It also has strong PSHE links, particularly around overcoming fears and speaking to a trusted adult. Her books have been translated into 26 languages and won many awards including the Library Association Kate Greenaway Medal – twice. This is a great book to help any young child who harbours fears of thinking there are strange things going on in the house. However, in using it with youth, I didn't want there to be crayon marks and tears on the pages as some of the reviews noted. 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.

William thinks he sees a bear that lives in the closet under the stairs and he keeps his eyes closed whenever he's near the closet. She has also written and illustrated children’s MG fiction and the latest – The Taming of the Cat – published in October 2023. 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. The Bear Under The Stairs is a lovely charming book that I will definitely introduce to children again! 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.Unfortunately it teaches entirely the wrong moral: that there are no monsters lurking in darkness, waiting for us.

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This could be used to encourage children that any fears or problems they have can be overcome when shared with others.

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. 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. The sequence of learning finishes with children making comparisons between real bears and toy bears and using this as the basis for an information report about bears to give to William to help him feel less scared. For any child with fears of dark places in your own home, this book might help them to see that their fears are all in their imagination. Therefore I would recommend this book for children aged 3+ as well as adults who are feeling rather nostalgic!Since I am by career a first grade teacher, I felt this was a great story to use with children to talk with them about their fears. 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!

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. 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. 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.The only downside is that a few pages do have a dark color scheme that may not be as attractive to younger children. He is scared of this bear, then eventually goes to look under the stairs with his mother to find there is no bear. Her books have been translated into over 25 languages and won many awards including the Smarties Prize children's choice and the Library Association Kate Greenaway Medal - twice. The space under the stairs begins to smell, so William and his mother must figure our how to approach the scary bear.