Not now Bernard

'Not now Bernard' is the response a small boy gets from his busy parents, even when he tells them of the monster who is going to eat him up. And, what is more, Bernard does get eaten, a fact that, in my experience, children seem to relish. O.K. so their interpretation of what is really a transformation tale will be different from an adult's, but they undoubtedly get a lot of fun out of the story. It was one of the most read books in my infant class last year, but I have found it equally successful with eleven and twelve-year-olds who don't find reading easy.