Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Bats: Biggest! Littlest!

Markle, Sandra.  Bats: Biggest! Littlest!  Boyd's Mills Press     2013  31p   $16.95  ISBN 978-1-59078-952-0  elem/ms  series: Biggest!  Littlest!  Nonfiction  E-BN

With gorgeous full-color photographic illustrations, this wonderful book discusses bats and specifically, the ways in which size is important to each variety.  The book is laid out like an easy reader, but there are facts galore, as well as sophisticated concepts.  The format is very attractive, with large font, easy sentences, and plenty of white space on most of the pages.
This one will pull in the reluctant readers at the middle-school level and even the high-school level who are fascinated with animals and nature.  In addition, it will appeal to younger kids who are into animals, and will give them lots of information with which to impress their peers and the adults in their lives.  Who knew that there are two basic types of bats, divided by the kinds of food they eat?  The list of references and web sites to pursue is just right for the scope of this book.  The map at the end, showing the habitats of the different sorts of bats that have been discussed, is very helpful as well.  An actual listing of the bats covered would have been a welcome addition at the end, as would an index, even though the book is fairly short.          

This book is part of the series Biggest! Littlest!, which also includes books on snakes, spiders, insects and sharks.  

Summary: With gorgeous full-color photographic illustrations, this wonderful book discusses bats and specifically, the ways in which size is important to each variety.  The book is laid out like an easy reader, but there are facts galore, and sophisticated concepts as well.
     
Bats                                                  --Carol Kennedy

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