Review: A Place for Bats

I don't really like bats.  I think they are creepy.  I also fear that all of them have rabies, even though I know that isn't the case.  But, on the flip side, I know they are an important part of the ecosystem and that their natural habitats are slowing being wiped out.

A Place for Bats by Melissa Stewart really opened my eyes and helped me understand a little more about bats (even though I still think they're creepy).

 

Here is the summary from amazon:

In simple yet informative language, A Place for Bats introduces young readers to ways human action or inaction can affect bat populations and opens kids minds to a wide range of environmental issues. Describing various examples, the text provides an intriguing look at bats, at the ecosystems that support their survival, and at the efforts of some people to save them. At the end of the book, the author offers readers a list of things they can do to help protect these special creatures in their own communities. Artist Higgins Bond s glorious full-color illustrations vividly and accurately depict the bats and their surroundings.

I liked that A Place for Bats talked a little bit about each kind of bat that lives in the United States, their disappearing habitats and what we could do to help.  I liked that there was a storyline that tied each page together, but there were also sidebars full of information.

Don't miss the maps on the front and back inside covers, they show the range boundaries for all of the bats mentioned.

The illustrations were so detailed and (even though they were bats) beautiful in their own right.  Higgins Bond is very talented and did a wonderful job.

I can't wait to share this book with my students, specifically one of my 4th graders---he's doing a research project on bats and would love to read this!

*I'd like to thank Peachtree Publishers for sending me a copy of this book, I really appreciate it*