Bats at the Library

by Brian Lies

*****

This is a clever story about a colony of bats that take advantage of a window left open at the library. Seeing their opportunity, they fly in and the fun begins. While some read and research, others play in the water fountain, with the overhead projector, or make copies of themselves with the Xerox machine! Young bats play in pop-up books and have story time. The best part is that each bat is "completely swallowed up and lives inside a book instead of simply hearing something read." I love that the author shows this by painting recognizable scenes from well-loved children's books and incorporating the bats in them (i.e. Pippy Longstocking as a bat, or bats crossing the road instead of ducks in Make Way for Ducklings by Robert Mccloskey .) It's very funny and illustrates to kids just how fun it can be to get lost in a book.