Here's a very clever and touching children's book about the fears all of us may experience while we are alone in our beds in the dark. In the first night in his own bedroom, Little Bear is very excited. He is so revved up that he can't sleep. Then he sees a spiky monster coming to get him. He calls out to Big Bear who calms him down and reveals that it wasn't really a monster, just the shadow of a floppy toy on the back of a chair.
Later, Little Bear convinces himself that there's another monster under the bed. It turns out to be a sock. Big Bear realizes that the boy is probably lonely and so he brings him a favorite toy, Old Hoppity, for comfort. Later when Big Bear hears some strange noises from Little Bear's room, he has his own special encounter with fear.
There may be no such things as monsters but young and old alike must deal with the fears that come from our own minds. Writer Steve Smallman and illustrator Caroline Pedler have created an enticing tale around a universal experience faced by nearly every child and every parent. Bravo!
