Review: The Bat Book by Charlotte Milner

The Bat Book
by Charlotte Milner; illustrated by Charlotte Milner

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 48
Publisher: DK Children
Publication date: February 4, 2020
Suggested tags: picture book, nonfiction, animals, conservation

From the publisher:

"Take an amazing journey through the upside-down world of bats.

Bright, bold, and beautiful illustrations accompany fascinating facts about these furry flying mammals and their importance to the world we live in.

From the way they fly, to how they communicate with one another, how they hunt, and why they sleep upside-down, each of the world's 1,300 types of bat is unique and utterly fascinating. Bats are also incredibly important to the environment. As well as gobbling up pests, and spreading seeds through the forests, they also pollinate more than 500 different species of plants throughout the world, including some of our favorite fruits such as mangoes and bananas.

Following on from The Bee Book and The Sea Book, Charlotte Milner continues to highlight important ecological issues faced by our planet to children, this time focusing on the world's only flying mammals. The Bat Book is perfect to teach little animal-lovers all about these clever creatures who do so much for our planet. Discover how much they matter, why they are declining, and what we can do to help. This charming celebration of bats shows children just how extraordinary these animals are, and is a reminder that it is up to us to care for our planet and its creatures."

I've been meaning to read The Bee Book and The Sea Book by this same author, but I never got around to it... Now I can't wait to get my hands on them!! I loved this colorful, wonderful introduction to bats and the ways we can help protect them. There is plenty of information provided, but it's spread out nicely across each spread of pages so it never feels overwhelming. The illustrations are detailed, but they are soft and pleasant. I think bats are pretty cute IRL, but these bats are adorable!

The first part of the book gives information about bats - how they look, how they fly, where they live, what they do, etc. It gives a lot of great info about how bats help the world, including us humans - by pollinating, spreading seeds, and helping with reforestation.

The last part of the book explains some of the challenges bats are facing and how we can help protect them, such as by making seed balls (instructions included!), planting bat-friendly gardens, or hanging bat houses.

This was a really well-illustrated and nicely balanced informational book about bats. I think older picture book readers would really love all the neat facts and the detailed pictures. As a librarian, I always think about how I could use a book at library programs - there is perhaps a bit too much info to read word-for-word at a storytime, but I would not hesitate to use portions of this book to read aloud during a conservation-themed program. I think an age range of somewhere around 5-10 years old would love being shown some of the pages about how bats spread seeds and help conserve ecosystems, followed by a snack of some fruits that bats help to grow, and wrap it up by following the directions in the book to make their own seed balls to take home. I could see this working for younger kids at home with a parent/caregiver also, or a homeschool or scout group looking into some environmental conservation topics. Overall, I think it's a great book and I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out for more titles in this line!


Final verdict: I loved it! I thought this book was great! I might buy it for myself and I would definitely recommend it to others.

{ Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy.
My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; 

your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }

This review is for the 

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2020, 

hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy!

You can find more info about the challenge in my post here, 

or on the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2020 page!