Not Now Bernard - David McKee

Masquerading as a children's book, Not Now Bernard might perhaps be seen by many as one for the parents who read it aloud as a bedtime story to their little babes. The front cover acts as an introduction to the story, setting the scene. We see a small boy whom we presume to be Bernard, gazing wide eyed at what is obviously a monster, and a fearsome one at that, baring his teeth from on top of a mound. The monster is about as broad as he is tall and is almost all face, with short limbs attached.

Opening the cover, we see the monster again, but this time he has his index finger on his mouth and looks as though he thinks he has done something wrong. On the title page we see a full-figure picture of Bernard, wide eyed again and with a minute dot for a mouth. Turn the page, and Bernard is saying hello to his Dad, pictured here banging a nail into a wall. Bernard is standing behind him, and Dad doesn't turn round but merely replies 'Not now, Bernard.' At the same time he hits his finger with the hammer and appears to cry out in pain. A similar episode occurs with Bernard's Mum on the next two pages; she is busy in the kitchen and ignores Bernard's hello just like Dad did. Bernard seems to be seeking attention when he persists by telling Mum that there is a monster in the garden that's going to eat him. Mum obviously thinks this is a tall story and continues to give the standard 'Not now, Bernard' as a reply.

Having had no joy with his parents, Bernard decides to go into the garden and say hello to the monster. Perhaps it will take some notice of Bernard. This is what he in fact does, but not in the way Bernard had hoped. He eats Bernard up, and we see the monster left holding just one shoe. The monster then decides to go indoors, and lets out an almighty 'ROAR' behind Bernard's mother as she is painting a wall. Thinking once again that it is just Bernard, she gives the usual reply 'Not now, Bernard.' The monster then finds Dad sitting in an armchair, hidden behind the newspaper, and on biting Dad's foot, the reply is merely repeated, as Dad doesn't actually see what is happening. When Mum puts Bernard's dinner on a table in front of the television, she calls her son but doesn't wait to see if he comes to eat. The monster eats the dinner and continues by amusing himself with a comic and the television. After a while, Mum calls to Bernard, telling him that he should go to bed and that she has taken his milk upstairs. We see the monster on his way up with teddy in tow, and then settled in bed with teddy. At this point he objects, 'But I'm a monster.' Mum is in the doorway, but rather than take a look or say goodnight, she switches off the light and for one final time says, 'Not now, Bernard.'

Do we interpret this as a message concerning the terrible consequences for parents who persistently ignore their children and never spend any time with them? Or do we assume that everything was a figment of Bernard's imagination because of his boredom? Did he convincingly take on the role of a monster, roaring, biting, and breaking one of his toys? Such deep questions. Perhaps the most interesting point is that young children don't seem to find this story frightening; they usually love it and have a great laugh over it. This could be partly because of the illustrations. They fill most of the page, and the monster looks rather comical just after he has supposedly eaten Bernard: his tongue hangs out as he holds up a shoe. He holds up a dinner plate and lets the food trickle into his mouth; when he watches television, he stands on top of the set (before the flat-screen era) and peers down from above. Colours and patterns are bright and cheerful, giving a definite friendly feel.

As well as being a popular bedtime story, this is an excellent reading book for children between the ages of four and a half and seven. It fits the National Literary Scheme's requirements in England and Wales of being a story with a familiar setting, a story with patterned language, and a story by a significant children's author. For these reasons there is also an accompanying teachers' resource book available. The fact that phrases such as 'Not now, Bernard,' are repeated would of course make it easy for very young readers to recognise words that appear every now and again throughout the book. There are never more than fourteen words on a page, and in fact the word count on most pages is only about six.

Not Now, Bernard has delighted children for more than twenty years now; some that heard or read the first edition are now nostalgically reading it to their own children. I would definitely recommend it either for reading aloud or for early independent reading. It is attractive both visually and in terms of a story that captures the imagination of a child who can identify with Bernard's boredom and loneliness.

Not Now Bernard

by David McKee

Red Fox, 1984

Paperback, 26 pages

ISBN 0099240505

Price £4.99

A few of the best

If a love of books is instilled in our children by reading aloud to them at an early age and then sharing books and listening to them read as they begin to learn, let's hope that books will still be a pleasurable source of entertainment for them alongside television, computers and games consoles as they grow older. I have chosen several authors here and focused in most cases on a particular book as an example of that author's work; each author writes for a certain age group, ranging from three- to four-year-olds through to early teenagers. Let's start with the youngest group.

BABETTE COLE

Young children will love the humor and colorful, lively illustrations of Babette Cole's 'The Trouble with Grandad'. Grandad gets into a pickle because of the enormous vegetables he grows: he wins all the prizes at the Vegetable Show and makes other competitors jealous. When a rival gives him a tomato plant that becomes taller than the police station, Grandad is put in prison for growing a dangerous vegetable. All attempts to destroy it fail, so Grandad is released to see if he can solve the problem himself. He discovers that an enormous caterpillar is hidden inside it, which emerges and devours the tomato. When the prisoners decide to escape, they are so frightened of the caterpillar that they run back into jail. The caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and crashes into the police station. Grandad and grandson manage to escape the wrath of the chasing policemen by flying off on the back a a giant moth that emerges from the chrysalis. On returning to his allotment, Grandad hollows out a huge cucumber complete with windows and a clock tower, presenting it as a new police station. The police are delighted, but they have to protect their station from marauding giant slugs.

There is plenty of fantasy and humor here to delight young readers, and illustrations fill the greater part of each page. I find the one of the huge caterpillar happily sleeping on the roof of the police station particularly attractive. If children enjoy this story, there are others in the series such as 'The Trouble with Mum', who is in fact a witch.

FRANCESCA SIMON

Once children become independent readers, there are few who will not appreciate the tales of Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon. Henry is the bane of his parents' life: he throws food, squashes pet beetles, and steals tent pegs to make a camp fire. His brother Peter is the exact opposite of him. When Henry decides to be the perfect angel for a change one day, Peter is so annoyed that Henry isn't being his usual self that he eventually picks up his plate of food to throw at Henry. He misses, and his dinner lands on top of Mum's head instead. Henry finds it hilarious and doesn't even mind being sent to his room for laughing.

This is another series of books with comical illustrations, this time in the form of black and white drawings by Tony Ross. We see caricatures of pirates and ballerinas, or Henry and his neighbor Moody Margaret mixing up a concoction of Glop. The first book in the series includes a story of Henry's dance class as well as his camping holiday. Other titles in the series include 'Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy' and 'Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse'. There are enough female characters in the stories to encourage girls to read, as if they are likely to need much encouragement when the tales are ridiculously funny.

ROALD DAHL

By the time a child has finished with Horrid Henry, they will be old enough to discover the delights of Roald Dahl's novels. The perfect one to begin with, as it is not overly long, is 'The Magic Finger'.

The heroine is a girl who can zap people with her finger with drastic results: her teacher may have regretted calling her stupid, as she grows whiskers and a tail after the finger is turned on her.

Worse still is the fate of the Gregg family, caught shooting deer and ducks by the girl. She is so incensed that she puts the Magic Finger on them. The following morning, Mr and Mrs Gregg and their two sons have dwindled in size and grown wings. They have to spend the stormy night in a nest, as enormous ducks take over their house. Only when the ducks threaten to shoot the Greggs do they have the chance to return to their normal selves by promising never to shoot birds or deer again.

A child who enjoys 'The Magic Finger' will almost certainly delight in another of Dahl's novels, 'Matilda', once again centring on a girl with magic powers. Follow this book with 'The BFG', a tale of a Big Friendly Giant, or 'George's Marvellous Medicine'. Humor in 'The Twits' is taken to the somewhat vulgar extreme; for something more serious, try Dahl's 'Danny the Champion of the World'. Illustrations again form an important part of these books, and are almost always by the amazing Quentin Blake, who captures the essence of Dahl with his line drawings and caricatures. These stories will keep children absorbed for hours on end.

TERRY PRATCHETT

For children aged nine to twelve, Terry Pratchett's 'Only You can Save Mankind' is the story of Johnny Maxwell who has an unexpected experience whilst playing a computer game. My younger son, when at the top end of this age group, was a reluctant reader, but when he discovered Terry Pratchett's novels, all that changed. Other Terry Pratchett novels that will appeal to children of this age are 'Johnny and the Bomb', in which Johnny Maxwell becomes a time traveler; 'The Carpet People', a fantasy first written when the author was only seventeen; and 'Truckers', the first of a trilogy about little people called nomes who are searching for a new home. The books are full of humor and highly imaginative.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ

Young teenagers, especially boys, are almost certain to enjoy Anthony Horowitz's series of novels that center on the hero, Alex Rider. The plotlines are very detailed and full of tension, involved as they are in the world of espionage. The first in the series is entitled 'Stormbreaker', in which Alex is recruited by M16; it is both thrilling and fun to read. Female characters are sadly lacking, however, so the series may not appeal to the majority of girls.

FRANCES RIDLEY

If, however, your young teenage son is still struggling with reading (and this is not uncommon), I would suggest Frances Ridley's 'Download' series, published by Rising Stars. Each book focuses on a topic such as motocross, mountain climbing or racing cars, so a book can be chosen that will tie in with a young teenager's interests. Ridley presents information in a magazine-style layout, using relatively easy vocabulary alongside colorful illustrations; a short story is also included in each one. The books can also appeal to younger, more confident readers who have particular interests in the topics in this series.

There are of course many other authors such as J. K. Rowling, Jacqueline Wilson and Philip Pullman that will appeal to children. I have perhaps concentrated here on books that contain a strong element of humor (with the exception of Horowitz and Ridley), as this is likely to encourage reluctant readers. The books by Cole, Simon, Dahl and Ridley also feature excellent drawings or colorful illustrations that play a large part in helping less confident readers to follow the text. If your child is not a natural bookworm, share the books with them and read aloud; you might be surprised how much enjoyment an adult can find here too.