Customer Reviews

Stop Snoring, Bernard!

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Poor Bernard, his favorite time is nap time, but nobody wants him to sleep around them because he snores! He tries lakes, ponds, fountains and puddles until finally his otter friends realize how much they miss him and ask him to come back to the group. I don't really know what the moral of this story is, maybe sometimes you just have to put up with things in the interest of friendship? It doesn't matter in the end though, because this is just a fun little book that's perfect for both story time and bedtime. It's just the right length for a group of young preschoolers, and is guaranteed to have them snoring right along with you quicker than you can say night-night.

Kids will love the simple, bold line illustrations. The animals are expressive and it's easy to see their frustration with Bernard, and also Bernard's loneliness. Give this one a try, just be sure to practice your snoring in advance. It's sure to garner any story reader lots of laughs and get any squirmy little one thinking of his pillow. I loved the picture of all the little otters lying about like logs. Sure to charm, and recommended for ages 2-5.

Although youngsters might not relate to a "snoring problem" the story is fast moving enough and cutesy enough for them to enjoy. It can be read to toddlers in under 8 minutes depending on how much time is spent on each illustration. A new young reader will also enjoy.

"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.

Bernard is an otter with a snoring problem. He lives in a zoo and the other animals that live there have had it with him! His snoring keeps them up all night! He sets off to find somewhere else to sleep. The next day his otter friends set off to try and bring him back. They were so use to this snoring that they could not sleep with out him. My girls loved the illustrations in this one. Their favorite one was of the otters driving the zoo staff golf cart!