Owl Bat Bat Owl

Reviewed by: Carla McAllister - New Gloucester Public Library, N, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 3, 2018

Review

This is a true picture book; it has no text. Kids will quickly figure out what is going on in this tale about a Mom and her three little owls and a Mom with her three little bats. Mom and her baby owls are fine and dandy hanging out on their branch. Suddenly, a Mom bat and her three little bats arrive and decide to set up housekeeping on the other side of the branch, hanging upside down beneath the owls. It does not seem that this will go well. The Owl Mom is not impressed. The littlest owl, however, is quite curious and non-judgmental about these strange interlopers. When a huge wind storm arises and all the tenants of this branch are blown hither and yon, Mom instincts kick in and the Moms help one another to bring all the babies to safety. The illustrations by this Irish author and illustrator are absolutely lovely and this reader is amazed by how a few brushstrokes and changes in the eyes and mouths can relate a myriad of feelings that are taking place with all the inhabitants of this one branch. This story might teach us all a lesson about the acceptance that youngsters exhibit and the fact that they learn from their elders how to dismiss anyone not just like us.

Overall Book Score: very good