I read this out loud to my 10-year-old son at bedtime, and he absolutely adored it.  He wished the book was longer, and he hopes there will be more Megabat books in the future!  The character of Megabat was really adorable with his cute syntax and vocabulary.

Megabat is a funny, sweet story about a lonely boy and a bat, who become friends over their shared love of Darth Vader and jellyrolls. Darling illustrations by talented artist Kass Reich add warmth and good humor.

Thank you to the author, Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#Megabat #NetGalley

Things I liked about this book:  The story really is a cute make-believe about a talking bat.  Daniel makes a new friend, a Megabat (aka Fruit Bat) hiding in the bedroom of Daniel's new home.  Megabat is sad because he misses his family, having been shipped across the world from Borneo in a box of papaya.  Daniel shows ingenuity and empathy in trying to get Megabat home.  Daniel makes another new friend, Talia, who lives next door, and is eager to aid and abet Daniel with his plan to get Megabat back home.   I liked the way the kids had to work out methods to get Megabat home.  I like that Daniel immediately thought of the library as the place to learn what they needed to know about bats.  

Things I did NOT like about this book:   The bribe to keep Talia's horrid little brother Jamie quiet about the bat.   I get it, there needed to be a villain, but the kids bribe the little monster and then plot to get out of it.  Not very ethical behaviour, even if it WAS to protect Megabat.    I choose books for kids that can elicit good discussion on appropriate ways to behave and why.  If I was to choose this book (and I might because the story really is cute) I would have to talk about poor choices the main characters make, and that seems unfortunate.  I would also have to emphasize to young readers that bats can bite and carry rabies and while this story is fun make-believe, kids should NEVER keep a bat without telling a grown-up.

Well gosh darn it, if Megabat isn’t the cutest thing!  This book is tagged as middle grade fiction, but I would pin the reading level down to that of early novel readers.  Of course, reading levels say nothing of enjoyment, as I loved every minute of this delightful little book.  And the illustrations, which taken with Megabat’s unique manner of speaking, make him a most endearing little character.

Anna Humphrey has written a fun little story with a whole lot of heart and Kass Reich’s illustrations really bring Megabat to life.  Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC.  I look forward to sharing it with my children.

A really nice and enjoyable children's book about helping others. I really enjoyed the feel-good storyline and the characters. This will leave you with a warm feeling inside your heart.

Daniel is unhappy about moving to a new house but a surprise friendship with a bat makes the transition more bearable.  At first, Daniel thinks a ghost is living with him in his attic bedroom but quickly discovers that the ghost is really a fruit bat who can talk! Like Daniel, Bat is homesick.  He needs Daniel’s help to get back to the land of Papaya Premium, which Daniel learns from researching is Borneo.

Daniel is determined to help his new friend whose is renamed Megabat due to Daniel’s bat research and his love for Star Wars. Daniel soon meets next door neighbors Talia and her brother Jamie. An animal lover, Talia offers to help Daniel get Megabat home, but the two encounter obstacles with every attempt. And it doesn’t help that Jamie’s  blackmailing Talia to be his servant in exchange for keeping talking Megabat a secret from their mom.

For readers transitioning to chapter books, Megabat is a great addition to a classroom library.  Young readers will be able to identify with Daniel and enjoy the Star Wars references.  Reich’s adorable illustrations of Megabat along with his fun personality will also draw in the reader.  Fingers crossed this is the first of many books in an engaging series for early elementary readers.

I found this book absolutely adorable! "Megabat" is a fast-paced, entertaining, and heartwarming story with extremely likable characters and a sweet message of friendship. I highly recommend this charming book to children and adults alike!

Such a cute story! I love the characters and the relationships they build with each other throughout the book. Overall, I think it's pretty easy to read too except for some of the phonetic writing when the bat speaks. I see young readers loving the lovable bat, the main character Daniel's conviction to help his new friend, and all the other sweet details throughout the book.

This book was a disaster! The kids keep a sick bat and don't tell their parents; hello - rabies! They keep a sick bat a secret with no consequences. You don't write storylines like that in books for this age group because if they find a sick bat they are going think it is cool, like these kids, and keep it a secret from the adults and possibly contract rabies. The publisher is irresponsible in publishing this story. The science was also bad. Even if it is a talking bat it has to fit the size of its species and be able to fly / not fly according to real world physics. This book is not a good idea for its intended age group.

First let me thank Netgalley for an advanced digital copy. This is such a cute book. The story is unique & fun and I loved the illustrations. The story follows Daniel, a young boy that just moved into a new house and is sad to leave his old school and friends. He believes his new attic room is haunted but soon finds what really is creeping around his room at night. This book releases in August so it would be a really great Halloween gift. I highly recommend this to bat lovers of all ages.

I read this book outloud to my neices. Let me say it was hard to read. The bat's lingo was hard to express that it was coming from the bat and not just bad writing and grammer. I dont understand what the point of the story was at the end becuase there were so may small ideas that bothered me. Some bothersome things included making friends with the neighbor, the bad boy next door or calling the parent's by the first name. I found that this book did not have a good flow and kept making up stuff that could have ben edited out.

Cute story for an early chapter book reader.  I think 1st through 3rd grade students would enjoy this.  Not too long, not too short.

This was a cute story about a boy and a lost bat who were both struggling with the loneliness of being stuck in a new place.  With the help of new friends, both human and animal, the duo overcomes their fears and loneliness to make new friends.

This is a lovely story about new beginnings and new friends!

Daniel and his family have just moved from Toronto to a new house, away from his old life and his friends. The neighbors have two children about his age, but Daniel is not keen on meeting them. He misses his old life and prefers to spend time in his room. The very first night in the new house, Daniel comes to think that the house is haunted. There is a paddle on which he slips and there is also a voice coming from somewhere in the ceiling!

It turns out that there is no ghost, in the house, just a small fruit bat that is living in Daniel’s room in the attic. The bat was taking a nap on a papaya one day on its beautiful tropic island. When he woke up, he found himself in that old house. Now he is lonely and he wants to go back home to Papaya Premium!

This funny children’s book is enjoyable to read! The story about the boy and the bat is clever enough to keep the young reader going! It talks about a big change in a child’s life and how this can affect the poor thing. At the same time it shows ways that the child can be destructed and try to make new friendships.

For example, the bat was a really good reason for Daniel to seek for help in his mission to ship Megabat back home. This is how he meets with the kids next door, even though he didn’t actually want to meet anyone new! However, the purpose was bigger than his hesitation and it help him find a new good friend, Talia!

Took a bit after reading this to think it over. I 'd guess kids 2nd grade to 5th grade would enjoy this story. It has a lonely boy, a lonely talking fruitbat and both have been moved to new homes (no one asked if they wanted to  be moved), neither are happy, but the boy, Daniel, tries to get Megabat back to his home in Borneo with the help of a new friend, Talia. Seems like a good story reluctant readers may enjoy, too.

What a super book for children. It's the story of a boy and a fruit bat. Daniel has moved to a new home and is very lonely until he meets Megabat. They forge an unusual friendship when they try to get Megabat back to his home of origin. Heart warming and tender with a touch if humour. Ideal for 6 to 9 year olds.

This book just didn't keep my interest, unfortunately. I found the writing very bland and the pacing was off. The illustrations were great. I think it's more of a case of this just not being my cup of tea.

This was a cute book about a boy that moves to a new home and finds that a bat lives there. They become friends. It was a cute fast juvenile read. Great for middle grades (3-4) because it’s a little more advanced than beginning chapter books. I think kids will love the story and the characters.
#netgalley

This was an absolutely adorable book and the illustrations are so cute! I think this book has the potential to appeal to a very broad audience. It's not too girly or boy-ish, and it's fantasy but not overt fantasy. Not only is it adorable, but it has a good message and has heart. I will definitely be requesting this title for my library.

The idea of a little boy having a pet bat was cute and the illustrations were great but I found the way the bat spoke to be awkward. I understand it was to highlight that he was different, but in my opinion it didn't add to the story. After I read it, I thought it was probably just me and that it was obviously geared to a much younger reader. I decided to read it to my grandchildren for their opinion. The 9 and 10 year old just weren't interested. The 5 year old listened for a while and although he perked up a little at the Star Wars references, he really wasn't entertained by the book.