When Peggy tells her parents that there is a crocodile under her bed, they don't believe her, rushing out for their dinner date. Henry the crocodile is very real though, and the two spend a happy evening together, taking a bath, playing games, and making a toy crocodile out of egg cartoons. Henry lulls Peggy to sleep by telling her his history: how he was a mischievous young crocodile who was banished to the human world because he played one prank too many, and how he will only be allowed back when he help 1000 human children...

Originally published in the Netherlands in 1980 as Er ligt een krokodil onder mijn bed!, this was husband-and-wife team Ingrid and Dieter Schubert's first picture-book. A German couple who live and published in the Netherlands, they have created many books together, and have apparently created two versions of There's a Crocodile Under My Bed!. The one I read, which appears to be the original, has fairly muted illustrations, and features characters named Peggy and Henry. The newer edition, issued in 2014 (2015 in English) seems to have more colorful artwork, and characters named Sophie and Carl. I'll have to see if I can track down a copy of the later version, to see if there are more significant differences. Leaving that aside, I enjoyed the story here, which offers a reassuring and playful take on the classic childhood fear of bogies under the bed. Mercer Mayer's There's an Alligator Under My Bed would be a classic American example, but I am glad to have encountered this Dutch/German one as well. Recommended to anyone seeking reassuring bedtime tales for the picture-book set. ( )

Heerlijk verhaal over een meisje die bang is voor een krokodil onder haar bed, waar ze hierna een avontuur mee beleeft, aan het einde gaan ze samen een krokodil knutselen.
Naast dat het verhaal niet echt kan gebeuren, zullen de kinderen zich hier heel goed in kunnen verplaatsen.
Het is goed te begrijpen, alleen moet wel voorgelezen worden. ( )

A reprint edition with new illustrations. Love the Schubert's whimsical style and having Sophie carry around a wild thing. ( )