Bedtime Monsters

by Josh Schneider

"Creaking . . . Squeaking . . . Gnashing . . . Glinking . . ."Under the bed, deep in the closet, behind the radiator . . . the bedtime monsters are stirring, and poor Arnold is too scared to fall asleep. He's powerless to get rid of them--and they don't seem to be more scared of him than he is of them, no matter what his mother says. But even the most terrible, horrible monster has to be afraid of "something, " as Arnold eventually finds out in this empowering tale of harnessing the imagination and conquering nighttime fears.

Genres: Picture Books, Monsters, Childrens, Storytime, Juvenile, Humor

32 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this book was too much like Sednak's There's a Monster in My Closet but not nearly as good. The concept was not original. It felt like a new spin on an old familiar favorite, and the new spin didn't do it justice. The text is dialogue heavy, and doesn't give much cue as to who is speaking until after the quote, making it an awkward read-aloud. The illustrations were ho-hum.

That being said, my kids wanted me to read it several times, so there must be some appeal. I just don't see it.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son asked for books about bedtime and monsters. So this was the perfect mixture of both. So my son who is 3 going on 4 has taking a like to monsters lately, but is scared at the end of the night when it is time for bed. This book introduced a character in a similar situation, but listening to the words his mother tells him before she turns out the light and puts him to bed, he decides that he will acknowledge the monsters and see whos afraid of who. It was a great read for my son to show him that monsters are only as scary as we make them up to be. We are going through a whole imagination phase right now too. So books like this help me explain to him that monsters are not real and that there is nothing to be afraid of because they are just his imagination getting the best of him. We ended up reading this book multiple times, even back to back, he won't let me return it to the library yet!

[London Tri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Arnold's room, the bedtime monsters are stirring up. Under the bed, behind the radiator and in the closet. Arnold seems to be just as scared of the monsters, as he is to them. Arnold is too scared to fall asleep. I think this book would be great to read to a child who is going through problems like this where they think monsters are under the bed and are scared to fall asleep. I think this story is very cute and could help little kids conquer their nighttime fears.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

With some adaptation of text to read it aloud, this was fun to do with voices for the monsters.

[Yagyrlr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very silly fun book

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why this won the Theodore Seuss Geisel award; another of JoJo's library picks, it is a delightful and charming book.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this book shows that everyone is afraid of something and most of the time those fears turn out to be foundless.

[skcocnaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really creative, cute, and clever. I loved the names for all the monsters. I LOVE how there were pictures of how Arnold was picturing himself super imposed over the actual items.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids enjoyed. Good to discuss imagination. Fun twist at end for kids.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of the monster being scared of you isn't a new one but the illustrations in this are cute enough. Not a necessary read but a decent enough monster under the bed story.

[Emily Halpern · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Geisel-awarded book for emergent readers. This book is relatable to young students and engaging. Young students in elementary school can practice reading this book independently.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt too scary for the younger readers, and too boring for older readers.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young boy is having trouble sleeping becuase monsters keep joining him.   preschool and up for length and concept.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starring the Terrible Toe Biter, Horrible Teeth Gnasher, Winged Fargle, Grozny Buzzler, and a little boy name Arnold. The group of monsters comes out at bedtime, but each one is scared of one of the others. As each comes out, he crawls in bed with Arnold to be safe. But then they all agree that the thing they are most afraid of is something called Arnold. When Arnold tells them his name, they all disappear.

My grandson enjoyed the humor of the monsters all being afraid of the little boy.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

After pretending to be a monster that destroys New York City during the day, Arnold is afraid to face his own bedtime monsters and there are several. Mom tries to placate him with the old saw: “I’m sure they’re as scared of you as you are of them.” But after his familiar bedtime rituals (eating animal crackers, brushing teeth, etc.) and lights out, Arnold’s monsters appear: the terrible toe biter, the horrible tooth gnasher, the winged fargle, and the grozny buzzler. Each in turn is afraid of the next, and they crowd into Arnold’s bed for protection. They start sharing tales of the monster that destroyed NYC and bit the heads off lions, tigers, and elephants—the Arnold. Arnold soon realizes they are talking about him and when he reveals his identity to the monsters, they quickly vacate his bed and Arnold can finally fall asleep. Bedtime monsters are great fodder for bedtime stories. And this one is a good choice. The amusing text allows youngsters to laugh at themselves, their fears and their monsters. The water-colored pen and ink monsters are as funny looking as they are scary. There are more than a few sight gags and the author has coined several new words for sounds that go bump in the night. This is a good choice for preschoolers’ bedtimes and definitely for sharing with a parent or caretaker.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this story was really cute. I really liked it. Arnold is a little boy who is afraid of the Terrible Toe Biter, who he fears will come after his toes once he falls asleep. But instead, Arnold meets his feared foe only to learn the monster is more afraid of another monster. Then that monster appears only to say he fears another monster. And so it goes, until Arnold's bed is overly crowded with scaredy monsters.

But then, yet another new monster appears and this one is afraid of Arnolds! The rumors he's heard are frightening to all the monsters. So when Arnold announces that hey, he's an Arnold, the monsters run to escape from him. And Arnold has his bed all to himself and can finally get some sleep. :)

I really liked both the story and the illustrations. In my opinion, this story would be good for any child who's afraid of the dark. And the illustrations were great fun. I really liked the way Arnold's imagination came to life in outlined drawings around himself and his everyday things. The animal crackers were especially fun. :)

[Amanda Suiter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schneider, J. (2013). Bedtime monsters. New York: Clarion Books.

During the day, Arnold loves conquering the world acting like each and every monster he can imagine. He takes on the animal crackers and and destroys the city of New York! But when night falls, Arnold finds himself frighten by the thought of monsters under his bed and his closet. The monsters visit him one by one... But all seem to be scared of the same thing. Will the monsters and Arnold team together to beat the scariest monster of them all? Or... maybe the scariest monster has to be scared of something, right?

I would use Bloom's Taxonomy level 4, Applying. I would have the children write about a time when they were scared in bed and maybe that something bad was going to get them. I would then have them write about what ways they could fight off the scary things in their own bedrooms. I would have them imagine that they were Arnold and different monsters kept coming in and ask them what they would do if they were in that position.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this one may please many young readers and alleviate their fears, this one just left me feeling lukewarm. Arnold is
brave enough during the day, but when he heads to bed, all those noises he hears in the dark frighten him. As the monsters come out of the woodwork and join him one by one, he realizes that each of them has its own fears. Arnold gains confidence as each monster reveals its worries, and in the end, it turns out that he's the very thing they all fear. The watercolor, pen and ink, and colored pencil illustrations show the monsters in all their scary glory, and will make young readers laugh. The images of the monster-filled bed and monsters hiding under sheets are funny.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right before bedtime Arnold has been watching a scary movie and indulging in a little destruction of his own: Destroying an imagined New York and biting the heads off animal crackers. But when it's time to sleep he is suddenly afraid. Left on his own, by an enviably firm parent, he is joined, one by one, by all the scary monsters he imagines inhabit his room. Each afraid of the next monster up the food chain and all take shelter in Arnold's bed until a resolution is found. The great charm of the book is found in it's excellent illustrations. What Arnold imagines is shown in outlines, much like Kay Thompson's memorable illustrations in Eloise. The names of the monsters are inventive and satisfying and this would make an excellent read aloud.

[Tori Thompson]

This book was about a little boy named Arnold, whose mother kept trying to put to bed, but he said he was still 'destroying New York'. Finally, after he finishes playing and eats his bed time snack he goes into bed, but he asked his mother if he could sleep with her because he was scared of the terrible toe biter. The terrible toe biter said he was scared of the horrible tooth gnasher, and the horrible tooth gnasher was scared of winged fargles, winged fargles was scared of the grozny buzzler. Long story short, the grozny buzzler appeared into Arnolds room and asked if there was any Arnolds because he was scared of them. He said Arnolds were terrible because on destroyed New York. So in the end of the day, all of the monsters ended up being scared of Arnold.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arnold, who fears that a Terrible Toe Biter lives in his closet, is too scared to fall asleep--until he meets the monsters and learns that they are afraid of things, too.

Cute story, but I'm just not a fan of Josh Schneider's style of illustration--the weird, unfilled circles that he uses for eyes creep me out.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story of a young boy who either did not want to sleep just because or maybe he was afraid of monsters. The audience enjoyed what happened next as the monster or monsters and the young boy, Arnold encountered each other. I think this would make a great bedtime story to anyone who is afraid of such creatures.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a hard time with any method of overcoming fears of monsters by making monsters real (monster spray for example - kids are too smart). I think this book would freak out most kiddos...definitely for older kids.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute bedtime read. I liked it a touch more than my kids--but since they were underwhelmed, that made me wonder if I was reacting to it more as an adult than a kid (always a concern when evaluating kids' books--must balance the two!). At any rate, a fun story.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arnold is scared of the monster under his bed, but it turns out that monster is scared of another monster...and so goes the book until a monster comes out that says he's scared of Arnold. A really cute monster book that shows how silly it is to be afraid of the dark and what might be lurking in it.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be a scary book for some kids, but it has a good message about the monsters in your imagination really just being in your imagination and nothing to be afraid of. It is a little abstract, but a good concept overall.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monsters inhabit Arnold's room: the terrible toe biter, horrible tooth gnasher, winged fargle, and even the grozny buzzler. But just as Arnold's mother tells him, the monsters are afraid of him, too.

Theme: conquering fears

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this spin on the monster under the bed. Perfect for a preschool monster story time!

Re-read September 2023: I liked it just as much! I'm going to use it for my monster-themed story time at the Pumpkin Patch.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly creative!

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun humorous take on bedtime and monsters, turning it upside down with role reversal, so who is scared of who in the end? The ink contours play into the story's ending in a creative way.