(2) K-3 In this final collaboration (much of the book had been finished before Leo Dillon's death in 2012), a rocking chair bought in anticipation of a baby's birth is well loved, well used, and then passed down to the next generation. Acrylic paintings inspired by Milton Avery use flat pastel shades, pared-down shapes, and minimal facial expressions. A quiet story with underpinnings of love, loss, and the strength of family bonds.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) K-3 When Giraffe moves to the jungle, the other animals, and even a human ("Smartest species? Yeah, right"), keep mistaking him for a chair and sitting on him. Giraffe is too afraid to speak up...until nature's call ("I've got to pee!") forces him to take a stand. This well-spun tale's slapstick is all the funnier for the cast's dopey facial expressions.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Madeline Kloepper. A little blue chair starts out as a boy's favorite; it's passed from person to person before ending up with the same boy--who's now grown, with a daughter who loves the chair as much as he did. Lovely ink and pencil illustrations, in a variety of layouts, from vignettes to double-page spreads, imbue the story with heart; the circular ending is very satisfying.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) PS A polar bear has commandeered a mouse's chair. After numerous attempts to reclaim the chair ("Maybe I'll give him a scare-- / I'll jump out in my underwear!"), the mouse storms off. The self-satisfied bear heads home, only to find a surprise waiting. This playfully illustrated sparring match is both a pleasure-making exercise in gratuitous rhyme and a distillation of a classic sibling dynamic.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 For his birthday, rambunctious Pablo receives a chair so he'll "sit still for once." But instead the boy dazzles townspeople (and spectators worldwide) with acrobatics on the chair. The quirky story's clear text pairs nicely with the art, in which bursts of primary-color ink enhance clean black pen drawings; there's fun in spotting Pablo and his chair amid some of the finely rendered scenes.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(3) K-3 Translated by Liliana Valenzuela. Rosa anxiously awaits the birth of her cousin. She ruminates about how life is always changing: she'll grow up and move away from home. Through it all, one comforting constant will be her mother's red chair covered in roses. The soothing, rhythmic story, accurately translated into Spanish, is illustrated with vivid watercolors that display the family's warmth. Concurrently published in English.

Reviewer: Alissa C. Salamone

(3) K-3 Rosa anxiously awaits the birth of her cousin. She ruminates about how life is always changing: she'll grow up and move away from home. Through it all, one comforting constant will be her mother's red chair covered in roses. The soothing, rhythmic story is illustrated with vivid watercolors that display the family's warmth. Concurrently published in Spanish.

Reviewer: Alissa C. Salamone

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by CB Decker. Addy arrives in class one day only to realize that her desk chair has been replaced by The Bad Luck Chair. She sets out to break the chair's curse with the help of former victims of its powers. A kid-friendly premise, believable superstitions, and a spirited heroine all feature in the story. Friendly black-and-white illustrations include full-page and spot art.

Reviewer:

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Debrah Santini. A woman named Abby moves to a new house in a new town and can't figure out why her beloved chairs suddenly look so odd. It's only when she fills them with new friends that she realizes what was amiss. Warm, expressive watercolor illustrations lend some appeal to a sweet moral tale, but the all-adult cast and nature of the metaphor will limit child appeal.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) PS Illustrated by Chris Fisher. Papa Bear and Mama Bear take Baby Bear to a chair emporium, where he finds the Robin Hood chair too scratchy, the pirate chair too scary, etc. Disappointed, he returns home to find a (too conveniently timed) package from Goldilocks containing a chair that's "just right." Fisher presents an impressive range of boldly colored chairs in this mildly clever follow-up story to Goldilocks.

Reviewer: Nell Beram