Meet Annie. Annie loves her chair. She's had it ever since she was tiny.
No one is allowed on Annie's chair.

But today Annie is very angry. Someone is sleeping on her chair. She tries everything to get her special place back, to no avail. Her surprising solution will charm young readers into recognizing the joys of sharing.

For every child trying to claim their own private corner of the world comes a story about a delightful little girl with a stubborn streak and an adorable personality!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Storytime, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2006

About the author

Deborah Niland is the daughter of Australian writers, Ruth Park and D'Arcy Niland. From an early age she developed an interest in art, and particularly illustration. A strong influence being the illustrations of Noela Young seen in the series of Muddleheaded Wombat books written by Ruth Park.

Deborah studied art at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney. While in London, Deborah and her sister Kilmeny began their art careers by illustrating a book for Transworld Publishers. Other books for this publisher followed over the years.

Mulga Bill's Bicycle was the illustrated book that became a classic. Published in 1973 in Sydney, it is still in print. In 2007, a new edition of this title was issued by HarperCollins Australia.

Deborah has illustrated many popular books including When the Wind Changed by Ruth Park and There's a Hippopotamus on our Roof eating Cake by Hazel Edwards. In 2005 Deborah wrote and illustrated Annie's Chair, This book, won the CBCA Book of the Year: Early Childhood in 2006.

She is presently working on more of her own author-artist productions.

Although book illustration has been a continuing interest, Deborah has also been involved with painting for exhibitions and producing artwork for greeting cards, magazines and newspapers.

She enjoys working in a wide variety of styles and techniques, mainly using pencil, ink, watercolour and gouache, and more recently digital painting.

Reviews

[Kathrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie's Chair is a very sweet book, especially for girls. The cover of this is so girly and fun. The book itself is kind of long, with a medium length of words on each page. I would say this to be for a reader who can read little better. The pictures are detailed, and correlate perfectly with the wording. I like the facial expressions of each of the characters, even the pets. They go great with the mood of the book.

[Pip · Rating 2 out of 5]

cute book for little girl

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story about a little girl who has a special chair that she doesn't want anyone else to sit on. This is an idea that many young children will be able to relate to.

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute cover, but not a great message. Throw a tantrum, force a compromise?...

[Tony Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title: Annie's Chair
Author: Deborah Niland
Illustrator: Deborah Niland
Publisher: Walker Publishing Company
Publishing Date: 2006
ISBN Number: 0-0827-8082-2

Summary: Annie has a favorite chair and she absolutely will not let anyone use it. She keeps her big brother away and anyone else who may want to use it. Her dog, Benny, finds his way into the chair and Annie is really angry. She tries everything to get him out of it. She finally decides that maybe it would be best to share.

Age Level: 2-6

Instructional Uses and Student Activities: Sharing at home and in the classroom, something all young children have a hard time with, should be utilized. The idea that maybe a small sacrifice can end with making a friend or creating closer bonds with friends you already have can be instructed by a teacher guided reading or by having the children work through the book in small groups. The students could think of a time when something they cherished the most was asked to be shared and how they felt. Talking to other students and using the book as a guide would provide a scenario for creative writing.

[Nell Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a bright colorful inviting book. It is about a little girl who has her own chair and she has had it ever since she was very little. No one is allowed to sit in it but her. Not her mom, dad, or even her brother. One day she found her dog Benny sleeping in it. She asked him politely to get out of her chair but the dog Benny acted as if he did not hear her. He continued to sleep. She tickled him, bribed him with a treat. She pushed and shoved him. The only thing that would get him out is her crying because if she is upset then so is Benny. SO she cried and he hopped out of the chair and went to lick her face to cheer her up. Everything was better and the final thing she said to Benny was, "Don't sit in my chair... without me again." Teachers can use this book as a sharing lesson. No one is happy unless both get what they want and to do that, they need to share.

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brightly illustrated book by Deborah Niland looks at the difficult concept of sharing.

Our cats a loath to give up a good napping position (even with poking and proding from X-man) - so I think will need all of these books and more!

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really cute. The pictures are bright and inviting, and at the end of the book I said "awwww" out loud. It's adorable, and I think kids would love the message of sharing that the book has.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

Annie just loves her chair and no one is allowed to sit in it but her. One day, Benny the family dog is found sleeping in Annie's chair and makes her MAD. How will she get her chair back?

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie has a very special chair--it is so special, that nobody else is allowed to sit in it! There are many, many things she can do in her chair, and she loves all of those things. This is a great book about feelings and how to work through them in a productive way.

[L Campagnola · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 4 year old likes this book a lot more than I do. She wanted to have it read 2 nights in a row.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

book will appeal to 2's who find sharing so difficult! annie refuses to share special chair until...

[Kristen Leininger]

Picture Book: Portrayed well how children can fell about their possessions. I liked how the cat in the illustrations walks around, somewhat ignored, like she's trying to have a part in the book.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to share your favourite thing. Annie has a favourite chair, and of course with a dog and a cat and a brother in the house there's bound to be trouble at some stage.