Bats at the Library

Book Cover:

Book Title: Bats at the Library

Book Summary: As night falls bats come out to roam but where do they go?  To the library of course, while there they read books, go on adventures and have fun in the library.  The bats get in through an open window, some bats read books, while others talk about the books that they read, while the young bats like to play with the copies and the overhead, then some are listening to a read aloud.  The next two pages after the read aloud are the adventures that the bats are going on.

APA Reference:

Lies, B. (2008). Bats At The Library. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

My Impressions: I love the idea of bats coming into the library.  The pages where you see what stories the bats are reading and they are dreaming they are in the book, and when they are playing with the copier, and the overhead are what very parent, teacher, or librarian wants for their child/students.  Ok maybe not playing with the copier or the overhead like that but even if it sparks a imagination, that could lead to them to find a book.  I also like how it touches on the different ways to read books, talk about books, and even touches on some of the rules that are in the library. 

Professional Review:

Kirkus Reviews August 15, 2008

In this latest from Lies, it's all--deservingly--about the artwork. He brings a sure, expressive and transporting hand to this story of a colony of bats paying a nighttime visit to a small-town library. There is enough merriness here to keep the story bubbling, and young readers will certainly identify with some of the bats that have gotten a bit bored by the visit, as bats will do, and started monkeying around with the photocopier. There is a lovely image of a group of bats hanging around the rim of a reading lamp listening to a story; the peach-colored light illuminates the immediate vicinity while the rest of the library is shadowed and mysterious. The rhymed text, on the other hand, feels unmulled, leaving the artwork to do the heavy lifting. Pictures light-handedly capture the Cheshire Bat, Winnie the Bat and Little Red Riding Bat, only to be trumped by some ill-considered sermonizing--"But little bats will have to learn / the reason that we must return." Buy it for the pictures. (Picture book. 4-8)

Citation:

BATS AT THE LIBRARY. (2008). Kirkus Reviews, 76(16), 194.

Library Uses: I would use the book in Oct. because of Halloween, to reteach the rules of the library.  I would pair the students up and explore the different books that are shown on the bat dream pages and have the students find the author, and a brief summary of the book.