The Bear Under The Stairs

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It’s a chronological narrative using lots of alliteration, rhythm and rhyme – it’s really a poetry book as well as a story. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. 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.

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. She was born in 1963 and grew up in the far North of England in a very rural area where milk came from the farm in a can, bears lived under the stairs, and it rained a great deal.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. The themes are universal: fear, imagination, coping strategies, relationship with trusted adult, safety, bravery.

As the story is told in rhyme and uses alliteration, it is a great way for children to review certain phonemes, particularly different ways to make the /a/ sound. 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.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. This is a great book to help any young child who harbours fears of thinking there are strange things going on in the house. The first came 'The Hippo at the end of the Hall' which was both written and illustrated in black and white by Helen and longlisted for the Carnegie medal in writing. They were really engaged and held in suspense with the storyline which kept them gripped throughout. 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!

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. 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. There are also parts where the words themselves fade to ellipsis and the only the pictures tell the story. She has also written and illustrated children’s MG fiction and the latest – The Taming of the Cat – published in October 2023.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. 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. e. the name of the various food and fruits that William feeds the bear) is easy to teach with the use of this text. 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. 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 is a very relatable tale about a child’s imagination and fears, told through subtle rhyming text and detailed illustrations. Therefore I would recommend this book for children aged 3+ as well as adults who are feeling rather nostalgic! The illustrations are done in soft watercolors and do well to represent Williams’s imaginary fears using a dark, shadowy, smudgy technique at times. William is afraid of the cupboard under the stairs he is convinced there is a big bear living there. 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.Helen Cooper is an author and illustrator whose work includes classic titles such as The Bear Under the Stairs, Pumpkin Soup, The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed and Tatty Ratty.