Description
The author describes this book as a "book for adults with a dark sense of humor and an appreciation of old-school faerie tales." There are three separate endings to the book : a sweet ending, a horrible one and the true ending.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010
Physical description
72 p.; 9.8 x 8.5 inches
Publication
Subterranean (2010), Edition: Deluxe Hardcover, 72 pages
Pages
72
ISBN
1596063130 / 9781596063136
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User reviews
LibraryThing member tapestry100
The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed is a perfectly deceptive little book. At first glance, it looks like your typical children's picture book. It's the size of a picture book. It has an image of the young Princess playing with her teddy bear, Mr. Whiffle, on
There are three endings in the book. If you stop at the first, you are left with a sweet little story. If you continue on to the second ending, you are left with something slightly more sinister. And if you continue on to the final ending of the book, the sticker that came with the book which resembles your typical book award sticker and reads, "This shit is not for kids. Seriously." becomes fairly obvious. Yes, the final ending is what really makes this book something not for children. I think older kids will find it amusing, but probably definitely not for the younger crowd.
Would I pick up a sequel to the book? Possibly. There really isn't much to the story itself, but the black and white illustrations by Nate Taylor are fantastic. You really need to look at each one, because while they seem all sweet and innocent, there are dark and creepy nuances scattered throughout. I think fans of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton would really enjoy this bizarre, creepy little book.
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the cover and they are adorable. As you read through, you discover a typical tale of a little girl and her teddy bear best friend. Yet, there seems something slightly dark and sinister about the entire thing.There are three endings in the book. If you stop at the first, you are left with a sweet little story. If you continue on to the second ending, you are left with something slightly more sinister. And if you continue on to the final ending of the book, the sticker that came with the book which resembles your typical book award sticker and reads, "This shit is not for kids. Seriously." becomes fairly obvious. Yes, the final ending is what really makes this book something not for children. I think older kids will find it amusing, but probably definitely not for the younger crowd.
Would I pick up a sequel to the book? Possibly. There really isn't much to the story itself, but the black and white illustrations by Nate Taylor are fantastic. You really need to look at each one, because while they seem all sweet and innocent, there are dark and creepy nuances scattered throughout. I think fans of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton would really enjoy this bizarre, creepy little book.
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LibraryThing member LarissaBookGirl
The Princess and Mr. Whiffle live alone together in a marzipan castle, but they don't mind for they are the best of friends doing everything together. They have many great adventures facing many dangers, though none of these dangers are real but for one exception; the Thing beneath the bed.
Here at
If you are brave enough to read on then you, along with the Princess and Mr. Whiffle, will be given a great surprise. But that sudden joy will soon turn to sadness when curiosity takes hold, a sadness that leads to terror in the night.
However you can still stop here at the second ending, it is not too late, but if your curiosity has got you hooked and you must know more, then proceed with caution for you have been warned before.
You have come this far and there is no turning back now, but why would you want to when a happy ending is just around the corner... but happy for whom?
The most shocking twist so far is yet to come, a twist that will haunt you long after the last page is read, a twist that will also amuse you if you can get over the shock. You were warned.
The Thing Beneath the Bed is an original and beautifully illustrated fairytale filled with gorgeous images that create a feeling of both innocence and malice. It is a dark and quirky story with a disturbing ending that will leave a smile on your face. Definitely not for children! though I'm sure that they will love it.
Here at
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the first of three endings you can decide to stop before things get too frightening and you can still pretend that there is nothing too terrifying about the Thing beneath the bed, or else you can go on if you dare.If you are brave enough to read on then you, along with the Princess and Mr. Whiffle, will be given a great surprise. But that sudden joy will soon turn to sadness when curiosity takes hold, a sadness that leads to terror in the night.
However you can still stop here at the second ending, it is not too late, but if your curiosity has got you hooked and you must know more, then proceed with caution for you have been warned before.
You have come this far and there is no turning back now, but why would you want to when a happy ending is just around the corner... but happy for whom?
The most shocking twist so far is yet to come, a twist that will haunt you long after the last page is read, a twist that will also amuse you if you can get over the shock. You were warned.
The Thing Beneath the Bed is an original and beautifully illustrated fairytale filled with gorgeous images that create a feeling of both innocence and malice. It is a dark and quirky story with a disturbing ending that will leave a smile on your face. Definitely not for children! though I'm sure that they will love it.
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LibraryThing member awoods187
I was expecting this to be a super dark take on kids fiction. I found it to be a medium dark take. A little disappointed.
LibraryThing member booksngames
My edition of this book came with a cute little gold sticker, embossed with a teddy bear (Mr. Whiffle) and the words "This shit is not for kids Seriously." A warning to be taken to heart.
The book consists of a series of short chapters consisting of black and white drawings and a bit of description
Rothfuss does a fine job of changing the tone just enough to make things creepy and vaguely nasty. Several hours after reading the book, I still find myself skeeved out. Good times.
The book consists of a series of short chapters consisting of black and white drawings and a bit of description
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or dialogue. It is all very charming and heartwarming and then ... it isn't any more. There's a little twist at the end of each chapter. I found it very unsettling and while I wanted to continue, I also did not want to turn the page. Rothfuss does a fine job of changing the tone just enough to make things creepy and vaguely nasty. Several hours after reading the book, I still find myself skeeved out. Good times.
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LibraryThing member Featherwick
Before I read it, I'd heard that this book is a new, creepy, clever twist on a children's story, that it bends expectations, and that it's an adult book masquerading as a picture book--kind of like a fantasy version of Go The F*ck To Sleep. I didn't enjoy Go the F*ck to Sleep, so I was a bit leery
I wish I could say the same for the writing, because the writing in this thing was lackluster at best, and not at all what I expected after hearing so many great things about Rothfuss's ability with the written word.
There was no flow to the writing, no cadence, and none of the beauty and vividness that I associate with lyrical, clever, excellent prose. I've read flash fiction where it's obvious that every word has been placed with utmost care, but this book wasn't like that. If anything, it read like the words had been thrown haphazardly on each page, without any underlying reason for their presence other than that words were needed there. I understand that it's hard to condense a story, with all its nuances and subtlety and tension, into 200-or-so words, but the execution here fell flat, and was ultimately disappointing.
The three-ending setup didn't help. Only the third ending actually felt like an ending, so the presence of two other endings felt forced. They read like an attempt to cleverly increase tension, which failed for me. Combined with characters that I didn't grow to care about, this means the "real" ending didn't bother me. In all honesty, the book evoked no emotion from me at all. I didn't feel creeped out, or sad, or upset, or anything at all.
I might still try one of Rothfuss's novels, because long fiction may be more his forte than picture books. In short, though, this book was a failure for me, from start to finish. I'm giving it 2 stars mostly because of the pictures, because Nate Taylor's illustrations were the main thing that got me to keep reading to the end and they deserve the extra star.
(For those interested, and who enjoyed this book: apparently there's a sequel in the works. I don't know what it's about, because I'm not interested enough to go looking for a summary, but it may be something to keep an eye on if you're so inclined.)
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of this one, but the glowing reviews sold me on the story, and the sample illustrations I found sold me on the art. In all honesty, the art IS very well done, and Taylor's pictures set a great tone for the book.I wish I could say the same for the writing, because the writing in this thing was lackluster at best, and not at all what I expected after hearing so many great things about Rothfuss's ability with the written word.
There was no flow to the writing, no cadence, and none of the beauty and vividness that I associate with lyrical, clever, excellent prose. I've read flash fiction where it's obvious that every word has been placed with utmost care, but this book wasn't like that. If anything, it read like the words had been thrown haphazardly on each page, without any underlying reason for their presence other than that words were needed there. I understand that it's hard to condense a story, with all its nuances and subtlety and tension, into 200-or-so words, but the execution here fell flat, and was ultimately disappointing.
The three-ending setup didn't help. Only the third ending actually felt like an ending, so the presence of two other endings felt forced. They read like an attempt to cleverly increase tension, which failed for me. Combined with characters that I didn't grow to care about, this means the "real" ending didn't bother me. In all honesty, the book evoked no emotion from me at all. I didn't feel creeped out, or sad, or upset, or anything at all.
I might still try one of Rothfuss's novels, because long fiction may be more his forte than picture books. In short, though, this book was a failure for me, from start to finish. I'm giving it 2 stars mostly because of the pictures, because Nate Taylor's illustrations were the main thing that got me to keep reading to the end and they deserve the extra star.
(For those interested, and who enjoyed this book: apparently there's a sequel in the works. I don't know what it's about, because I'm not interested enough to go looking for a summary, but it may be something to keep an eye on if you're so inclined.)
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LibraryThing member jshillingford
This is one seriously f@cked up book. And I liked it. When the author and publisher both tell you a book is "not for children," and it arrives looking suspiciously like "Where the Wild Things Are" with full page illustrations and short sentences, you doubt the warning. I mean, look at the cover!
An inventive creation that I'm glad I bought just because it's so different. It appears overpriced at first blush. However, most parents will tell you - children's books are not cheap. And "not for children" books are the same. Recommended for those with a slightly different view of the world. Or, pessimists like me.
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After reading the story, I know better. There is a very good reason this little Princess probably lives alone in that castle.An inventive creation that I'm glad I bought just because it's so different. It appears overpriced at first blush. However, most parents will tell you - children's books are not cheap. And "not for children" books are the same. Recommended for those with a slightly different view of the world. Or, pessimists like me.
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LibraryThing member fsmichaels
Wasn't fond of this book at all. I'm a big fan of Rothfuss' first fantasy book and am looking forward to the second. But this one didn't resonate. I get that this book isn't really for children, but even so, it's a children's book for adults, if that makes sense - and those kinds of books still
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need to be magical. Every word counts since there are so few of them. Wasn't fond of the word choice, wasn't fond of the illustrative style, wasn't fond of the story, didn't find any of the three endings spectacular. A real miss for me, which is too bad since I very much admired his work for adults. Show Less
LibraryThing member NickDevonald
This book is different to anything else you have ever read. It is also completely different to Patrick Rothfuss's other novels, the Kingkiller Chronicles. As stated in the blurb, this is not a book for kids. In a lot of ways it appears to be, but it isn't. The story revolves around a princess who
The first ending, after building up the tension, becomes quite sweet after a final twist. It's a happy ending. It's an ending you could probably read to your kids (although I haven't read it to my three year old, for fear he wants to read the rest of it, or worse still he takes it off my bookcase and reads on without my noticing sometime) then there is the second ending. If you thought the first part was scary, think again. This ending can only be described as scary. Then there's the third ending. This is the ending that Patrick is most proud of, and totally twists around the readers expectation of what is going on.
I have to make a point about the prose here. I think many people upon first reading find themselves disappointed with the lack of words. This is the total antithesis of Mr Rothfuss's previous work on the Kingkiller Chronicles, which are so long you could use the books as weights. Here you are lucky if there's a long sentence on each page. It won't take long to get all the way through this book, being just short of 70 pages. But anyone complaining about the length is missing out on the crucial thing. The quality of the prose. Every word is chosen with precision and used to maximise the impact on the reader. It's amazing how just a few short words can evoke fear, and the imagery is perfect. The word choice is simple. It almost comes across as if it's written like a childs book. And therein lies the beauty of this book. At first glance it's short, it's simple, and there's nothing much to it. And yet, there is so much more hidden within the depths. Absolutely fantastic.
I haven't even commented on the artwork yet. This is something else again. It's excellent. It has the look and feel of a child's novel. Early on there are hidden within the pictures clues to the more adult themes explored later on in the story. The artist, Nate Taylor, perfectly captures what Patrick's writing is getting at. The pictures are so detailed, and I can foresee a great future for him. This is a great product. Absolutely nothing lets it down. Great artwork, great story, and most important of all, great word choice combine to make this a joy to read.
Some people may be put off because this is different than anything else out there, or perhaps they wanted quantity over quality. Those people are missing out. This is a fantastic book for adults, who are wanting something scary and unique. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Buy it. You won't be disappointed.
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lives in a marzipan castle. She has a bear, called Mr Whiffles. At first glance everything about it screams kids book. But it definitely isn't. And that isn't an exageration, this really isn't a book for kids. The story has three endings, which I thought was a really novel idea, and depending on where you finish the story can mean something different for you.The first ending, after building up the tension, becomes quite sweet after a final twist. It's a happy ending. It's an ending you could probably read to your kids (although I haven't read it to my three year old, for fear he wants to read the rest of it, or worse still he takes it off my bookcase and reads on without my noticing sometime) then there is the second ending. If you thought the first part was scary, think again. This ending can only be described as scary. Then there's the third ending. This is the ending that Patrick is most proud of, and totally twists around the readers expectation of what is going on.
I have to make a point about the prose here. I think many people upon first reading find themselves disappointed with the lack of words. This is the total antithesis of Mr Rothfuss's previous work on the Kingkiller Chronicles, which are so long you could use the books as weights. Here you are lucky if there's a long sentence on each page. It won't take long to get all the way through this book, being just short of 70 pages. But anyone complaining about the length is missing out on the crucial thing. The quality of the prose. Every word is chosen with precision and used to maximise the impact on the reader. It's amazing how just a few short words can evoke fear, and the imagery is perfect. The word choice is simple. It almost comes across as if it's written like a childs book. And therein lies the beauty of this book. At first glance it's short, it's simple, and there's nothing much to it. And yet, there is so much more hidden within the depths. Absolutely fantastic.
I haven't even commented on the artwork yet. This is something else again. It's excellent. It has the look and feel of a child's novel. Early on there are hidden within the pictures clues to the more adult themes explored later on in the story. The artist, Nate Taylor, perfectly captures what Patrick's writing is getting at. The pictures are so detailed, and I can foresee a great future for him. This is a great product. Absolutely nothing lets it down. Great artwork, great story, and most important of all, great word choice combine to make this a joy to read.
Some people may be put off because this is different than anything else out there, or perhaps they wanted quantity over quality. Those people are missing out. This is a fantastic book for adults, who are wanting something scary and unique. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Buy it. You won't be disappointed.
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LibraryThing member Shirezu
I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and on my recent trip to the US I finally got a chance to pick up a copy.
It's only a small book but well written with beautiful artwork. The tale of a sweet little girl and her teddy in a big castle there's an inkling from the beginning that
It's only a small book but well written with beautiful artwork. The tale of a sweet little girl and her teddy in a big castle there's an inkling from the beginning that
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something is not quite right. I won't say anymore on the story as I don't want to spoil anything but if you've got a bit of a twisted streak and a dark sense of humour I'd recommend taking a couple minutes to read this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
Cute, and indeed kind of creepy, but not quite what I was expecting from Rothfuss.
LibraryThing member BorisG
4.5 stars to Nate Taylor for the great illustrations, but only 2.5 for the somewhat disappointing story - which is a bit like a thriller with a let-down denouement: off to a superb start, but then the overall effect doesn't live up to the expectations of the first pages (the blame, I feel, lies on
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the last of the three endings). Show Less
LibraryThing member michellebarton
This picture book is not for kids! Delightful, surprising, disturbing...
LibraryThing member Oldwolf
Definitely not a children's book, but one that is all that the author would want it to be. It is cute and funny, and then it turns a corner to very creepy and dark. With some prep, even children can understand that it is all just a story and it is all in fun. But wait until they express enough
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interest and show the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality!! :-) Show Less
LibraryThing member Daniel.Estes
The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle is a quick, one-sitting read from author Pat Rothfuss (Name of the Wind) and illustrator Nate Taylor. It's a children's book that's not for children. Check it out to see what I mean.
The tones of both story and drawings compliment one another, and each
The tones of both story and drawings compliment one another, and each
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radiates its own childlike playfulness at a glance, but if you look closer, suddenly everything turns more sinister. Show Less
LibraryThing member joeydag
Oddly disturbing picture book.
LibraryThing member theokester
This was a fun/cute picture book with great illustrations and a seemingly sweet and simple story. The writing was simple and the narrative was light and easy going but as it progressed there was a hint of something foreboding just beyond the peripheral. The last few pages of the book teeter right
This is a difficult book to properly categorize or rate. The book profusely claims to NOT be meant as a children's book. And yet it maintains near-saccharine level sweetness in 2/3 of the illustrations (or more) along with childish simplicity in the narrative and accessibility. The dark and mysterious nature of the book is held at bay until nearly the end and as such I felt like it resolved itself too quickly to be particularly troublesome for children. That said, I can definitely see that the nature of the suspense could be irksome to younger and more sensitive children. At the same time, it is too short lived to be particularly suspenseful or thrilling for most adults.
I enjoyed this book for what it is....a fun exercise in a new literary form from one of my favorite contemporary authors....a book filled with whimsically cute artwork drawn with just the slightest hint of "wrongness" to provide a sense of imbalance and unease.
Overall it was a quick fun read.
***
3 out of 5 stars
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on the edge of a light suspense/horror book and then rapidly jump out with a surprise ending.This is a difficult book to properly categorize or rate. The book profusely claims to NOT be meant as a children's book. And yet it maintains near-saccharine level sweetness in 2/3 of the illustrations (or more) along with childish simplicity in the narrative and accessibility. The dark and mysterious nature of the book is held at bay until nearly the end and as such I felt like it resolved itself too quickly to be particularly troublesome for children. That said, I can definitely see that the nature of the suspense could be irksome to younger and more sensitive children. At the same time, it is too short lived to be particularly suspenseful or thrilling for most adults.
I enjoyed this book for what it is....a fun exercise in a new literary form from one of my favorite contemporary authors....a book filled with whimsically cute artwork drawn with just the slightest hint of "wrongness" to provide a sense of imbalance and unease.
Overall it was a quick fun read.
***
3 out of 5 stars
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LibraryThing member ashleytylerjohn
I can imagine some people loving this, but I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. I thought this was really, viscerally, horrible. I had nightmares. Just to be clear, it looks like a fun, charming, children's book, but it's not. At all. I enjoy sly satires, it's fun when people bend the rules a
I turned off South Park's "Imaginationland" episode part-way in because it was much too much for me. This is the same kind of thing. If you loved Strawberry Shortcake being tortured, you will enjoy this book.
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bit, I thought "A Series of Unfortunate Events" was (slightly repetitive) but mostly clever, but this book ... ugh ... not for me. I turned off South Park's "Imaginationland" episode part-way in because it was much too much for me. This is the same kind of thing. If you loved Strawberry Shortcake being tortured, you will enjoy this book.
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LibraryThing member devilwrites
This is going to be the shortest review ever. Ready?
My Rating
Find a Cheaper Copy: the art is excellent and I really love looking at the details of the background. The black/white/grey tone all seemed bright and sharp on the page. The story itself was suspiciously innocent for a long time, and then
It's not a bad little investment. I think if I had kids, and they were of a certain humor/mindset, I'd let them read this (but probably not until they declared indignantly that they were "too old" for children's books). And while I know that this book was most likely a fun brainstorm for the author and probably doesn't take a whole hell of a lot of time (in comparison to a 800 page doorstopper fantasy novel, anyway), is it bad that I wish Rothfuss held off on this project and gotten us Wise Man's Fear sooner? Yeah, I thought so.
Still, cute book, not something I would've normally picked up, but I was buying other items from Subterranean and the art sucked me in. Would I get a sequel? Maybe.
My Rating
Find a Cheaper Copy: the art is excellent and I really love looking at the details of the background. The black/white/grey tone all seemed bright and sharp on the page. The story itself was suspiciously innocent for a long time, and then
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took a twist that I was both expecting and not (expecting a twist period, but not the direction of the twist itself). I didn't shell out for the $45 signed edition, but rather the cheaper $25 copy, but it came with a little surprise with a gold sticker (that looks like those gold medals stuck on award-winning children's books) that says, "This shit is not for kids. Seriously." I laughed a long time after seeing that surprise.It's not a bad little investment. I think if I had kids, and they were of a certain humor/mindset, I'd let them read this (but probably not until they declared indignantly that they were "too old" for children's books). And while I know that this book was most likely a fun brainstorm for the author and probably doesn't take a whole hell of a lot of time (in comparison to a 800 page doorstopper fantasy novel, anyway), is it bad that I wish Rothfuss held off on this project and gotten us Wise Man's Fear sooner? Yeah, I thought so.
Still, cute book, not something I would've normally picked up, but I was buying other items from Subterranean and the art sucked me in. Would I get a sequel? Maybe.
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LibraryThing member SESchend
Glad I bought this (mistakenly for the kids, thinking they'd get a kick out of it) but doubly glad I read it and NEVER shared it with the kids.
Dark humor that I found hysterical but would have sent them to therapy.... ;)
Dark humor that I found hysterical but would have sent them to therapy.... ;)
LibraryThing member leduck
I was acquainted with this book because I was fortunate enough to hear Pat Rothfuss read from it in Madison a couple of years ago. What I loved was his discussion of how carefully they had set up endings (3 of them in total) for the book. I loved the clues he identified that he and the artist had
Although this looks like a children's book, it is not-- the full book is far too scary for all of the endings for small kids (although Rothfuss himself said that he read the book to his son, but not past the first ending).
Highly recommended for adults who embrace the dark traditions of fairy tales.
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carefully laid and how much attention to detail was in the book.Although this looks like a children's book, it is not-- the full book is far too scary for all of the endings for small kids (although Rothfuss himself said that he read the book to his son, but not past the first ending).
Highly recommended for adults who embrace the dark traditions of fairy tales.
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LibraryThing member Cephas730
A delightful read that definitely isn't for kids.