''Not Now, Bernard'' is a children's

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

written and illustrated by

David McKee David John McKee (2 January 1935 – 6 April 2022), was a British writer and illustrator, chiefly of children's books and animations. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, he was UK nominee for the biennial international Hans Chris ...

. It is widely considered a modern classic.

Plot

Bernard tries to attract the attention of his preoccupied parents who reply "Not now, Bernard". Bernard goes into the garden and meets a monster which eats him. The monster goes into the house and tries to attract the parents' attention but gets the same reaction from them, completely oblivious to the monster replacing their son. The monster lives Bernard's life, but more badly behaved, for the rest of the day and, at bed time, tries to tell Bernard's mother he is a monster, but she replies "Not now, Bernard".

Publication

First published in 1980 by

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a ...

, ''Not Now, Bernard'' has been translated into more than 20 languages and over its lifetime, it has never been out of print.

Reception

''Not Now, Bernard'' was controversial on publication.

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

were doubtful it would appeal to children, and many reviewers thought it would frighten them, as the book's child hero is eaten. In an interview with author McKee in 2020, he says some libraries “banned it for violence”. However, it became a modern classic. Described by Donna Ferguson in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as a “cautionary tale of the perils of ignoring children”, it's a book many parents see themselves in. As

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed on stage in both plays and musicals in London theatres, and is also known for her roles in films and on television. Her Broadway ...

wrote in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', this book “demonstrates that parents can be naughty too”. And that “when we don’t listen to people, monsters can take over”.

Legacy

Still in print more than 40 years later, an updated 40th-anniversary edition was released in 2020. In the new edition, Bernard's parents are now preoccupied by their digital devices, on top of the housework and D.I.Y. In 2020 author and illustrator McKee was awarded the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his whole body of work, including ''Not Now, Bernard''. According to BookTrust, as of 2021 ''Not Now, Bernard'' has sold more than 5 million copies.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Not Now, Bernard 1980 children's books British children's books British picture books Andersen Press books Children's books about monsters