Bears on Chairs

by Shirley Parenteau

Book Overview

"Between the unerringly positive approach to a common early-childhood dilemma and the can't-miss rhyme, this will find its place on many a shelf." --Kirkus Reviews Four chairs. Four cuddly bears. All... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076363588X
• ISBN13: 9780763635886
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.5" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 2 to 5 years

Customer Reviews

Sweet simplicity

Nothing can beat this story for it's simple, loveable charm. Four bears; blue Calico Bear, pink and prim Fuzzy Bear, cheerful Yellow Bear and loose-limbed Floppy Bear each settle down on their own little chairs. "Four happy bears / on four small chairs. / Not a bear / has to share." Oops! When Big Brown Bear arrives, it appears he's out of luck. In a wonderful double-page spread, Big Brown Bear woefully looks out to the viewer. "What a stare / from Big Brown Bear. / That big bear / wants a chair!" After much experimentation, the bears are able to jointly arrive at a solution... pushing all the chairs together to form a makeshift bench. Snuggled up on the bench, they declare "Now it's fair! / The bears all share!" Plenty of white-space and pastel colors, along with a unique personality to each of these adorable bears and the gentle repeating rhyme gives this book an easy, very readable appeal. The values of sharing, inclusion and problem-solving readily come across without being didactic for an instant. A great book for sharing with toddlers, I highly recommend this little gem.

These adorable bears are just as cuddly and huggable and the Care Bears!

There are four little chairs just waiting for a bit of company to sit on them. Little smiley Calico Bear found the lilac chair just to his liking. Fuzzy Pink Bear umph, umph, upmped her way up onto the little green one with the crisscrossed backing. Yellow Bear thought the blue one was just dandy to dance on and Floppy Bear claimed the last one. Flip, flop! "Four happy bears on four small chairs. Not a bear has to share." But all of a sudden along came Big Brown Bear a lookin' for a chair Big Brown Bear tried to sit with Floppy. Oh, no . . . that big bottom just won't fit on that chair "No, Floppy Bear and that big bear cannot share one small chair." Poor Big Brown Bear looked so unhappy that no one could share with him. Calico Bear put two chairs together. Maybe a double chair could hold a few bears. PLOP! THUMP! "Two of the bears fall off that chair! That double chair can't hold three bears." Hmmmm, maybe Fuzzy Bear and Yellow Bear can figure out how to solve this dilemma. These adorable bears remind me of Care Bears only they look cuddlier, more huggable and squishy. The rhythmical text doesn't miss a beat and will help the young child learn the sounds and cadence of the English language. The illustrations are extremely appealing and the uncluttered background makes them stand out. The story line was a smile creator from the first page to the last and this is one story that little ones will ask to be read to them time and time again. This book and a soft, cuddly bear would make a perfect gift!