ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Four round little bears. Four straight-back chairs. That works til Big Brown Bear enters the scene looking for someplace to sit down. Using plenty of repetition and the simplest of rhyming couplets ("What a stare / from Big Brown Bear. / That big bear / wants a chair!"), the text follows the travails of Brown Bear as he tries to find a place to sit down. Along with the visual treat of watching softly colored bears and chairs on expanses of white pages, this book cleverly melds words and art for several other purposes. New readers will find this an inviting place to start picking out words, while budding logicians can sharpen their skills trying to figure out how five bears can sit in four chairs. The bears do it (after some trial and error), and the happy ending is the perfect finish to a sweet exercise.

Horn Book (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Four happy bears / on four small chairs. / Not a bear / has to share. Then Big Brown Bear arrives and wants a chair too. How will they manage? After several tries, the bears push their chairs together. Simply composed pastel-hued illustrations with lots of white space show the cuddly-looking creatures working cooperatively so they can all lounge on "one long chair."

Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

"Four small chairs / just right for bears. / Where is the bear / for each small chair?" One by one, Calico, Fuzzy, Yellow and Floppy Bears take their seats, but what to do when Big Brown Bear shows up and there's no chair? Parenteau's rhythm and rhyme never falter as the bears experiment with different seating configurations that might accommodate all five bear bottoms. Walker positions his soft-edged, pastel-colored bears (and their chairs) against a clean white background, their overlarge heads and comforting smiles immediately in tune with toddlers' aesthetics. While his bears are not highly developed characters, slight differences in color and texture—and Floppy Bear, in particular, is pleasingly spineless—will help small children track the characters' movements. While the bears' solution is hardly rocket science, their cooperative approach will appear revolutionary to the book's target audience. Between the unerringly positive approach to a common early-childhood dilemma and the can't-miss rhyme, this volume will likely find its place on many a daycare shelf. (Picture book. 2-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

With five bears and only four chairs, these cuddly, optimistic bruins have a problem. Parenteau's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">One Frog Sang) rhyming text is simple enough for a preschool audience, and the lesson the bears model about sharing, though obvious, will be welcomed by many teachers and parents. Recalling Care Bears in their pastel fuzziness and good cheer, Walker's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Flip, Flap, Fly!) bears climb on and off the chairs with a toddler's intensity as they master sitting and standing without having to share. But when “Big Brown Bear/ looks for a chair./ There is none there/ for that big bear.” When Big Brown Bear finds he is too big to share a chair with Floppy Bear, his dismay is evident in the acrylic illustrations. After attempts at sharing go awry, all five bears discover that by pushing the chairs together like a bench, they can all sit together. The simple rhymes grow somewhat tedious with repetition, but the heavy-handed message—“Now it's fair!/ The bears all share!”—will be plain to even the most inexperienced reader. Ages 2–6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)

School Library Journal (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

PreS-K This picture book begins with four small bears on four little chairs. No one has to share until Big Brown Bear arrives. They experiment with various seating arrangements and discover that there is room for everyone when the chairs are all placed next to one another, in a row. Parenteau's brief rhythmic text is bouncy and light, and ideal for reading aloud. Themes of sharing and compassion are introduced in developmentally appropriate, subtle ways, and the bears' discovery of their own resolution is a refreshing conclusion to the story. Walker's acrylic illustrations match the airy lyricism and mood of the text. The charming, wee creatures appear to be playful, kind teddy bears. The pastel hues of the paintings are set against creamy white pages, and the white space allows readers to focus on the actions and rhythms of the story. Include this book in traditional teddy bear programs to add subtle messages about sharing and kindness. Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI