3 May 2011 STOP SNORING, BERNARD! by Zachariah O'Hora, Henry Holt, April 2011, 32p., ISBN: 978-0-8050-9002-4

"It's raining, it's pouring,

The old man is snoring."

-- Traditional nursery rhyme

I snore. I always have, and I figure I always will. I've snored as a kid, as a teen, and as an adult. When I was but knee-high to a grasshopper, I'd often wake up in the morning all alone. All of my stuffed animals would have finally given up in the middle of the night and headed next-door to my sister's room in order to get some peace and quiet.   

I come from a line of snoring guys -- my paternal line. When I was young, visiting my grandparents over vacations, my grandfather and I would perform nighttime duets that might easily be mistaken for the soundtrack to Jurassic Park.

Which is why I am so empathetic to the plight of Bernard, the otter.   

"Bernard loved living at the zoo. He loved mealtime, playtime, and best of all...

"naptime!

"But there was one little problem. Bernard snored...LOUDLY!

"One afternoon at naptime, Grumpy Giles had had enough. 'Snore somewhere else, Bernard!' he said.".

And so Bernard heads off in search of alternative sleeping arrangements. But he disturbs the alligators in the lake; he disturbs the giraffes by the fountain; he disturbs the elephants near the puddle; and he would have disturbed the bats in the cave (where there is a subterranean pool) except that they don't sleep at night.

What's a poor little otter to do? Fortunately, Bernard's otter friends miss him and come to bring him home.   

Zachariah O'Hora's acrylic illustrations are exceptionally expressive and fun. I couldn't help but smile when the mama elephant dumps a trunkful of water on the hapless otter..

Hopefully, that won't happen to me.

Richie Partington, MLIS
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