The Bear Under the Stairs - Re-Review

We originally reviewed this book way back in the mists of time and I was unusually cruel and dismissive about it.

Now some time on, it's cropped up in our borrowing pile again and a now slightly more brave, slightly more interested Charlotte has named it as her book of the week.

It's still scary, still disturbing and still has all the elements I listed in the previous review - and yet, reading it through again and again (and again) to Charlotte, even before Bedtime, it's easy to see why she loves it so much. For starters, there's the game of finding Bear hiding on each page, even when he's not really supposed to be there.

Secondly it's probably down to me giving Bear his own voice, a slightly drunken gravelly Bear-type voice which he uses while he's skulking around the house doing all the things young William (the boy in the story) imagines he's doing. Or is he imagining it? Or is bear really there?

So it goes from a zero out of 5 to a 5 out of 5 and our book of the week. It just goes to show how quickly a child's taste can evolve, and how (secretly) kids quite like a fright now and again. Just don't go too mad!

Charlotte's best bit: Bear being pelted with rotten food, poor bear.

Daddy's favourite bit: Notice the honey jar. Full when it goes in, empty when it's found later! AHA!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, Book of the Week