Don't Think About It

"Don't Think About It" by William W. Stuart is a children's story from the early 1960s, that follows a young boy named Tommy as he faces his fears through a peculiar hole in his closet, which he believes is the home of a sinister "Ugly Thing." Tommy's cherished toy, Mr. Bear, becomes his brave companion in this imaginative endeavor. The story shows how Tommy tries to express his worries to uninterested grownups. As the Ugly Thing's imagined power grows, mirroring Tommy's own growing anxiety, his parents brush aside his concerns, but when a fire breaks out, Tommy shows amazing courage, teaching everyone a lesson about the need to acknowledge and deal with our fears head-on.