No Such Thing

When his family moves to a new house - a lovely, old, new house - Howard is excited at first. Then he has to go to sleep in his big, old bed, and he becomes convinced that there is a monster underneath it. His mother assures him that there is no such thing as monsters. Monster, meanwhile, is convinced that there is a scary boy above his bed, and although his mother tells him that boys are just pretend, he isn't convinced. Each young creature tries his mother's patience, as he cries out again and again in alarm. But what will happen when Harold and Monster come face to face...?

An amusing bedtime reassurance tale, No Such Thing reminds me quite a bit of such titles as Mercer Mayer's There's a Nightmare in My Closet, or Dr. Seuss's What show more Was I Scared Of?, both of which explore the idea of our childhood boogeymans being every bit as afraid of us, as we are of them. The resolution of the story here will offer comfort to young children afraid of what might be lurking in the dark, while the very last page will leave them giggling. The artwork, done by Betty Lewin in pen and ink and watercolor, is full of movement and fun, as might be expected from the illustrator of the Click, Clack, Moo books. I don't know that these illustrations are as accomplished as those in the Cronin books, but then, this was an earlier title. Recommended to anyone looking for humorous reassurance stories for the picture-book set. show less

A boy and his family move into a big old house which he loves--until it gets dark and he’s afraid of the monster under the bed. Meanwhile the monster under the bed is afraid of the boy on top of the bed. Both call out repeatedly to their mothers who assure them that there are no such things as boys/monsters. When the boy and monster hear each other crying they fearfully check the other out only to find they’re both equally scared. They become friends and decide to play a trick on their mothers.

I did not see that ending coming. I almost want to give the book five stars.
Recommended whether or not you're into the trope, all you need is an inner child with a sense of humor.

A young boy swears that there is a monster under his bed even though his mother has tried multiple times to convince him that there isn’t anything under his bed. A young monster swears that there is a boy on top of his bed even though his monster momma has tried to convince him that there is nothing to worry about. The two of them struggle to coax one another out to prove to their mothers that they are right. When they finally come eye to eye they realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. They also resent the fact that their parents lied to them when they said that there were no such things as monsters or young boys. So, they two of them decide to play a prank on their mothers.

This book took a very interesting veiw on having show more monsters under your bed. I like the way the author wrote from the monster’s perspective as well as the boy’s perspective. Reading it as an adult it was hard for me not to think logically of how this situation could never happen but other than that I think children would really enjoy it. I like the book in general and would love to read it to my children at daycare.

This book could fit into a lesson plan about the letter “M” because monster starts with “M”. You could also let them make their own versions of the monsters under their bed. show less

What a funny story! A perfect twist on the ages old story of the monster under the bed. The ending makes me want to write a second story about what happens next. It's a lot of fun.

In this story Howard is scared of monsters and Monster is scared of boys. Howard is in his bed and Monster is under Howard's bed in his bed. They both keep hearing each other and have to keep calling their mothers into their rooms. Everytime their mothers come in, they try to calm them down and put them back to bed. Howard's mother keeps telling him that monsters do not exist and Monster's mother keeps telling him that boys do not exist. Finally they see each and once again call for their mothers. Their mothers come in and calm them down once again and tell them that the next time that they have to come in, they will be introuble. Monster hears Howard crying and scared and Howard hears monster whimpling and sad. They come out and speak show more to each other and find out that monsters do not eat boys and that boys do not eat monsters. At the end they trade places and call their mothers back into their rooms.

I really enjoyed this book and found it really funny. I would have liked to know how the mothers reacted when they found the other one instead of their son.

I think that this book could be used in the classroom if you have younger children who are afraid of monsters. You could use it as an introduction to teach children that monsters are not real. A second way that it could be used in the classroom would be to have the children write the ending after the mothers came into the room and found the boy where the monster should have been and the monster where the boy should have been. It could be a fun way to get them to be creative. show less

"No Such Thing" is about a little boy named Howard. Howard and his mom just moved into a new home. Howard is super excited about the new house, getting to snoop around and he is especially loves his new bed. Except, he doesn't like his bed when it gets dark outside. When he goes to bed that night he thinks he hears a monster under his bed. He yells for his mother and his mother tells him there are no such things as monsters, but really there are two living under his bed. The little moster that lives under his bed always hears a little boy talking, and he is alwasy yelling at his mother during bedtime. The little mosters mother tells him ther are no such things as little boys. In the end, the little monster and the boy both get brave show more enough and look under and on top of the bed and they finally meet each other. Also, they come to like each other and they aren't scared of each other at all.

I know when i was little i was terrified of sleeping in my own bed. I would always end up in my parents room. I am now married and i still hate sleeping in the bed by myself. I always wait till my husband gets home to lay in the bed, so Im not alone.

In the classroom, the teacher could read this book and talk about how monsters don't really exist and there is nothing hiding under any bed. Then, after reading the story the teacher could have the kids draw a picture of a monster they are scared of and then throw it away after they are done. This could be showing the students that the monster is all gone and he is never coming back, because he doesn't exist. show less