Cover Image: The Bat

The Bat

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Member Reviews

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love this series, and think this one is my son's favorite. The Bat is entertaining, informative, and beautifully illstrated.

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A cute book with interesting tidbits of information about bats, made even better by the adorable illustrations and commentary from the bats and other creatures shown. It contains good advice (leave them alone and they won't hurt you), and helps to dismiss some of the negative beliefs people have about them. Bats are very helpful, they should get more love! A fun, engaging read for early readers.

#TheBat #NetGalley

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I absolutely loved this book along with The Cockroach! I will be adding both of these titles to my classroom library (along with whatever other book that Elise Gravel has that is similar). This is the type of book my students love to read. They crave nonfiction information. Bats have always had a soft spot in my heart and I can't wait to share with my students! love the illustrations and the comments from the bat throughout the story. So fun!

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Title: The Bat
Series: N/A
Author: Elise Gravel
Publisher: Tundra Books
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Genre: Children's Book | Non-Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars

This book was a very cute non-fiction book about bats. it provides a lot of facts accompanied by an array of illustrations that are both quirky and informative. It talks about their traits, their appearances, their diet, and the special skills that they have as animals. Though it looks like a cute story it actually delivers factual information in a way that children can find fascinating, and amusing. It is a rare talent to be able to charm and teach at the same time. I recommend this book for children who are still young but love animals.


Disclaimer: I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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'The Bat' with words and illustrations by Elise Gravel is a fun nonfiction book for young readers.

On the first page, the bat is introduced. We learn facts about its fingers how many species there are. We learn what bats eat how they sleep.

The illustrations are fun. The facts are pretty cool. A young reader might need help with words like chiroptera, but that's part of the fun. It's a nicely written science book with lots of fun pictures.

I received a review copy of this ebook issue from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

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Quirky new book in an ongoing critter series from award-winning author-cartoonist Elise Gravel.. Also full of bat facts! Picture-book style nonfiction for new readers - a fun way to learn about bats with eye-catching illustrations and friendly, engaging text.

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The Bat by Elise Gravel is an illustrated nonfiction book about bats perfect for beginning readers. It is currently scheduled for release on February 4 2020. This book uses conversational text and silly illustrations to teach readers about habitat (bats live everywhere except Antarctica!), species (there are over 1,200 kinds of bats), echolocation, hibernation (bats hibernate just like bears!), conservation (don't disturb a sleeping bat!) and much more. Although silly and off-the-wall, it contains factual information that will both amuse and teach at the same time.

The Bat gives the youngest readers a good introduction to facts about bats. There are some interesting facts, and important information about safety and why bats are not scary. The illustrations are fun and bold, with a touch of silly to keep the readers engaged.The text and images on each page work together perfectly and keep the narrative moving along nicely. I found the balance of fun and fact to be good for those readers with short attention spans, and that prefer the sillier stories to non fiction text. I think this would be a hit with the preschool and lower elementary school crowd.

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Gravel's animal books are an interesting approach. They introduce us to misunderstood or reviled creatures in an accessible way. We are presented with an assortment of simple facts that might allow us to better appreciate the creature and it's role in the world. It is just a dozen or so facts but that makes it quite accessible for an early elementary reader.

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I love reading children’s books and sharing them with others. The Bat is such a lovely book and I am sure the students I teach will love it too! Learning about bats shouldn’t be boring and this book makes sure it doesn’t bore you at all. It would be a great addition to any classroom!

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This book is cute and informative--it will be the perfect addition to our elementary unit on bats. I love using Elise Gravel's books with little ones who struggle with focusing, because the pictures/humor often help them to connect with the material.

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I love the whole vibe of this book! It's educational and also very humorous. Kid's will love the little personable CHIROPTERA ( the scientific name ) for a bat. He chats throughout the story giving the reader a wonderful sense of his witty personality and also an understanding of the true facts that are presented about him. It's a perfect combo for kids of all ages to learn about his uniqueness: that he hibernates, sleeps hanging upside down, and his special gift of echolocation just to name a few. Wow!


They will discover that he is a mammal, the only mammal that can fly. Bat babies are born live and furry and their mommy feeds them her milk. Later on they eat insects, fruit and some even drink animal blood to survive and grow into maturity.

"The Bat" will not only entertain but teach which is wonderful. The illustrations and sweet quirky comments of the little guy will have the reading audience smiling and connecting with him all throughout.


This book is the 6th book in the series " Disgusting Critters."
I highly, highly recommend this book and the entire series.

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A great example of the future of children's nonfiction. Simple drawings with few sentences per page and bold text for important words. Even though it is nonfiction the bat still a little bit of personality along with the other "characters" in this book. Children ages 5 to 9 will fall in love with science.

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This picture book introduces facts about bats in a fun way! The illustrations are fun and engaging, with good scientific content behind it. Even the typeset adds interest, with different sizes and colors highlighting information.
I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Bats are incredible creatures--a valuable part of the ecosystem, they see via echolocation, they eat bugs, and above all else, they're quite handsome!  A simple yet inviting book to educate about bats, The Bat makes for an entertaining and at times comical picture book.  The bat aids in narrating this text, and helps younger readers stay involved.  The illustrations are just darling, and the information about bats presented isn't too difficult to understand for even the earliest reader.  A great, informational book that's perfect for the child who enjoys the potentially creepy.  Perfect for grades K-2.

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Well this was adorable! Contained some easy bat facts, cute illustrations, and wasn't too long or too short. I would definitely include this for a younger elementary child who wanted to learn about bats, or who you wanted to start reading non-fiction with. My 6 year old could definitely read this herself, and would find a few new facts.

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I just realized that this book is intended for 6-9-year-olds. I'd love to recommend it to kids younger as well who love to learn about different animals. I definitely learned a few things.

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The Bat is a cute nonfiction picture book aimed at youngsters showing the coolness and usefulness of bats. Originally published in 2016 in French, this English edition is due out 4th Feb 2020 from Penguin Random House on their Tundra imprint, has 32 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

The art is whimsical and appealing (see cover), and the text is fact based and scientifically accurate. The important ecological niches and functions that bats perform are explained in accessible age-appropriate language as well as the challenges they face confronted with disappearing habitat, pollution, and other problems in the world today.

This would make a super choice for classroom/public library, homeschool library, or gift. Really cute and worthwhile subject for young readers. The graphic design and interactive dialogue would also lend itself quite easily to a bedtime read. My only quibble with the book is that it's apparently one of a series called (in English) 'Disgusting Critters' and while I do know that 'disgusting' is meant as an attractive choice of words for kids, and it's a book with a 100% positive slant toward bats as interesting and vital, it just sat wrong with me. I wish they could've called the series Cool Critters, or Interesting Critters or something. I'm a middle aged science nerd, so I think flatworms are cool, so I'm obviously not the target audience.

Four and a half stars.

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I was given this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had never tried these books before, but they are just great. Gross enough to delight little boys but packed with good information and darlimg illustrations.

The bat was particularly endearing. Highly reccomend!

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A great nonfiction read for beginning readers or those that prefer a graphic novel style book. Focusing on the aspects of what makes bats special, readers will learn what's true and what's fable when it comes to our friends the bats. Fun illustrations will not only educate children, it'll open their curiosity to finding out more about bats.

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A cute little informational book that teaches kids about bats with lots of facts and sweet illustrations.

Thanks Netgalley for the digital ARC.

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