The Bear Under the Stairs

by Helen Cooper

Winner of the Young Judges’ Award for Smarties Prize 1993.Only William knows about the big great bear living under the stairs. He’s sure he saw one lurking there. This beautifully illustrated book dealing with childhood fears is wonderfully poetic and reassuring.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Fiction, Animals

39 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1993

About the author

Helen Sonia Cooper is a British illustrator and an author of children's literature. She grew up in Cumbria, where she practiced literature and piano playing. She currently lives in Oxford.
Cooper has twice been awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. She won for The Baby Who Wouldn't Go To Bed in 1996, which she wrote and illustrated. In 1998 she won for Pumpkin Soup, which she also wrote and illustrated. They were consecutive projects for her.
Beside winning the two Greenaway Medals (no one has won three), Cooper made the shortlist for The Bear Under the Stairs (Doubleday, 1993) and Tatty Ratty (Doubleday, 2001).
As well as her solo picture books, Cooper writes picture book texts for other illustrators, and also illustrates her own middle grade fiction - most recently, The Taming of the Cat' published by Faber and Faber in the UK.
WorldCat reports that Pumpkin Soup is her work most widely held in participating libraries.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See here for more details

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another favourite from when the kids were young. A little boy believes that there is a bear in the cupboard below the stairs. His mum thinks he is imagining things and gets cross when the cupboard starts to smell - William has been putting food in there for the bear. When they go to clean out the cupboard they is no bear, or is there? A lovely story with a delightful twist in the tale.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

They don't ever actually see the bear under the stairs, but I think the boy is right. There really is a bear under their stairs, and he's hiding behind the door!

[Rebecca Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a short story about a boy who believes there is a big brown grizzly bear living under the stairs in his house. He is scared of the bear and is made to face his fear when his mother decides to clean under the stairs…

I think this is such lovely book about a little boy’s imagination. I love the illustrations; they are soft and subtle but also quite dark and eerie. I found the story quite touching as it really plays on the little boy’s innocence and fear. This story is something a lot of young children will feel familiar with – they have big imaginations about the unknown which can be quite enchanting, just like this book.

I read this book to a Reception class (aged 4-5 years old) as part of a storytime session and they loved it! They were really engaged and held in suspense with the storyline which kept them gripped throughout. This book would be suitable for children slightly older in Key Stage 1 (aged 5-7 years) as they are more likely to have that understanding in place picking up that the story is about the boy’s imagination. It would make a lovely book to be read at storytime as there is opportunity for lots of conversation and discussion about the ending of the book. It can get children to really think about the story and the way it has been illustrated. This book would be a good source/topic for children to imagine and create their own stories and illustrations, as part of Literacy and Expressive Arts & Design.

The Bear Under The Stairs is a lovely charming book that I will definitely introduce to children again!

[Nafis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bear under the stairs is centred around a boy named William whom having one day seen a furry figure inside the cellar believes that there is a bear living under his stairs. William fears that if the bear goes hungry, then he may decide to eat William. As a result, William decides to feed the bear a wide range of food in order to appease its appetite. Eventually the remains of the food let’s of a stench that the rest of the household can smell, when Williams mother decides to investigate they find that the cellar is rather empty. This is an interesting story for children mainly due to many interpretations that children will have regarding the story.

As a child I personally believed that the bear in the story was a figment of Williams’s imagination. However, after recently reading it to a class, one child pointed out to me that the bear is actually hidden behind the door of cellar when Williams’s mother decides to investigate! This book is certainly ideal for a classroom wherein the promotion of discussion is hoping to be established. Not only that, but the key vocabulary inside the text (i.e. the name of the various food and fruits that William feeds the bear) is easy to teach with the use of this text. Therefore I would recommend this book for children aged 3+ as well as adults who are feeling rather nostalgic!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I ever read. I was 3 and a half years old and loved this book. I still have my copy as well. It is an adorable book with beautiful illustrations. I highly recommend it

[Naomi]

“William worried about the Bear he wondered what it might eat.”

The Bear Under the Stairs is lovely book appealing directly to a child’s real-life experiences of fear, bravery and imagination.

It tells the story of William and how he copes with and finally confronts his fear of bears and dark spaces. The themes are universal: fear, imagination, coping strategies, relationship with trusted adult, safety, bravery. Which one of has not experienced the fear of monsters under the bed? Children and adults alike will relate to the story in an immediate way.

It’s a chronological narrative using lots of alliteration, rhythm and rhyme – it’s really a poetry book as well as a story. There are also parts where the words themselves fade to ellipsis and the only the pictures tell the story. This heighten the feeling of fear of the unknown as experienced by William, as well as giving the reader time and space to focus on the detailed illustrations.
Children will also understand the power of imagination as it features in this story – is there really a bear under the stairs? In this it recalls Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.
Because of the importance and detail in the pictures this book could only be used when the child/ren were able to really see in detail at the pictures – so individually or in small groups. For a whole class it would be really nice as a “read out loud’ story but you would need a big book or visualiser to show the illustration.

For KS1 there are lots of great examples of alliteration “bacon, bananas, bread”; “hazelnuts, haddock and honey” – children could add to the list or choose different letters and list alliterative food items that could be fed to the bear!
The best thing about this book, and the thing that gives it real depth, is what Anthony Browne called “the mysterious gap between the pictures and the words” – the words on their own tell of a little boy who mistook an old rug for a bear. But the pictures tell a different story!

Helen Coopers’ website has downloadable, free and very useful “Teachers’ Notes” for some of her most popular books:

http://helencooperbooks.co.uk/other/t...

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the pictures told their own story beside the text. This explores how fears are developed in childhood and how that can be alleviated sometimes.

[Ece · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a story that we read with my reception class. It is about a young boy who is certain there is a bear that lives under the stairs. He is scared of this bear, then eventually goes to look under the stairs with his mother to find there is no bear. Although the book is full of beautiful (sometimes scary) illustrations and visual descriptions, I thought it was a very difficult story for young children to make sense of. I acknowledge the fact that it may relate to some children's fears of dark isolated rooms and big furniture looking like scary creatures, or even that these things can be our imagination. This is what the story builds up for the audience to believe but then we are contradicted once again and the existence of the bear is confirmed. I thought the ending had an unnecessary twist and would leave children to continue being afraid of the dark, and the scary creatures that they believe exist in the dark.

[KathStone]

A lovely short story with beautiful illustrations about a young boy dealing with a common fear for things lurking in the dark. I like how it progresses from his initial feelings of fear and how he attempts to cope with it in his own way, to then sharing his fears with someone who helps to overcome it. This could be used to encourage children that any fears or problems they have can be overcome when shared with others.

[Ubah Khasimuddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book, my toddler and kindergartner enjoy, addresses children's fears of the unseen - how they can let their imagination run wild.
I would have given five stars but there is a tiny sinister streak in the book and the bear is not warm and fuzzy, so is always reminding me of that horror film, The Orphanage.

[Frances Coe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you judged a book by its covers this scary one would undoubtedly put children off! But Coopers illustrations intricately capture a child’s vivid imagination. They start off in quite a dark and eerie manner as the tale unfolds of Williams fears and worries. But William is kind, and wants to keep the bear happy so keeps throwing food in for him. Cooper also shows what a bear may get up to at night, and whilst William is scared of the bear, perhaps the bear is also scared of William! I loved the ending, where Williams Mumma comforts him and with her by his side, he gains the courage to tackle the bear under the stair... and the bears true identity is revealed. A great book

[Srujan · Rating 3 out of 5]

📌 Crux: This is a story about a boy who believes he saw a bear in a cupboard under the stairs. He believes that if the bear gets too hungry, he will eat the boy and hence starts leaving food for him under the stairs. I would have liked this one more if they had not sent mixed messages about their bears existence. If they had stuck to the theme that sometimes, in a scared state of mind, we see things that look scary but in reality, it is just our eyes playing tricks on our mind because of the play of light and shadow. It's not a bad story, just that we found it onto moderately fun. :)

[Gabriella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think its a really good book for children. I think it was a very relatable topic for children. I think it would be a great class read maybe as part of a PSHCE section or if it came up as a worry for children. I would recommend this book to children.

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork in this book is beautiful, and the story itself is a little bittersweet. 4/5 stars.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book, perfect as a class story for ks1 children. There is some rhyming in it so in an English lesson this book could be used to assist learning about poetry for ks1 and possible class 3.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book to read to your child.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a brilliant book.
The pictures told the story more than the words.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic book about a child's imagination and fears.

[Kelly Ann Meegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for kids

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of how things are not always what they seem, and the importance of getting all the facts before taking action.

[Book Lion]

Im evidently desperate to finish my reading challenge!

[Cole D · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It was amazing! Pretty funny, a little scary.”
Cole, probably
2023

[Lizzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a creepy book about a boy's imagination. Odd illustrations.

[Rachel Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading The Bear Under The Stairs. Helen Cooper, who wrote and illustrated this story made the concept come to life. I was immediately connected to childhood fears and imaginary friends. Cooper was able to capture the ideas that children often have about whats in the closet, under the bed or in this case under the stairs. The character of William, who is the child in the story is so afraid that there is a grizzly bear in the closet under the stairs. He decides to feed the bear so it won't eat him. But like many of us would do, he won't open his eyes to actually see the bear. When William's mom finally comes to his rescue to combat this scarey bear, he realizes maybe there wasn't a bear there after all. Or was there? This story can really connect to young students who may also have fears of scare bears or monsters. The images in the story are very well created and show a lot of detail. The only downside is that a few pages do have a dark color scheme that may not be as attractive to younger children. But the dark color scheme does illustrate William's fear of the grizzly bear. Overall I think that this would be a good book to read aloud to young students and could get a few "ohh's" and "aww's" during story time.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bear Under the Stairs is about a young boy who believes there’s a bear living in the storage closet beneath the stairs. Fearing the bear will want to eat him if he gets hungry, William brings the bear food every day, tossing it in quickly with his eyes shut tight. Eventually a stench begins to waft out of the place under the stairs and William’s “bear” is discovered. This is a very relatable tale about a child’s imagination and fears, told through subtle rhyming text and detailed illustrations. The illustrations are done in soft watercolors and do well to represent Williams’s imaginary fears using a dark, shadowy, smudgy technique at times. Children will particularly like the imaginative bear scenes such as what the bear does at night while William sleeps and the bear holding his luggage while parachuting down to a new house at the end. The Bear Under the Stairs is an entertaining, suspenseful, and amusing story that toddlers will certainly enjoy and ask for again.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

William is scared of two things, bears and the space under the stairs. So, when he spots a bear in the space under the stairs he is frightened. The bear is hungry and William feeds him every day so that he won't become the bear's meal. The space under the stairs begins to smell, so William and his mother must figure our how to approach the scary bear.

I loved the illustrations and the flow/pattern of the text.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations festoon this humorously well-rhymed book. This is a story for kids who are scared of monsters lurking in closets or shadows... Under the bed or under the stairs. Unfortunately it teaches entirely the wrong moral: that there are no monsters lurking in darkness, waiting for us.

What nonsense.

[Portable · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Helen Cooper: her stories are always thought-provoking and with gorgeously detailed illustrations. This is a classic tale of one little boy and his attempts to deal with his fear about the bear that lives under the stairs.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor William thinks he saw a bear under the stairs, and he figures he can keep it happy by feeding it regularly. Helen Cooper does a wonderful job of portraying a young child's fears in a lilting rhyming verse that keeps the story light. And Mom makes a great rescuer!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book when I was little, and I'll always keep a copy of it on my bookshelf. The rhyming is fun and the illustrations adorable, definitely a book that I'll be reading to my own children in the future.