“BATS AT THE LIBRARY”

Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the library. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Reading Lexile: AD720L

Target Audience: 5-8 years of age

Setting: The library at night

Theme: Everyone loves reading, even bats

Characters: Bats, young and old

Summary: Bats are back and the library has got them. Because of a window left open accidentally or perhaps by a sympathetic librarian, bats, young and old make their way inside and embark upon an adventure in reading. At first, some of the younger bats stir up trouble and use the copy machine to make copies of their furry little bodies while others find that the fountain water’s nice and cool and makes a splendid swimming pool.Eventually they all settle in for some upside-down reading.

The book is a rhyming book and has wonderful illustrations that children five to eight years of age would love. (I did and I’m a little older that eight). Bats are lined up sitting on the floor and others hang upside-down above them as story time begins. None of the bats are named, but the eldest bat reads a story as all the other bats imagine themselves taking on the characters in the story being read to them.

They read throughout the night and lose track of time. A flash of light brings their bookish feast to end as they realize the library is about to open. They feel as though they've just begun, but now they leave with their half done. For now, they’ll dream of things they've read, a universe inside each head. They’ll be back I’m sure to pick up where they left off.

I would use this book with young students to arouse their imaginations and to attract them to spending time in their own libraries. A book like this can be used to have students perform creative writing tasks and may also be used to help them appreciate art. A fun read that has the potential to produce an insatiable appetite for books and reading. Bats at the Libraray meets the standards of high quality literature set forth by Norton (2011).