Picture-book pick: Stop Snoring, Bernard! by Zachariah OHora

Snoring can be pretty funny. In fact, those audible zzz's almost invariably become the butt of someone's joke. But snoring's not so amusing when you're trying to get to sleep, as a small otter named Bernard learns in Stop Snoring, Bernard! (Henry Holt, $17), the debut picture book by author and illustrator Zachariah Ohora that hits bookstores April 12. Grumpy Giles, one of Bernard's zoomates, finally speaks up about Bernard's deep-sleep habit and effectively banishes him from the otters' naptime circle. The little fellow tries to find a place for himself, but no one, it seems, can stand Bernard's unwitting sounds. The endearing tale—told in simple images whose heavy black outlines and graphic shadows are sometimes reminiscent of century-old Arts and Crafts woodcuts—follows Bernard's travails with humor but also a good dose of empathy. (It turns out the author is known to do a bit of snoring himself.) When the otter gang catches up with the snorer in the nick of time, you have to hand it to them: Some annoyances are simply worth putting up with.