Bat Time

Ever since my daughter was conceived she has been immersed in books. From audio books played over the womb, the nightly ritual of reading aloud with mommy and daddy, to our weekly trips to the library, her world is wrapped in books. On her third birthday, she was given a book called Bat Time. Imagine my surprise when this book became her most requested story. Since that time, Bat Time has been read at least once or twice every night. All of us find a particular comfort level in one or two books during our life and they become our signature story. When my daughter met the characters of Leila, Mr. Mackerty, Ms. Kottmier, Mr. Parault, Mom, Dad, and of course, those wonderful bats and other animals, she immediately identified and found a little piece of her own imaginary world. She always asks how Mr. Mackerty's hair got so white. She feels the warm water when Leila is taking her bath. She snuggles close to her own daddy when Leila's daddy reads to her. She loves to count the number of ducks flying across the dark starlit sky. I have to remind her every night that the cat is named Coriander. And she gets as excited as Leila when the bats finally appear and do their nightly dance in the sky looking for insects. And finally, she points out that Leila is asleep and we have to be quiet now or we will wake her up. She also tells me that she doesn't want to sleep with a bat, she just wants to watch them in the book.Bat Time is a book that lets children spark their imagination and see a world of love, caring, closeness, and understanding of the creatures that inhabit our neighborhoods and are a part of our lives. This book shows that the misunderstood bat has friends and that are loved too. I highly recommend this book for preschoolers and above...