ZZZZZZZZ! Shhhhhh! Stop Snoring, Bernard by Zachariah Ohora

BERNARD LOVED LIVING IN THE ZOO.

...BEST OF ALL, HE LOVED ...NAP TIME!

Bernard loves his otter family, his really cool pool, and all his nice neighbors. As far as he is concerned, everything is hunky-dory at home in the zoo. But when Bernard begins his beloved naptime, his cousin Grumpy Giles has just one thing to say:

"STOP SNORING, BERNARD!!"

Bernard wants to please, so he takes his noisy naptime to the lake and settles down to snooze.

"STOP SNORING, BERNARD!"

The alligators are angry, and Bernard retreats from all those teeth, turning in for his nap in the zoo's fountain.

"STOP SNORING, BERNARD!!" FRET THE GIRAFFES.

(Not easy for them to say.) But Bernard feels their pain and heads off. Where can he float on his back and get a little shuteye? A puddle? Not so roomy as his usual digs, but Bernard is ready to settle. But, forced to drift off to dreamland in his puddle, Bernard is just dropping off to doze, when...

Well, you know what the elephant shouts.

Poor Bernard. It's getting late, and his naptime has turned into nighty-night time. Finally he takes refuge in a dark, cavernous opening. And strangely enough, no one yells. Bernard wakes up, well rested, just as the residents come flooding inside--a flock of bats. Now Bernard gets it--bats don't sleep at night, so his nocturnal snoring is no problem for them. Now if he could just find someplace to nap in the daytime....

Zachariah O'Hora's first picture book, Stop Snoring, Bernard! (Henry Holt, 2012) features the sort of eye-appealing illustrations that make it irresistible to pick up and open. His graphic style, using thick outlines, dark, deeply saturated colors, and a highly creative use of white space, page design, and thought balloons, makes it a real kid pleaser. The simple story's resolution is not foreshadowed, but the kids won't worry about the ending so long as they can join in on that oft-repeated punch line, "STOP SNORING, BERNARD!"

"Wide black outlines and O'Hora's own display type add graphic pizzazz to spreads featuring charmingly depicted animals. An artist to watch," says Kirkus.