Common Sense Media Review
By Patricia Tauzer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Late-night library adventure lauds classic books.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
What's the Story?
When bats find a window that has been left open at the library, they sneak in to enjoy an evening that begins with some very silly exploration and frolicking. Finally, they settle down for storytime and sink into the adventures they find in classic children's books.
Is It Any Good?
The rhyming verse keeps the story moving and makes it all the more fun, and wonderful personalities of various bats and their antics really come through in the illustrations.
Bats tugging on lamp chains to light up the room, others hanging all around the lamp shade, still others dancing under the projector lamp, making shadow pictures on the wall ... this is just a bit of the fun. Later on, as the bats sink into their reading, they are "completely swallowed up" by the stories. Pages dance with places and characters from classic books parents and kids will recognize: the yellow brick road, Pippi Longstocking, Alice, Peter Rabbit, and so on.
The dark acrylic illustrations create the mood; This is a library at night, with all its mystery and charm. And the reader will feel the excitement, and the mischief, as the young bats explore every nook and cranny while the older ones waste no time in finding books to read.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about bats, why they fly at night, have big ears, and wings whose bones almost look like human hands. Then they might want to find a book that tells more about real bats. Parents and kids will also enjoy talking about the library. How is it like your library? What would you do if you could sneak into the library at night? Do you recognize any of the books that the bats are reading? Are any of these your favorites?
Book Details
- Author: Brian Lies
- Illustrator: Brian Lies
- Genre: Picture Book
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books
- Publication date: September 8, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 7
- Number of pages: 32
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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