I'm looking for a children's book from the 1980's that I remember as
being called "The bears paint job" but this is just what I remember
and may not actually be the title.  The book itself was about these
bears who were painters and the purpose was to show what different
colors you can get when you mixed the colors. One specific part of the
book had an accident where the bears fell and the paint crashed down
on them. I would like to be able to buy a copy of this book.

Hello.

It sounds like you're describing "Panda Bear's Paintbox" (1981) by
Michaela Muntean.

See these various reader reviews on Amazon.com:

"Panda learns about the colors he can make with his paint box, and
then needs a bath! It's very simple, but in my opinion this is better
for teaching colors than a book where you have to keep track of what's
going on!"

"There is no thrill per se in this story, just a little panda and his
friend Brown Bear who discover colors and the color combinations that
can be created."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/030768105X/

Also see this reader review in a newsgroup message archived by Google Groups:
"This one's called "Panda Bear's Paintbox".  It tells the rather
charming story of a little panda cub receving a gift of a paintbox
from his father who
proceeds to make a mess of himself using said paintbox.  Really cute."
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22panda+bear%27s+paintbox%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&selm=5rrjq5%24btn%40in2.doitnow.com&rnum=1

Also available from dealers on Abebooks.com:
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?&tn=Panda+Bear's+Paintbox&cm_re=A*Search+Box*Form&imageField.y=0&imageField.x=0&ph=2&sts=t

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search strategy:
"bears paint"
"panda bear's paint box"
"panda bear's paintbox"

I hope this helps.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 00:02 PDT

That abebooks.com link didn't parse correctly. Try this one:
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=276134750

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 00:18 PDT

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?bx=off&sts=t&ds=30&bi=0&tn=panda+bear+paintbox&sortby=2

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Request for Answer Clarification by topazljf-ga on 28 Jul 2004 10:11 PDT

That isn't the book I'm looking for. It had 3 bears that were hired to
be painters. I'm pretty sure they were brown bears as well.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 12:16 PDT

I haven't been able to locate a description of the plot, but does this
sound like a possibility?

The Bears' Book of Colors (1989)
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?bi=184663754
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0824982967/

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Request for Answer Clarification by topazljf-ga on 28 Jul 2004 14:48 PDT

That title seems like it could work, however the book was read in
1986-1988 so the publication date seems too late.  I should have
clarified the date in my question.  I searched through Amazon and came
up with Elsa's Bears Learn to Paint by Anna Virin published in 1978...
maybe a bit early but it would have been around in 86-88, but could
not find a plot. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817857478/qid=1091051232/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1219338-2461461?v=glance&s=books
I am wondering how to contact the sellers to inquire about it.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 15:35 PDT

Hi,

I too noticed "Elsa's Bears Learn to Paint" in my searching.

 However, I found this description in a local online library catalog:

"While Elsa paints a picture, her bears get into the paint."
http://www.placerlibrary.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/57/49?user_id=APWEB&password=3422


That doesn't seem to match your description in two respects: (1) It's
not about mixing colors; (2) The bears are not "painters" per se.

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Request for Answer Clarification by topazljf-ga on 28 Jul 2004 16:13 PDT

Ooooh, okay, thank you.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 16:18 PDT

Thanks for the tip.

I'll keep working on this, though, and let you know if I come up with
any other possible titles.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 19:24 PDT

Hey!

I think I may have cracked it!

Take a look at the cover of The Strawberry Book of Colors (1975):
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?ph=2&bi=253039878

From this page:
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=253039878

Also see the description on Amazon.com:

"The three best painters at the Acme Painting Company can mix almost
any color they want with blue, red, and yellow."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0070278261/

So this book seems to have not only bears working as painters but also
the color-mixing aspect.

Let me know what you think.

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Request for Answer Clarification by topazljf-ga on 28 Jul 2004 19:48 PDT

WOW!!! THIS IS DEFINITELY THE BOOK!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

How the heck did you find it?!?!?!

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 20:35 PDT

Hi,

Glad to hear it's the right book!

I initially found it by browsing books on Amazon.com classified as
about "color" and "fiction."  The description of "The Strawberry Book
of Colors" mentioned the color-mixing aspect and also the "three best
painters."  There was no mention of bears on Amazon, so I then
searched over on Abebooks in hopes of finding a more detailed
description.  That's how I found the photo of the cover depicting the
bears.

-juggler

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Request for Answer Clarification by topazljf-ga on 28 Jul 2004 20:36 PDT

God I love the Internet!

Thanks again!

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jul 2004 20:40 PDT

You're welcome!
-juggler