Baby Bat's Lullaby

PreSchool-Grade 1–Mitchard infuses poetic freshness and a delicately compelling tone into the familiar format of a bedtime story, as a mother bat comforts her little one: "Dearer than night,/Brown eyes bright,/My jewel so soft,/My dancer aloft,/My baby bat." Done in acrylic and oil paints, the striking and endearing artwork reflects the creatures' environment, activities, personalities, and–most importantly–the tender affection they share. The illustrations encompass images as diverse as a red barn surrounded by newly ploughed fields, a close-up of the young bat stalking mosquitoes, and the cozy wood-beamed rafters of home. Baby bat's play among the white-pink mallows, set against the backdrop of a deep blue sky that's fading to daylight, is both dramatic and charming. However, it is in the depictions of the relationship between mother and child that Noonan displays her gift for echoing and amplifying the emotions of the descriptive verses. The idea of going to sleep at daybreak is unique in a bedtime story, and lovable bats aren't hanging in droves from children's bookshelves. With its spare, exquisite language and its evocative artwork, this lullaby is as soothing as it is entrancing.–Susan Weitz, Spencer-Van Etten Schools, Spencer, NY
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