What's Under the Bed?

by Joe Fenton

Fred doesn't want to go to sleep, he's worried about what is hiding underneath his bed. Is it big? Is it small? Is it skinny? is it tall? Hardly any text is needed to tell this adorable story because the accompanying illustrations are so lively and bold. And never fear, what is under the bed is as harmless as Ted, Fred's stuffed bear.

Genres: Picture Books, Monsters, Childrens, Storytime, Halloween, Humor, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 2, 2008

About the author

Joe Fenton is a British artist, designer, sculptor and illustrator, who mainly works in monochrome using graphite, ink, acrylics, oils on paper, canvas, and other.

Joe Fenton became internationally-known through his first large scale drawing rendered in graphite, acrylics, gouache, and ink, called Solitude. Completed in 2011, Solitude took over 10 months to produce, with its size being approximately 8 feet wide and 5.5 feet high

Reviews

[David Haggett]

I disliked the rhyming, and I don't think this book dismisses monsters under our beds as it should for young readers....

[Liam Mernagh]

What’s under the Bed is a book by Joe Fenton dealing with the contemporary fears of children at night. Fred is a reluctant sleeper who prefers playing with his teddy bear to putting his head to the pillow. Once he's under the covers, his imagination runs wild and he frets, "Could there be something under my bed?" Fred cannot stop worrying about creatures that might be lurking beneath it. As Fred's worries take shape, he questions all the different features it may have as well as the sounds it could possibly be making. Finally summoning his inner strength, the youngster finally looks under the bed, finding that it’s just his beloved teddy bear. His relief is short-lived however as he continues to speculate, "What's that noise? What's that sound? Is there something on the ground?" This is quiet a nice book for children, however it won’t do their fears of hidden monsters any favours. For those brave enough to be carefree about the monsters, the illustrations and the limited use of colours to emphasise the horror lurking under the bed, are especially magnificent in detail. While I couldn’t guarantee this book would be every child’s cup of tea, for most children, the real life experiences of their own fears which they may even have dealt with in the past, make this book most intriguing. This book because of the horror involved can suit children ranging from four to nine and probably isn’t the best book to encourage reading alone. Despite this, What’s under the Bed is an enjoyable book.

[Chelsea Kirkland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preschool storytime really liked this book and requested to read it again twice, I think we did it total 3 times in October. Good for Halloween season, but could be good anytime of the year because of the combination of questions that kids can answer (yes or no), and being a little bit scary. Only complaint is that I feel like the ending is a little bit anti-climactic...

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

It bothered me that the boy's eyeglasses were as big as his head and his image got lost in the rest of the dark, dark images. Just didn't like it.

[Marilyn Maldonado · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read to the class during the Halloween season. Also perfect for parents to read to kids who are scared of sleeping alone. The color choice and art style remind me of a comic version of the twilight zone. Only in some pages, there is a full bleed in the art because the monster is too large to contain in one page, but I like how the author is able to work with it. The boy is scared and jumpy over the noise, yet still has questions over how to monster must look like instead of checking if there is even a monster like any child would, making is authentic to a certain extent over how a child would approach this issue.

[Cassie Veselovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fred does not want to go to bed, he wants to stay up and play with Ted. Though forced to lay down his head with Ted, Fred does have an imaginative adventure searching under his bed. Joe Fenton's first picture book is a treat to read and share with your young one. The pared down rhyming text is perfect for the toddler set (they illicit OOooo's and giggles from my little boy), as are the bold, detailed, and fun illustrations.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sparse text in this volume about a boy who's afraid of what's under his bed, but then, text is not really needed. The illustrations tell most of this story. Wonderful ending! The last spread is my favorite!

[Michael Lent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but so much potential to really make this fun.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fenton, Joe. 2008. What's Under the Bed?

Incredible illustrations, simple text, What's Under the Bed is a book that almost works well. Almost. I loved the illustrations. They're striking. Using limited amount of colors--black, gray, white--with the barest splashes of red, green, and blue, it is also incredibly detailed. The book tells the story of a boy who is afraid that something or rather someone might be under his bed. The boy has a vivid imagination when it comes to imagining just who that someone might be--and what that someone might be like.

As I mentioned, the text is simple.

"Time for bed, Fred!"
"But I want to play with Ted."
"No, no, it's time to lay down your head."

And simple can be a good thing. The text also rhymes. Rhymes can be either very very good (think Adam Rex) or very very bad. In this case, the rhyming isn't a true detriment. However, the rhymes do feel a bit forced, a bit unnatural. Not all the time, just some of the time. I think writers sometimes forget that people don't really talk in rhymes all that often. And when you make all your dialogue rhyme, it loses authenticity, naturalness, the human touch.

I liked this book. Didn't love it. But there's nothing wrong with a "like."

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

[Anna Baker]

Young children will love this book because it is funny and age-appropriately frightening. It's good for reading development because of the rhyming and somewhat repetitive nature.

Illustrations are great. I think they could spark ideas and imaginations before a creative arts activity. They show many different ways you may draw one subject. Good for discussing use of color: everything is black and white except for the monster he is imagining. And good for discussing composition: the different placements and size of the monsters relative to the child and the bed help the author convey the emotion the child is feeling.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fred needs to go to sleep but he's worried there might be something under his bed. He then imagines all of the different forms that the mysterious monster can take until finally deciding to be brave and look under the bed. What will he find?

The illustrations did fun things with color splashes that accented the mainly black and white book. The text wasn't that difficult to read, so it may be especially fun for younger readers and the book was also quite short. It was cute, but I don't know how often I'll reread it.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fred does not want to go to bed, he wants to stay up and play with Ted. Though forced to lay down his head with Ted, Fred does have an imaginative adventure searching under his bed. Joe Fenton's first picture book is a treat to read and share with your young one. The pared down rhyming text is perfect for the toddler set (they illicit OOooo's and giggles from my little boy), as are the bold, detailed, and fun illustrations.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read aloud with children at bedtime. It's Fred's bedtime, but he's worried about what's under the bed. The illustrations are mostly black and white with some single color shading, particularly of the monster that Fred is imagining. It's a dramatic effect and it helps convey the fright Fred experiences. The narrative is a simple, rhyming text that is great for beginning readers. Our girls really liked it.

(A free book we got in our box of Cheerios)

[Christopher Obert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute children’s book about what is “under the bed?” The illustrations are fun and very interesting to look at because of the minimum use of color. The story is short and is written on each page in English and Spanish. Both the story and the art were created by Joe Fenton, so they work well together. I liked the story and plan on reading it to my granddaughter if she is ever scared of “What’s Under the Bed!”

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the illustrations of Fred. The monster, well, are we trying to help a child get over its fears in this book or not? Because this wouldn't have helped me as a young'un. And the ending is a little confusing--I'm assuming it's the one in the bed saying the last line. If I had a preschool group with absolutely no bedtime or monster fears, this could be fun to read aloud. Otherwise, I guess more for older kids if they didn't feel the book was too young.

[Davenport Public Library Iowa]

Oh, man. Oh, man. Fred hears a noise. On the ground. Under the bed. What color is it? What size is it? What can it be? Join Fred on a tense trip into bravery. Predominantly black and white illustration coupled with simple oversized pictures add to the drama. Perfect for reading alone with your youngest, or for sharing with a group during a sleepover. (And don’t worry – you’ll be ok with what is really under the bed.)

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

These illustrations remind me a lot of Tim Burton, I love the use of color in this. The story is also very cute for kids with the ending and all, a great reaffirming story to tell them nothing is under the bed.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not for the anxious child, this darkly illustrated book is deliciously scary while still being funny. The best part is that the text is very simple, so a somewhat competent beginning reader could read it by him/herself.

[James Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

His mom called up to Fred saying "Time for bed, Fred!" for Spanish it said "!Hora de acostarte, Fred!" Fred thought there was a monster under his bed and he said "Could it be green? Or maybe it's red. Is it tall? Or rather small?" At the end it turned out it was his teddy bear under his bed.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing amazing about this book. The only reason I read it, is because I got it in a cereal box. The story is for children. It's simple and has art work that sort of resembles Tim Burton's art. It's a nice story.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars I cute book about what is under the bed. Did you ever worried what was under the bed. I know I did. But I was actually more afraid of 'things' looking in my window. I liked the black and white element as well!

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for storytime.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kid is adorable, he reminds me of Sherman from Bulwinkle. The monster isn't too scary.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy is worried what is under his bed and finds out that it is ok to only cause and noise and make the monster in his bed what is under there. Cute and funny. Ages 5+

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and fun rhyme, but the illustrations are what really shine! Could be fun for a number of ages, and for those little ones with short attention spans.

[Huda Fel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked its ending the most, you'll never guess it

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique illustrations. An unexpected ending. Thanks to hope.

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

"nighttime fears, monster grows as boy describes, large, oversize shapes in illustrations, gothic hues"

[Dee-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good childrens book. I think I liked the black and white pictures the best ... the eyes are cute. My boys liked the suspense and the monster.

[Clara]

see my Perfect Picture Book Friday review on my blog. Http://clarbojahn.wordpress.com/