Review by Booklist Review
K-Gr. 2. The trope of a day at the beach is turned on its head with a family of bats that spend a night there, complete with "moon-tan lotion." Young bats play with "the stuff they find" and bury each other in the sand; older ones sing around the campfire and toast "bug-mallows" (an episode accompanied by a slightly icky image of marshmallows with legs and wings). The rhyming text, which floats white against the dark backdrops, leaves no beach activity or experience unmentioned, right down to the unpleasant feel of itchy sand "where no sand should be." The acrylic paintings are appropriately dark but never muddy, and the gently anthropomorphized bats, every strand of fur sharply delineated, follow in the cute-but-still-batlike tradition of Stellaluna 0 (1993). Readers will be swept right along until the sun comes up and the bats return home: "We sigh and snuggle close together / to dream about the moony weather." --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-A large family of bats enjoy a night at the beach in this whimsical rhyming romp based on the book (Houghton Mifflin, 2006) written, illustrated, and narrated by Brian Lies. Beach blankets, buckets, books, and moon-tan lotion accompany the brood on their fun-filled expedition. Little ones build sand castles and toast bug-mallows around the campfire while the overweight old bats don polka-dot swimsuits and lie on lounge chairs. At "munchtime," they enjoy beetles, ants, milkweed bugs, and the occasional strawberry with new friends. Paper cocktail umbrellas shade the moonbeams, a red-checked food container serves as a sailboat, and drinking straws make excellent play swords. Lively country banjo music performed by The Flanks and striking art with fanciful details enliven the iconographic production. The amiable brown bats come to life against the dark blue sky. An interview with the author begins with a cleverly "hung" upside-down photo of Lies; he explains how he got the idea for the book from his daughter and how he became an illustrator. He also encourages children with the insight that "hard work is more important than being born with a special talent." Show this offering at summertime story hours or to add a flight of fancy to bat units.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A community of bats flies off on a warm night for a picnic at the beach, enjoying activities including digging in the sand, surfing, and snoozing. As the sun rises, the bats pack up their gear and head home. The acrylic paintings capture a moonlit night's deep shadows and reinforce the exuberant, rhyming text. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Gathering up "our buckets, trowels, / banjoes, blankets, books, and towels," a family of bats flits out to the beach for a moonlit picnic of "yummy treats"--"Beetles, ants, and milkweed bugs, / crickets, moths, and pickled slugs. / Damselflies, or salted 'skeeters-- / no room here for picky eaters!" Aside from the deliciously macabre menu, it's not too different from a human outing; in Lies's lambent, exactly detailed paintings, bats with an appealingly mouse-like look cavort happily through the waves, play volleyball and other games or snuggle into comfy laps around a glowing campfire as the grownups chat amiably. As a purpling sky to the east signals that it's time to clean up, they "flutter homeward, drained and weary," as "small bats doze off, tired and teary." Perfect for sharing with younglings of the wingless sort, when it's time for them to do the same. (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
