Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
With amusing scrutiny, Pinkwater examines the roles of artist and art critic. When his protagonist, a bear, decides to paint a picture, two “fine, proper gentlemen” passing by tell him that bears cannot possibly paint pictures. Challenged, they continue, declaring his to be a silly picture, because nobody can tell what it is supposed to be. Bear replies that he can tell, as he carefully paints away. The gentlemen attempt to name what they think may be in the painting, but the bear tells them that they are wrong. When he describes what he has painted, they claim that it does not look like that to them. “It doesn’t have to,” says the artist. “It is MY picture.” And he is happy. The three characters are gray, stylized paper sculptures. The critics are formally attired, while the bear has a paint-spattered scarf around his neck and sparkling blue eyes. The visual story contains only these three characters and the gradually evolving painting, as the bear dips his brush into the scattered paint jars. Some leaves and a log-like form, perhaps a purple tree trunk, appear amid the multi-hued, swirling shapes. Eventually, the happy bear is shown napping in the log. The story stimulates valid questions about the nature of art and is great fun. 2008 (orig. 1972 and 2000), Houghton Mifflin Company, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 6))
Pinkwater's terse 1972 tale of an ursine painter who stoutly defends his right to create against the sneers of two critics ("fine, proper gentlemen," as the text has it) gets a major visual boost from new illustrations in this reissue. The text has been very slightly massaged, and big cubist scenes replace the author's original small, almost minimalist paintings. Now the bear (wearing an increasingly spattered scarf) and his exaggeratedly dapper tormentors appear in grayscale around a bright semi-abstract canvas that develops, as pages turn, from a hazy smudge of blues and oranges into a lyrical evocation of leaves and water around a cozy hollow log. At the end, the text states only that the two critics leave muttering "Bears are not the sort of fellows to paint pictures," but Johnson depicts them sinking into the picture's stream until only their hats are left as part of the composition—a harsher but perhaps more just judgment on their prejudices. Bear makes a grand champion for all young artists, and it wouldn't hurt for certain grown-ups to hear his message, either. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, 32p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to8, and adult. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, May 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 9))
A bear wanted to paint a picture,” and so he began to do so, happily painting away in a rainbow of colors when “two fine, proper gentleman” come upon him. The knowledgeable gentlemen assert that bears can’t paint pictures and that the work in progress is silly, and they make mistaken guess after mistaken guess as to its subject. The bear finally informs them of his vision—it basically depicts a dream bear habitat—and when the gentlemen dismiss his efforts, he points out firmly that it’s not for them to judge (“It is MY picture”). The message is a little oversimplified, but young artists will immediately recognize the dilemma of being faced with seemingly superior interlocutors, and the encouragement of individual vision is uplifting. Pinkwater’s text has an abstract, fable-like tone that’s grounded with gentle touches of rhythm as the focus alternates between artist and critics, and his subtextual eye-rolling at the pretentious prejudgment of the critics will put kids happily on the bear’s side. Johnson gets the gentlemen’s number illustratively, putting them in period suits (including spats, hats, and walking stick for one) and shades of gray, taupe, black, and white that the eye initially reads as monochromatic, and their geometric angularity correlates to their rigidity. The bear and his painting, however, are less successful: with his popping blue white-ringed eyes, spiky texture marks, and two-dimensionality, our ursine artist isn’t particularly appealing, and his painting is a cacophony of unbalanced color that, ironically, makes the two critics look stylish and effective in contrast. Despite the book’s flaws, it will make young artists think; use it in conjunction with Haseley’s Twenty Heartbeats (BCCB 4/08) or Catalanotto’s Emily’s Art (BCCB 9/01) for a look at artistic philosophy Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, Houghton, 32p., $16.00. Ages 4-7 yrs.

Deborah S. Paratore (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 21, No. 1))
The bear is painting a picture. What can it be? Two fine and proper gentlemen are trying to decide what it is by making guesses. The bear replies that they are incorrect and finally tells them. But they do not agree that it looks like that. In the end, it doesn’t matter what the gentlemen think. After all, it is the bear’s picture, and it can be whatever he wants it to be. The vocabulary is simple with only two sentences on each page. The illustrations are “modernistic” and will inspire conjecture and language from the students. It is a good way to encourage the students to express themselves and learn that everything does not have to be the way someone else wants it. Fiction. Grades PreK-1. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 3 to 7.