Bats

Children's Literature

Bats is one volume of Bridgestone's "World of Mammals" series intended for new or struggling readers and created according to certain guidelines. Text appears on the right side of each one-page chapter (of which there are eight), with a color photograph, a map, or a life cycle drawing on the left. Vocabulary is controlled; the style is simple and forthright. The information appears correct; the six bat photos are well chosen to illustrate the corresponding text. That being said, one wonders how useful the slender books can be, especially considering the price. For beginning readers the text, which is necessarily brief, may provide enough information (only four bat species of the many existing ones are shown: the fruit bat, the pallid, the hog-nosed, and the vampire); older readers may demand more, no matter what level their reading skills. Teachers and librarians must weigh the advantages of easy access against the question of motivation on the part of students reluctant to delve into a book. Surely a livelier format and imaginative illustrations, combined with a wealth of intriguing information, might provide greater appeal. Books like Eyewitness Juniors' Amazing Bats (Knopf, 1991), Bats!: Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle (Boyds Mills, 2000), or, for younger students, Janell Cannon's Stellaluna (Harcourt, 1993) may just prove to be better bargains. On the other hand, in well-endowed libraries and media centers this could be a good introductory series for the youngest readers. For true bat lovers, however, much more research will be imperative. 2006, Capstone, Ages 6 to 9.
—Barbara L. Talcroft