REVIEW: Roar of a Snore

Arnold, M.D. (2006). Roar of a Snore. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

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In the night, Jack has trouble sleeping because the sound of somebody snoring. He begins looking for the offending snorer by waking up each member of his family.

Roar of a Snore uses unpredictable rhyme to tell the story. While the rhyme is inconsistent, it does not feel forced, which is high praise.

The illustrations include a lot of darker tones, to portray nighttime. The colors are not threatening though and encourage this book to be used as a naptime or a bedtime read.

I chose this book for personal reasons. Growing up, I always had to deal with a certain somebody’s snores keeping me awake. I must admit, I rarely handled it as well as Jack. My method of waking potential snorers often involved kicking the bed, throwing pillows, pulling an offending snorer’s sleeping bag outside while camping. In fact, those are still my methods of choice. Nobody messes with my sleep patterns! Nobody!

Activities to do with the book:

This is a good bedtime story, but a teacher could do a lesson on manners and incorporate the fact that it is rude to wake up sleeping friends and loved ones, no matter how loud the snoring.
Also a teacher could reinforce all of the vocabulary present for the various types of snores and for fun could have all the students practice making the various snoring noises.

Favorite Quotes:

“The sky was dark. The stars were bright. Each Huffle fast asleep that night.”

“Jack heard a snore. A might snore! A clamorous snore! A thundering, ear-splitting, roar of a snore!”

“Each Huffle added snuffles, huffs, wheezes, whistles, grumbles, puffs. One giant snore sailed through the night.”