Module 1: Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Module 1: Book About Reading

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the Library. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Plot Summary:
Bats at the Library follow a group of bats who sneak into a local library when a window is left open. Each different bat group heads to a different section of the library. The little bats find their fun playing in the shelves and making shadows on the walls. Yet when story time begins, all the bats fall into the world of the books. As the dawn rises, the bats are yanked away from their fantasy world until the next time that the library window is left open.

Impressions:
I felt that this was a delightful picture book. I am a sucker for a good rhyme and the illustrations are adorable. I especially like the pages depicting the imaginary worlds that the bats go into.  The reader can see the classic tales and characters from stories such as Alice in Wonderland and The Tale of Peter Rabbit. This is a great book to spark the interest of small children in the library.

Reviews:

Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews. (2010, May 20).BATS AT THE LIBRARY by Brian Lies. Retrieved January 24, 2016, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brian-lies/bats-at-the-library/

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. (Picture book. 4-8)

Time Magazine's Top 10 Children's Books of 2008

Goehner, A. L. (2008, November 03). The Top 10 Everything of 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1855948_1863719_1863734,00.html 

Who wouldn't prefer to see our kids curled up on a window seat, engrossed in a good book, than watch them in front of the TV or playing video games? In this beautifully illustrated rhyming tale, bats sneak into a library through an open window and deliver the message that's every parent's mantra: reading rocks! The library's stained-glass window and cozy chairs give the book a retro, inviting look that reinforces the theme, as the bats are transported to lands reached through only one path — books. "Everyone — old bat or pup — has been completely swallowed up, and lives inside a book instead, of simply hearing something read."

Library Use Suggestions:
I think this book would make an excellent introduction to the library for school children. Sitting them down for a quick story time before a tour of the library would do wonders. This simple story could invigorate the students to check out the different areas of the library and explore what it has to offer. It would be beyond adorable if there were little bat guides around the library. I know, it is a little over the top, but I love crafty additions around a library.

I could also see this story being used during an animal themed story time. The furry little bat illustrations are very cute and give a friendly introduction to these creatures. I read the story aloud a couple times and I feel like it flows pretty well.