My storytime kids had a great time with this book! It was a fun opportunity to talk about favorite foods, how they would get rid of alligator, etc. ( )

Genre
Picture books for children
Tone
Amusing
Illustration
Cartoony
Detailed
Theme
Overcoming fear
Subject
Alligators
Bedtime
Fear in children
Imagination in children

PreSchool-Grade 2 In one or two lines of text per page and large, boldly colored illustrations, Mercer tells the tale of a little boy who is sure that there is an alligator under his bed. Getting no sympathy from his parents who ``never saw it,'' he forms a plan of attack. He leaves a trail of food from his bed through the house to the garage door. He then follows behind as the alligator gobbles up the goodies, fresh vegetables, fruit, and even ``the last piece of pie,'' making its way to the garage. The boy then locks the door. The last page shows the note he leaves for his father, telling him that there's an alligator in the garage and to wake him up ``if you need help.'' Children will relate to this young hero's triumph over normal childhood fears, and they'll love his clever solution to his problem. The book gleams with crisp full-color watercolor illustrations, and the alligator has just the right touch of scariness. The little boy is obviously a child of the 1980s, with his hot wheels tricycle and robot transformer type toys, but the story is timeless. Sure to become as popular as Mayer's There's a Nightmare in My Closet

This book was the book that one of my sons learned how to read. I could almost tell this story with my eyes closed. Jared would have to read this story to me every night. It was his only book to read. I wanted him to master the elements of reading. This book was his practice. I always taught my kids that no one has the power to take knowledge away from you. If you want to know anything, you will find it in the pages of a book. And newsflash, you cannot do too much of anything if you cannot read. So each one of them had a starter book when they were 4 years old. This one was Jared's, of which he always tells me that he is glad that I cared that much. Maybe I just didn't want the alligator under his bed (you might get that later). ( )

As a young girl, I loved reading books by Mercer Mayer because they encouraged me to use my imagination. This book in particular is something so many kids can relate to-and its humorous! This book may seem like it could cause children to have nightmares, but the way the main character dealt with the alligator gives the reader a sense of comic relief. The illustrator did a fantastic job capturing the expressions of the characters in the book, which made it come to life even more. This book would be suitable for younger elementary school kids as it introduces them to beginner level literary aspects. ( )