Another Perfect Picture Book Friday and another chance to share a fabulously fun Halloween-appropriate perfect picture book!
You’re going to love this one 😊
You have never seen bats as cute as this! 🦇
Title: Bats At The Library
Written & Illustrated By: Brian Lies
Publisher: Clarion Books, September 2, 2014, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 2-6
Themes/Topics: libraries, reading, books, bats
text and illustration copyright Brian Lies, 2014, Clarion Books
Opening:
“Another inky evening’s here –
the air is cool and calm and clear.
We’ve feasted, fluttered, swooped, and soared,
and yet. . . we’re still a little bored.”
text and illustration copyright Brian Lies, 2014, Clarion Books
Brief Synopsis: On a dark evening, someone leaves a window open and suddenly it’s bat night at the library. What a treat! The bats explore all the library has to offer and get lost in the joy of stories, but all too soon dawn draws near and it’s time to go home and hope it won’t be long before a window is left open again.
text and illustration copyright Brian Lies, 2014, Clarion Books
Links To Resources: Bat Crafts for Kids
text and illustration copyright Brian Lies, 2014, Clarion Books
Why I Like This Book: I love the whole concept of bats being thrilled at the prospect of getting to spend the night in the library. That they could start out with feasting, fluttering, swooping, and soaring and yet. . . they’re bored! Remind you of anyone you know? (every kid at some point 😊 ) And the cure for that boredom is BOOKS! The art is dark, as one would expect since it’s nighttime, but there is so much detail. I love the spreads where the bats are listening to the story being read aloud, half of them sitting on the floor and half of them hanging upside down, completely riveted, right down to a one with a baby in its lap. They are so absorbed they don’t even realize how fast the night has flown, that dawn is coming and it’s time to go. Any of us who has ever stayed up too late with a book (maybe even under the covers with a flashlight) can understand completely! A fun story that might help your little readers become even more fond of reading!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
What a thought…bats in the library. I love it. I love how you described the illustrations, so of course I will need to go to the library and check it out.
Thank you for sharing this story. I will also check the library for BATS! They had HVACs replaced this past week, so perhaps some flew in!🥰
I hope if they flew in they can find their way out, Robin! I’ve had them in the house once or twice and they get so scared they can’t figure out how to fly back outside! If you like this BAT book, there are others by the same author/illustrator!
Thank you! I have the book on reserve and checked out 9 others yesterday! Yikes! You had them in your house. I must say they are very cute!♥️
Great pick, Susanna! I am envious of BL’s skills in illustration night/darkness sooo well. Inviting, kinda spooky, never murky!
He does a great job, doesn’t he, Julie? I love all the details and the bat expressions and body language. It makes bats seem so friendly 🙂
I love the idea of books being the perfect cure for boredom. And these illustrations look amazing. Looks like a wonderful new fall/Halloween book.
Right, Patricia?! And he does it so well that it doesn’t feel even one single bit like a message!
Yes! My son loved Bats at the Beach, and he loved Bats at the Library, too! Yay for Brian Lies’ bat books!
Yay, indeed, Jilanne! They are such fun!
One of my all-time favorite books!
Isn’t it great, Sue? All-around amazing!
The perfect book for October. All of his bat books are fun, with terrific illustrations to match. Great choice, Susanna!
Glad you like it too, Marty!
This is a brilliant book – and the illustrations are wonderful. Cute bats!
Aren’t they great, Robin? They make bats look so friendly 🙂
One of my favorites from Brian Lies for sure! I heard him read it at a book signing many years ago. He is a master of illustration and rhyme. Thanks for sharing this one, Susanna!
Ooh! Lucky you, Rose! That must have been great!
Such a great book, and a fun series! Brian Lies is so friendly and great with kids too, when I worked at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem MA we had him in the Art & Nature Center for a storytime and had the best afternoon.
That sounds amazing! I’ve never met him, but I love the books! 🙂
Love it! Bats are fascinating! (the real ones, but also this book looks great!) I’ve always wanted a bat house or two around here so they can be out at night and eat the bugs. I guess I’ll settle for reading a great book about bats at one of my favorite places!
I have quite a few bats at my house, Angie. I often see them flitting about at twilight, helping me keep the bug population under control. I think they’re fascinating. I just prefer they don’t get in the house because it’s VERY hard to get them out again – they get so scared and fly in every wrong direction!
Oh no! That would not be good! But yay for bug control!!