Module 1: Bats at the Library

Book Summary:When the window is left open, the library becomes and all-night playground for the bats. They make copies of themselves, make shadow puppets, play in the fountains, and have a storytime.

APA Reference of Book: Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the library. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Impressions: This may be my new picture book. I loved how adorable and quirky the illustrations are. I particularly loved how the bat doing the storytime had the book upside down for the hanging bats and how the one little bat wears water wings the whole time. The prose is really fantastic and flows beautifully. This would be a great book to read aloud, plus bats are just plain cute.
 
Professional Review:"Pictures light-handedly capture the Cheshire Bat, Winnie the Bat and Little Red Riding Bat" (Kirkus Reviews, 2008, para 1) and if one looks closely, there are other little tidbits as well, like a small green Hobbit (or would that be Hob-bat?) door in a hill.  While Kirkus may deem the rhyme about returning items to be preachy, I for one found it rather cute.  (Perhaps as one who always manages to have library fines, I find the idea of instilling good library-item-returning morals in kids particularly hopeful of Lies.)
BATS AT THE LIBRARY. (2008). Kirkus Reviews, 76(16), 194. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Library Uses: This would be nice as part of a whole bat themed storytime, maybe even at night, where you could do information about bats, Bat's at the Library (or any of Lies' books) with a bat craft. The kids could make shadow puppets like the bats. This is also a good time to promote library services and the books that the bats act out in the story.