Bears On Chairs

Bears On Chairs. Shirley Parenteau. Illustrated by David Walker. 2009. [August 2009]. Candlewick. 32 pages.

Can five friends find a way to share four chairs? Find out the answer in this cute and adorable picture book by Shirley Parenteau. In Bears On Chairs, readers learn about sharing.

Here's how it starts off,

Four small chairs
just right for bears.
Where is the bear for each small chair?

Calico Bear
sits on a chair.
He likes it there
on his one chair.

Now Fuzzy Bear
wants a chair.
She climbs up there
on the second chair.

What happens when a fifth bear, Big Brown Bear, comes along? Can Calico Bear, Fuzzy Bear, Yellow Bear, and Floppy Bear find a way to make everything work out for everybody? Or will one bear have to give up his chair?

This one is definitely a rhyming book. But that wasn't a bad thing. I know I can be hard on rhyming books now and then. Because sometimes rhyming books--especially rhyming books that are cute and adorable--can be a bit dinky in places. But I thought Bears On Chairs worked quite well. The rhyming really works. I thought it was great fun. Cute and playful. I really liked this one and am happy to recommend it.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers