Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Bats at the Beach
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 8
Houghton Mifflin, 2006 ISBN: 978-0618557448
The sun is slowly sinking, the sky darkens and as the moon rises, the skies fill with flitting bats. The bats are full of excitement and laughter and all are carrying the kinds of things that you and I associate with a day at the beach. On backs and “under wings” they carry books and towels, buckets, and umbrellas, hampers full of feasts, and “moon-tan lotion.”
Down on the sands they set up their umbrellas, lay out their blankets, and test out the water. They make new friends, play all kinds of games, and fall asleep on their deck chairs in the cool glow of the moon. Of course many of the younger bats head out into the surf to see who can cruise the highest waves and who can go the fastest in their little cardboard boats.
Then it is time to eat! So many wonderful snacks and treats, some of which are only shared at times like these. And then, with full tummies and sleepy eyes, they sit around the fires and sing old songs and listen to strumming banjos. What a night it has been! But, of course, it must end when the dawn begins to lighten the sky. They must be off “before it’s day!”
With a splendid rhyming text and thoroughly charming bat characters filling the pages, this picture book is a truly delightful summer title. Wonderful paintings packed with all kinds of details will keep young readers imagining as they think about what it would be like to be a bat who goes for a beach jaunt on a moonlit night.
