Susan's Booklist

1. The Bat in the Boot, story and pictures by Annie Cannon
2. Stellaluna, by Jarrell Cannon (See annotation below)(fiction)
3. Spooky and the Wizard's Bats, by Natalie Savage Carlson, illustrated by Andrew Glass (fiction)
4. Batwings and the Curtain of Night, by Marguerite W. Davol, illustrated by Mary GrandPre (fiction)
5. Zipping. Zapping. Zooming Bats, by Ann Earle, illustrated by Henry Cole
6. Bats, by Gail Gibbons
7. A New True Book: Bats, by Susan Heinrichs Gray
8. Bats: Night Fliers, by Betsy Maestro, Illustrated by Giulio Maestro
9. Wemgires, written and illustrated by Daniel Pinkwater (fiction)
10. The Spooky Eerie Night Noise, by Mona Rabun Reeves, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz (fiction)

Cannon, Janell. Stellaluna. Janell Cannon. New York: Harcourt, 1993.

The author spins an imaginative and fanciful story about a baby fruit bat named Stellaluna. Stellaluna is adopted by Mama Bird and raised with her three baby birds named Pip, Flitter, and Flap. Readers of all ages find themselves empathetic to Stellaluna when she has to adapt to "bird ways" instead of acting like a fruit bat. In the end, she realizes that there is nothing wrong with her because she is a bat and should be different from birds. This wonderful story teaches readers that it is all right for friends to be different and alike at the same time. It is a story of accepting each other as we are. Educational facts about bats and beautiful drawings help make this an excellent book for all children's libraries. *Note-Winner of 1994 American Booksellers Book of the Year (ABBY) award in the children's category. Library Must Have!!Submitted by Mary Pat Connors

• The most obvious use in the library for the fictional bat stories would be during Halloween week. Stories about vampires, black cats, and witches create the mystery and excitement that surrounds the holiday.
• A New True Book: Bats would be an excellent way to introduce step-up level readers to the wonders of chapter books. The photos and drawings, combined with the large type, make this less intimidating than other texts. Less advanced readers would also benefit, for knowledge is empowering.
• Combined with a science center, one can envision one's five year old coming home from school and saying, "Did you know that bats have a good sense of smell?"
• The librarian could embellish a social studies lesson by offering the texts that define the species in terms other than as "other". Especially for the younger grades, Stellaluna teaches that although different, birds and bats (like people) can be friends. Conversely, the differences are merely superficial, and the similarities are what truly matter. All living things need to eat, sleep, and be warm and safe from predators, in order to survive. And, although the characters are anthropomorphized, all living things deserve love.
• The older children could handle a more direct lesson in ecology and science. The non-fiction title, Bats, for example, addresses the fact that bats eradicate insects, aide cross pollination, deter rain forest destruction, and are prey to pesticide pollution. Bats: Night Fliers, The Bat in the Boot, and Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats all describe bats as the only flying mammals, and give definitions of a mammal.
• Finally, as an aide to a lesson on cultures and mythology, the Chinese WU-FU symbol could be discussed. Five bats circle the tree of life and represent health, wealth, long life, good luck, and happiness. One could also define the similarities in creation myths and study Joseph Bruchac's The Creation in comparison to Batwings and the curtain of Night.

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