Murcielagos En La Biblioteca (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Over the summer, I visited Austin, Texas, and every evening at dusk, people gather at a bridge near downtown to watch the bats fly out all at once. It is quite a spectacle, and among the ooos and ahhhs, you hear some children scream. Not the blood curdling, run-for-your-life scream, but the kind that is a mix of surprise and excitement. That is what Brian Lies brings with this book, a reprint of the 2010 edition.Written and illustrated by Lies, the book details a group of bats whose nightly adventures have grown tiresome, and they are looking for something new to do. Luckily for them, the local librarian has left a window open. Now, these cute creatures can fly to the library and read until dawn!With rhyming stanzas, young readers can experience the sudden joy of getting to read, and with stunning illustrations, children, who may be fearful, will quickly see how cuddly bats can be. One illustration in particular depicts a bat with glasses while another shows a mother and baby bat listening to other bats read.Endearing illustrations and powerful text prove the power of reading is still strong! Parents need to know that this batty adventure is full of silliness as well as being a terrific reference to classic children's literature. In the illustrations, kids will enjoy finding characters from books they may have already read.Educational valueShows bats reading great children's literature and acting out their favorites.Positive messagesEncourages exploring the library and enjoying a good children's book.Violence & scarinessThese bats are friendly and playful, not scary.LanguageNot applicableBooklist (October 15, 2008 (Vol. 105, No. 4))Preschool-Grade 3. An open library window is an invitation for a colony of bats in this sequel to Bats at the Beach (2006). Once inside, older bats look for favorite books, while younger ones explore and play. Storytime settles everyone down and transports them into the tales, filled with bat characters playing new roles. The bat homage to classic children’s books includes titles like Goodnight Sun, while images such as Little Red Riding Bat will amuse children who are familiar with the originals. The rhymed narrative serves primarily as the vehicle for the appealing acrylic illustrations that teem with bats so charming they will even win over chiroptophobes.Horn Book (Spring 2009)Bats invade a library after hours. The first-person-plural rhymes are amusing, but without its bat protagonists, the story would be a conventional love letter to books and reading ("It feels as though we've just begun, / but now we leave our books half done"). Still, the brooding acrylics are impressive, especially when Lies imitates some classic kids'-book art with bat embellishments.Kirkus Reviews (August 15, 2008)In this latest from Lies, it's all--deservingly--about the artwork. He brings a sure, expressive and transporting hand to this story of a colony of bats paying a nighttime visit to a small-town library. There is enough merriness here to keep the story bubbling, and young readers will certainly identify with some of the bats that have gotten a bit bored by the visit, as bats will do, and started monkeying around with the photocopier. There is a lovely image of a group of bats hanging around the rim of a reading lamp listening to a story; the peach-colored light illuminates the immediate vicinity while the rest of the library is shadowed and mysterious. The rhymed text, on the other hand, feels unmulled, leaving the artwork to do the heavy lifting. Pictures light-handedly capture the Cheshire Bat, Winnie the Bat and Little Red Riding Bat, only to be trumped by some ill-considered sermonizing--"But little bats will have to learn / the reason that we must return." Buy it for the pictures. (Picture book. 4-8) Library Media Connection (March/April 2009)The story, written in rhyme, begins with bored bats on another dull evening. Then relief arrives! There is a window open at their favorite place?the library. The older bats quickly go and find their favorite books to read while the younger bats do not know what to expect. Soon there are bats making funny shadows on the wall using the overhead projector, photocopying themselves, and playing in the water fountain. Before long, all the bats are immersed in the stories they are reading. The bats are surprised to see that daylight is coming and quickly exit the library. The author?s full page illustrations appear in various hues of blue to gold reflecting the passage of time. In the last set of lines, the bats are thinking about all the things they read and look forward to the call for ?Bat Night at the Library.? My favorite lines in the story are ?Please keep it down?you must behave! This library is not your cave!? This is an enjoyable story for young library visitors. Recommended. Sandy Scroggs, Librarian, Schenck Elementary School, San Antonio TexasPublishers Weekly (July 14, 2008)Lies's (Bats at the Beach) much-lauded bats are back and the library's got them--thanks to a window left open by an unsuspecting (or perhaps sympathetic) librarian. Although the young ones initially misbehave (they make photocopies of their bodies and turn the water fountain into a splash pool), Lies cuts them a little slack: "It's hard to settle down and read/ when life flits by at dizzy speed." Story time settles everyone (upside-)down, and soon the furry creatures are "completely swallowed up" in books, giving Lies comic license to bat-tify the signature visuals from classics like Make Way For Ducklings; Pippi Longstocking; Goodnight, Moon and Peter Rabbit. As with its predecessor, this book's richly detailed chiaroscuro paintings find considerable humor at the intersection where bat and human behavior meet. But the author/artist outdoes himself: the library-after-dark setting works a magic all its own, taking Lies and his audience to a an intensely personal place. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.School Library Journal (November 1, 2008)PreS-Gr 3-In this companion to Bats at the Beach (Houghton, 2006), Lies pays homage to the pleasures to be found within libraries and books. The story opens on three winged creatures clinging to an autumnal branch against the backdrop of evening. Observant readers will recognize the young bat with yellow "water wings" from the earlier title and notice that the chimney and trees at the top of the page point downward-a cue to attend to perspective. The bats are bored, but an antidote is announced: someone left a window open in the library. The golden glow from spotlights on the side of the building and an Arts and Crafts-style reading lamp illuminate the nocturnal adventures in this handsome, traditional space. The bats cluster according to interests. Some peruse "guides to fancy foods" (insect books) and form literary discussion groups. The younger mammals make images of themselves at the copier, frolic in the fountain, play at the computer, and explore the gingerbread castle in a pop-up book. An impromptu storytime brings everyone together, however, and after the pint-size protagonist is literally drawn into the featured book, two spreads reveal a montage of scenes from classic stories, with bats in the starring roles. Lies's acrylics are a successful fusion of fantasy and reality. The rhyming narrative is generally smooth, with enough humor and sophistication to propel readers along. And who can argue with the message?-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
What do You think about Murcielagos En La Biblioteca (2009)?
A great read aloud book. Also, just in time for Halloween.
—shanelle
Very cute story about the fun to be had at the library!
—Carrie
