“Sometimes a bear barely sits in a chair. But but but but wait a minute. There’s no bear there, heavens no. There’s just Gertrude staring and her chair. And her chair is not even barely a chair, no no no no no it’s a throne.” A book as singular its subject (Gertrude Stein) features a text perfectly tuned to young children, full of energy, rhythm, and playful prose to delight. But this is also an eye-opening look at the world of arts and letters in which Gertrude Stein held court. A number of the Modernists of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s are featured in Jonah Winter’s spirited narrative (echoing the stream-of-consciousness style of Stein’s own writing, which included a book for children, The World Is Round ) and Calef Brown’s well-suited, offbeat illustrations. In addition to Stein herself, there’s Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway, and Alice B. Toklas, among others. But there is also a poodle named Basket, a pink car named Auntie, and many other things in a book that may captivate toddlers and intrigue older children and teens. (Ages 4–16)