Review by Booklist Review
After Bats at the Beach (2006) and Bats at the Library (2008), Lies treats his winged friends to a night at the ballpark, and the result is even more affecting. Amid the claw-biting action are jokes aplenty (the vendors sell mothdogs ), but the chief emotion evoked is one of magic: We wing from dark to dazzling bright, / startled by the stunning sight / of colors like we've never seen: / the brown so brown, the green so green. Lies' acrylic hues hide much detail in the shadow; his stanzas have similar subtle power.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Baseball stadiums have an innate magic, never more so than in the hands of Lies, whose latest has the winged creatures gathering for an epic game, complete with "beenuts and Cricket Jack," and an upside down audience. Smooth, unhurried rhymes illuminate a hidden world where bats, like humans, "feel a magic shift,/ and ride the currents of the game/ as time is set adrift." Each gleaming page is thick with detail, from the bats' first arrival ("We wing from dark to dazzling bright,/ startled by the stunning sight") to the final play. Fans of the other baseball bats will certainly enjoy these ones. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Author/illustrator Brian Lies scores a baseball triple when he narrates his third book (Houghton Mifflin, 2010) featuring bats. This one is set at a thrilling evening ballgame. With rhyming verse and delightful puns, Lies creates a complete picture of what it would be like if bats played baseball-from the American flag being flown in for the National Anthem to vendors who hawk "moth dogs" and "Cricket Jack" to a grounds crew that marks baselines with powdered sugar and rakes with forks. His beautifully detailed, brilliantly colored, and wonderfully imaginative acrylic illustrations are enlivened by the music of Max Coyote Nova, the occasional voice of an announcer, reactions from the crowd, and the crack of the bat. When the home team and its fans fly out to the carnival tent to meet the rivals who have beaten them every time, spirits are high. However, inning after inning of disappointing plays make the crowd anxious. Old-timers reminisce, with images that flicker slightly, creating the effect of an old movie. The video takes us upside down and back again, as it recreates the view that the bats would have, just as the author intended. In a bonus feature, Lies tells of the pun that inspired this book, and of his desire to spark the imaginations of the audience. While baseball fans will delight in some of the references, everyone will appreciate the clever puns, the plays on words, and the amazing attention to detail that bring this ballgame to life.-MaryAnn Karre, Horace Mann Elementary School, Binghamton, NY (c) Copyright 2011. 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
The flying mammals from Bats at the Library and Bats at the Beach are at a baseball game. Hanging upside down in the stands, the bats eat "Cricket Jack" and "mothdogs" while rooting for their team. The text's rhymes build with excitement, and they're a hoot to read aloud. Acrylic illustrations filled with bat humor are also a home run. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
aabb form for setup and denouement and heightened "Casey at the Bat" cadences and couplets for the game itself. Lies's acrylic illustrations appear as full- and double-page spreads and scattered, unframed vignettes, and all are filled with copious detail depicting uniforms, regalia and play-by-play. The visual effect is quite stunning, with some fantastically disorienting upside-down spreads to reflect the fans' hanging position, and much of the language is utterly delicious. A broad knowledge of baseball and its place in the American consciousness is assumed, as is an ability to roll with rather sophisticated vocabulary and phrasing. But as a read-aloud by a baseball fan, it's sure to inspire a love of the gameand maybe of bats as well. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
