I am going to write a few blogs about some fun new Halloween books. I will warn you that I am not into the scary, creepy kind. I was actually half way through a pretty good book when the adorable, lively witch and her buddies encountered dragons and monsters. I closed it up and chose another book. I think kids are exposed to enough violence without connecting it to a fun holiday. So here is one of my picks:
Bats at the Library, written and illustrated by Brian Lies. These playful bats have discovered that the librarian left the window open at night so they declare a “Bat Night at the Library!” Their nocturnal capers include swimming in the water fountain, forming fun shadows on the walls, creating their own story time, and making copies of themselves on the duplicating machine. Lies’ luminescent drawings set the tone for the lively romp through the library at night.
Emphasize the rhyming words at the end of sentences and then repeat the two words—“All this sameness leaves us blue and makes us ache for something new. Blue-new. Talk about rhyming words, brainstorming more words that rhyme with “new” or add a rhyming line to the page that relates to the story and picture. An understanding of rhyme is a precursor to reading. Talk about the fact that the author and illustrator are the same person. Read about the author on the book jacket or look him up on the Internet. It sounds like he had a librarian friend who found a bat who had come for a visit at night. Did this spark his story? He must have a sense of humor because his picture on the back book jacket is upside down–just like his winged friends.
Point out the rich vocabulary the author uses in lines like “We’ve feasted, fluttered, swooped and soared and yet…we’re still a little bored.” Who feasts? Who flutters? Who swoops? Who soars? Use the new words to describe other animals, people or things.
If you like this one, you may want to take a look at Bats at the Beach by the same author.
