WHEN PAPA SNORES

In this hoot of a picture book, a young girl describes the racket created whenever her grandparents snore. This is no ordinary snoring. For example, “When Papa snores, the lamp at this bedside rattles and shakes,” and “when Nana snores, the blinds on the window clink-clank together.” Trouble is, it doesn’t end there. As the descriptions proceed, the sounds accumulate: Papa’s lamp continues to rattle and shake, but added to the din are the sounds of his dresser drawers opening and closing and the mops in the closet dancing the tango, and even worse. Nana’s cacophony keeps those blinds clinking and clanking, but in addition, the dishes in the drainer shake themselves dry and the shoes throw themselves downstairs, and so on. The fun continues until the riotous ending, when the truly loudest snorer in the family is revealed. There’ll be no snoring when kids listen to this rollicking story. It’s perfect for storytimes, especially if adults ham it up with the sound effects provided in the text. The pictures suggest additional sounds occasioned by all the inanimate objects’ reactions to the noise. Children won’t even wait for the grown-ups to render the sounds; they’re bound to chime in on their own. Lively fun. (Picture book. 3-7)