Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Humor abounds in this account of a reverse world, where a young monster is afraid of a boy he insists is hiding under his bed. Nobody believes Bobo’s story of that pink-skinned boy with orange fur on his head. Luckily his Boo-Dad grandpa arrives with a story of his own scary encounter when he was young, along with advice for his grandson. Bobo boldly confronts the boy; surprisingly they find much in common, including problems with brothers. Bobo ponders, then decides to “slide a slice of bread and jitterbug jam down under my bed.../...and see what happens.” Bobo and his grandfather are introduced on the jacket as human-ish characters with short horns and animal faces. As Deacon paints them, they act out the story with all the attendant human emotions. The visual story unfolds in a variety of engaging formats complete with speech balloons: vignettes, a double page framed by branches crawling with small creatures, a textless double page of the confrontation of the youngsters, an arabesque of a yellow ribbon following Bobo’s progress from pajamas to being dressed for breakfast. These monsters are as unthreatening as Sendak’s; the lesson of how to get along with differences without fighting or fear is a sound one. 2004, Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 3))
Not going to bed. Now nor never." Sure that there's a scary boy lurking beneath his bed, little monster Bobo hides in a cupboard, until a story from comfortingly massive Boo-Dad, about how he once met a (shudder) girl, teases him out. Hicks gives the tale a fluent country cadence, folding in colorful turns of phrase while dropping the occasional auxiliary or "be" verb, and in a style that echoes Barbara McClintock's neoclassicism, Deacon depicts a family of droopy-horned, not very frightening monsters in a cozy, familiar domestic setting. When Bobo actually does find a red-headed lad beneath the bed-visiting from the other side of the closet-rather than curl up in terror, he takes Boo-Dad's advice to grin and make friendly overtures. In no time, the two young 'uns are chatting companionably. Far and away the best reversal of Mercer Mayer's elemental There's a Monster in My Closet premise since Robert L. Crowe's Clyde Monster (1976), and Jeanne Willis's Monster Bed (1986), this will have younger readers, timorous or otherwise, flocking to it "quick as lickety-split 'n' spit-fish." 2005, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 40p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 8. Starred Review. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 8))
Bobo is a monster with a problem. Curled up in his red jammies, snuggling his Godzilla doll, he can’t sleep because there’s a nasty old boy under his bed. His mom doesn’t believe him and his big brother, Buster, calls him a fraidy-cat, but Boo-Dad, his monster grampa, knows just what he’s talking about. Boo-Dad tells his own story of being frightened by a human and gives Bobo the secret to getting rid of them. When Bobo tries it, however, he discovers that the boy is playing hide and seek with his own big brother. This adds another layer to Bobo’s sorrow, since Buster never plays with him like that. In a move reminiscent of other classic monster-under-the-bed stories (Koller’s No Such Thing, BCCB 3/97), Bobo makes a bold decision to try to befriend the boy in hopes of finding a playmate. Deacon is a dab hand at crafting appealing monsters and moving them through an emotional repertoire from scared to curious to sneaky to sad to hopeful. His illustrations combine with Hicks’ mild yet distinct monster dialect to create a fully realized world where everything is opposite expectations yet utterly familiar. Monsters sleep in the daytime, for instance, yet there are the typical bedtime fears and hassles, and when they get scared, their blood runs hot instead of cold. The intertext of a hundred years of picture-book illustration--from Tenniel and Rackham through rich doses of Sendak to contemporary graphic novels--positively haunts this offering; the art follows a different yet interconnected logic on each page, and each spread has a richness that invites lingering and alternately elicits gentle giggles, the occasional “eeuw,” some wistful nostalgia, or openhearted empathy. With plenty of scope for the storyteller’s vocal talent and with illustrations to savor, this is a book to fall into over and over again. Review Code: R* -- Denotes books of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Farrar, 32p, $16.00. Ages 4-8 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2005)
In this engaging turnabout tale, young monster Bobo is afraid of a human boy--"pink skin, orange fur, and all"--hiding under his bed. BoboÆs grandpa gives him pointers on dealing with the unusual specimen, and when Bobo confronts the red-headed kid they end up becoming friends. The illustrations, featuring atmospheric reds, blacks, and greens, recall an earlier era. Category: Picture Books. 2005, Farrar, 40pp, 16.00. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Terry Plumlee (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews, (Vol. 18, No. 2))
JITTERBUG JAM is a heartwarming story of a young monster who is afraid of what lurks under his bed at bedtime. Bobo is sure there is a boy with pink skin and orange fur on his head hiding under his bed, and he feels sure the boy is going to jump out each morning and scare him. Bobo’s grandfather, Boo-Dad, knows about Bobo’s fear, and he tells Bobo how to take care of this scary situation. Boo-Dad gives Bobo the courage to speak to the boy, and he finds that he and the boy are not so different after all. In fact, he thinks they could indeed become friends. This reversal of roles where the monster is telling the story and the monster is afraid of the boy under his bed gives children a different and interesting perspective. Children should enjoy this perspective and find Bobo a very appealing and fun character they can relate to easily. Fiction. Grades 2-3. 2005, Farrar Straus Giroux, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 7 to 9.