Bats in Trouble

September 1, 2017

Gr 3-5-Young Cricket McKay happily spends summers with her grandparents on their Canadian farm. She loves exploring the rolling countryside and its variety of creatures. One day, several dead bats mysteriously appear near the large wind turbines placed on the land. Chiroptera are rare in their part of the world, and Cricket wants to solve the mystery of their fateful appearance. Her friend Shiloh thinks bats are creepy, and her older brother, Tyler, is simply unaware. As Cricket discovers the importance of these flying mammals and how to safeguard them, her family and friends come together. Cricket and her crew plan to spread their bat-saving message during an upcoming town celebration. Can Cricket persuade her community to join her cause? This contemporary story is engaging and stuffed with scientific facts. Readers learn about the many species of bats, their habitats, and migrations. There is also information on wind turbines, and the equilibrium between nature and technology is explored in a relatable way. The writing is direct, and the plot is straightforward. The black-and-white pencil drawings are detailed and add appeal. This installment in the series is set apart by its depiction of young characters learning how to effect positive change through activism. VERDICT A positive, inspiring, and fact-filled addition to an excellent chapter book series.-Sada Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2017
Visiting her grandfather's Alberta farm, Cricket and her best friend, Shilo, discover dead bats near wind turbines operated by the local utility, work out the problem, and find a way to help the bats migrate more safely.This is a third episode in a Canadian series about animal-lover Cricket McKay, who previously saved ospreys and salamanders (Salamander Rescue, 2016, etc.). The 11 short chapters include grayscale illustrations (often occupying a full page) showing the white characters in action. Emerging readers in the primary grades will appreciate the simple, straightforward writing and larger-than-usual type but may be confused by the opening story fragment featuring a character who doesn't figure in the actual story. That ghost story, told around a campfire, is a way of introducing Shilo's fears about bats. Happily, as she learns what bats actually do and don't do, these fears disappear. The two girls identify the dead bats--migrating hoary bats--encounter another local species while sheltering from a hail storm in Mr. McKay's old hay shed, and make origami bats themselves. (A missed illustration opportunity shows several stages of their paper-folding but not the complete instructions.) Finally, they come up with a clever and successful way of sharing their concerns with townspeople and the electric company. An epilogue tells readers more about bats and about the scientific study on which the story is based. Purposeful but effective in delivering an environmental message and encouraging action. (Fiction. 7-9)

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