Bibliography
Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the library. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Book Summary:
Some bored bats decide to visit their local library once they see that a window has been left open. Deeming it "bat night at the library," bats of all ages go inside to visit their favorite sections of the library. Some read old favorites while others gather around to have a group book discussion. All of the bats then gather to listen to storytelling, and lose track of time and before they know it, their evening at the library is over. The bats fly away in anticipation of a librarian leaving a window open again so that they can have another bat night at the library.
My Thoughts:
Having never read any of the series of books before, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. The bats were adorable, and so people like in their antics-- I can definitely relate to how engrossed they became in the storytelling. I definitely want to read more in the series by Brian Lies, and would like to someday do a cute themed story time with the book.
Professional Reviews:
* Lies' illustrations bring the Bats at the Library to life. With subdued colors meant to represent the bats' nocturnal habitat, Lies humanizes the bats, complete with glasses, smiles, and for one baby bat, arm floaties, much like a young child might wear in a swimming pool. His illustrations also show bats engaging in real bat-like behaviors; for instance, during story time, the bats are surrounding a book that has been placed upside down, the better to accommodate the positioning of the bats hanging from the table ledge. In what are perhaps the most inspired pages of this creative book, Lies gives readers several text-free pages where bats are reimagined as the central figures in classic children's stories. The illustrations have even been designed in the style of the original illustrations in these classic works of children's literature. A bat with red, Pippi Longstockinged braids cartwheels across the page. A policeman halts traffic to "make way for bat-lings." A bat wearing a red cloak, hood pulled tight, hurries to grandmother's house. And a young girl studies a suspiciously cat-like bat with an enigmatic, Cheshire-grin hanging upside down from a tree. These exceedingly clever illustrations speak to all of us who have found ourselves so drawn into a story that we become a part of it. Lies' reimagining allows his readers to envision bats as the central characters in familiar stories.
(2011). [Review of the book Bats at the library by Brian Lies]. Journal of Education, 191(2), 75.
(2011). [Review of the book Bats at the library by Brian Lies]. Journal of Education, 191(2), 75.
*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.
(2008). [Review of the book Bats at the library by Brian Lies]. Kirkus Reviews, 76(16), 194.
(2008). [Review of the book Bats at the library by Brian Lies]. Kirkus Reviews, 76(16), 194.
Suggested Activities:
Use for a Halloween themed story time. Make a felt board to tell the story, and have a bat themed craft as well. Another idea to use it for an evening story time and have "bat night at the library" like in the book, and have the children dress up for the event.
