Bats at the...(Brian Lies)

In my search for Halloween-themed picture books, I came across this stunning bat series written and illustrated by Brian Lies.

The illustrations are eye-catching and imaginative.  The books are written in a poetic narrative style that is both creative and engaging.  The author does a remarkable job incorporating beautiful alliteration, consonance, rhyme, and onomatopoeia.  The subjects of the various books are diverse (sports, library, and beach); on the other hand, there is one common bond between all of them:  a sense of community and cooperation.  All the bats play, explore, eat, and learn together.  Parents cuddle and care for their children.  This series which is includes 3 titles (Bats at the Library, Bats at the Ballgame, and Bats at the Beach) is worth checking into!  

Extension Activities

• There are lots of great Bat Crafts that can be done with all ages.
• Learn some Facts about Bats.
• Practice identifying poetic sound devices from the book.
• Create poems (fictional or factual) about bats.
• Plan a trip (or write about a trip already taken) to a baseball game, a library, or beach.  Then write about the experience in poetic, narrative, or journal form.
• Students can image they are a bat in one of the books.  Then, they might create a journal entry or draw a picture about their experience.  
• Create a new product that could be marketed at the baseball game, library, or beach that is geared for bats.  See examples in the book, such as Cricket Jack and bug-mallows.
• Check out the author Brian Lies Website.  He has some bat activities and teacher guides for some of the books.
• Check the ideas in the links Links to Units and Activities throughout the Web and Links for Bat Activities ABKL Designs.