What's under my bed?

by James Stevenson

After a scary story has made Mary Ann and Louie too frightened to sleep, Grandpa tells them about a bad night he had as a boy

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Family, Humor, Comedy

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads databse.

Reviews

[Natalie Pietro · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was something special about this book. I first head about James Stevenson on Reading Rainbow. I was 6 when I fell in love with this story. His artwork was like nothing I ever saw before. That little boy on the cover with the mustache seemed silly yet creative. It read like a graphic novel for kids. After reading this book I knew I had to find Stevenson’s other children’s stories and artwork. I had found a new favorite author and I was only 6.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary books PreK-2nd

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

While James Stevenson's work feels vaguely familiar from my childhood, I can't say as any of them were firm favorites and I never realized there was a whole series about Grandpa and the grandkids until I started doing a project covering all of the Reading Rainbow Feature and Review books. We enjoyed "Could Be Worse!" earlier in the project, but I like What's Under My Bed? even more. Grandpa is so wonderfully wise in the most disarmingly under-the-radar way. I love how he gets the children to step out of their own fear by telling them a story about how he himself was scared spending the night at his grandparents' house when he was a lad (I love how, of course, the children can't quite possibly imagine Grandpa as a little boy and Young Grandpa has a mustache still, LOL)

The children can see through Young Grandpa's active imagination to the reality of what was causing the scary sounds or sights and this sense of control is so soothing for them.

For example, when Young Grandpa tells that he suddenly realized he'd forgotten to look under his bed and when he dared peek he saw something "Awful! A creature with wild hair, no head, and a long tail standing there!" "But, Grandpa," says the granddaughter, "wasn't that your shoes and your bathrobe and your hairbrush, just where you had left them?" "Why, that's just what it was," said Grandpa.

But after Young Grandpa got back into bed, the "bats" came in! "I could hear them fluttering all around me," he says. "Wait," says the grandson, "Could it have been the wind fluttering the pages of your book?" "Not only could it have been," said Grandpa, "It was."

The ending is so dear and funny and loving and I was delighted by the whole story! :-) The kids liked it, too. I'm sad this is out of print because I think it stands the test of time. If you have a little one frightened by things that go bump in the night, or perhaps a first sleepover, try to find this at your library and see if it might be comforting.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is sad that older books often fall from favor. This is an oldie but goodie which is sure to be appreciated by children and their parents as much today as when it was published in 1983. Stevenson's book presents a situation common for all parents. The illustrations are wonderful, full of the variety of monsters that every child imagines regardless of age. But the ending is a deliciously fun surprise. (Note: This is one of a series of books written and illustrated by Stevenson which feature siblings Mary Ann and Louie.)

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two children are told a terrifying story before they go to bed. While laying in the dark, they imagine all sorts of scary creatures and run down to their grandfather. There, he tells them his own story of being scared of monsters, and helps them see that the things they are scared of are really just noises from things around the house.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book from another era of picture books. The relationship between the grandpa and kids is so sweet. Nice how the kids helped to interpret the grandpa's fears. That gave them a nice authority over their own fears as well.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. I like that the kids figured out all the things that had scared their grandpa. (And I wonder what the kids will say about 'young grandpa' having a mustache.)

Stevenson seldom disappoints.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't even count how many times I read and loved this book as a kid.

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its great

[Kiyoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

scary things under the bed included "peaches that screeched"
we watched this illustrated video book during the Covid-19 quarantine.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3. stars for this safe scare tale

[Collin Duax]

I liked this book because it is something all children are scared of. The illustrations and the fact that there is nice spooky monsters under his bed is great.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Two children, spending the night with Grandpa, get scared and Grandpa tells them about his childhood.

[Amber Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute book! Loved the thrills

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weston Woods DVD

[Andy Karlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorites. The deceptively rich art (line drawings and watercolor) perfectly complement the voyage inside the fantasy-life of Grandpa, the narrator, as the tales of his youthful night-terrors are interrogated and debunked by his grandchildren Mary Ann and Louie.

Stevenson has such a loose style that it can, at first glance, seem careless. Closer inspection (in my case, over the course of thirty or so years) reveals a keen eye for architectural detail, period decor, pose and action, and fantasmagoria. He is a national treasure, and this is one of his masterworks.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We listened to this book narrated on audiocassette by Randy Kaye while we followed along with the story. The tale was a little creepy, but not too scary, and we loved that the grandchildren explained away the fears that the grandfather had as a child. The illustrations are colorful and fun and complement the story nicely. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Laura Carby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about two little kids who are scared there is something under their bed. So their grandpa tells them of a time when we was a child and there was something under his bed. This reminds me of a time when my father told me a story about something that was living under his bed just to get me to think that it was not real. Sure enough, I was never scared again.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

You would think that a scary book like this would be too much for a 4 year old. Not Caleb. He has the whole entire thing memorized. Especially the pages with all the creepy things that come out from under the bed. He LOVES James Stevenson books.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brother and sister are worried that there is something under their beds. When they go down to ask their grandfather about it, he regales them with a tale of his childhood of when he thought there was something under his bed.

[The Book Box]

Mama read this to me while I was eating dinner. It was a little long so I stopped paying attention after a few pages. The "___ said" after every line of dialogue got a little repetitive, too. My big brother listened and was a little scared of everything under the bed by the end.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my brother when we were little.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly suspenseful. Predictions can be made. Pictures are chicken-scratch type drawings with mild colors. Exaggeration. Humorous.