First off, the Alice in Wonderland motif is very temporary and very fleeting in the story.

If you like Alice in Wonderland then this book will not please you quite as much as you think, if you dislike Wonderland then you will probably enjoy this book because it only has an intro about it. I feel like some people pick this book up expecting it to be an entirely Wonderland tail when it's really basically the first chapter.

Bernard Pepperlin escapes Wonderland within the first chapter by the means of being shoved into a boiling pot of tea and for some reason not dying, or maybe he has died and I just haven't found out. As somebody who has handled hot tea as well as boiling water I want to say this boy is lucky to be alive, but I have no idea how he survived being submerged in it for that long.

The dormouse has an even worse life than can be imagined, it's implied that he's spent over two hundred years trapped in a tea party with no time moving. And all of this time no one has ever cared about him nor asked his name. So he existed with his name Bernard Pepperlin and nobody ever asking about him because they're too busy poking him with needles and dunking him and boiling water as well as slattering him with random condiments.

The abuse of this boy is bad.

The power of bad singing can make time so offended because time is a sentient being, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare have both cause time to stop by being so brutal and rude as they are, along with the full implication that the Mad Hatter has been contaminated by poisonous lead and other chemicals that have slowly seeped into his brain and caused it to rot. This is briefly glossed over but is actually a horrific thing that is true and historically correct and it shocked me that it was in this book.

Time has hit itself at the bottom of a teapot and as such, Bernard Pepperlin is the only one to encounter it because he is both small enough to be shoved into boiling water and also small enough to fit into the teapot.

Things go from bad to worse with him ending up and basically New York City which is a terrible place with a lot of animals that are not understand by humans, but somehow exist among them. The story from there is complicated and also confusing. It feels like it took a page out of Shrek. Not a bad page, but one of those weird pages that needs a little bit more explanation.

One thing I did enjoy was that there are references to little things kids can learn, for example IV the lizard is cold-blooded and starts to slow down because it's cold outside. And then they need to keep her warm otherwise she'll fall asleep.

I definitely was not ready for the bad guys to carry knives, and actually use the knives that's definitely a bit of a surprise in a kids book.

I also was not expecting there to be dozens of murders in this book but I guess I should expect that from all kids books at least because a lot of the ones I've read have had so much grisly murder and so many terrifying saints. Oddly enough the worst scene for me was probably either when they we found out the flowers were sentient and therefore when they were eaten they were screaming in pain. Or that they bleed.

All in all, there are several red herrings and moments that go nowhere but it's good in a lot of ways, it's not a perfect book but it's a very nice book. There's so many loose ends that I guess we're just supposed to gloss over them, like will Wonderland ever be fixed, will Bernard ever help those two ill people who he really does want to help but then ignores. And what happens when he time skips?

This book was a good read and even ignoring the plot holes and problems it has a very nice ending. I wasn't expecting so many broken bones and amputations and such a simple looking book but it definitely delivered a little bit of horror.

All in all, I would recommend Bernard Pepperlin to be read at least once.

4.3 stars. ( )

You've probably heard of Bernard Pepperlin but never knew his name before. Bernard Pepperlin is the name of the Dormouse in Alice and Wonderland and gets to have his own adventure in this new book by Cara Hoffman. It's a cute book full of adventure and whimsical characters. It was a quick book to read outloud. ( )

Bernard is the drowsy dormouse from Alice In Wonderland. His whole world is shaken up by a girl in a blue dress. He always wanted to go on an adventure and leave Wonderland, but just did not have the energy to do it. Bernard is sent on an adventure where he must not fall asleep. He is destined to save the world outside of Wonderland. Along the way he meets a few friends who will help him save the world. I would recommend this for any collection that would like books similar to Stuart Little and animal adventure stories. Bernard is a very likable character and the story is great for younger as well as older readers who enjoy animals. ( )

Bernard Pepperlin is the sleepy dormouse from “Alice in Wonderland,” stuck in time and at a tea party with the March Hare and Mad Hatter. When they push him into the teapot, Bernard decides not to fight them and swims down through the teapot, ending up in Manhattan’s Hudson River (?? Not specified, guessing.) where he meets a cat named Mittens fishing in the river. Mittens tells Bernard to be careful of the Pork Pie Gang. Bernard ends being kidnapped by the Pork Pie Gang of weasels and while at their headquarters learns that they plan to shut down the city by forcing everyone to hear them sing. He and the other captives escape and Bernard fights against time to help his new animal friends stop the Pork Pie Gang’s nefarious plan. Works as a read-aloud, with adventure, a bit of humor, and fantasy. ( )