Best Bat Books for all Ages!

People of all ages can learn something from a good story. Stories can be used to teach morals, lessons, and can also be used as a conservation tool to create new perceptions of misunderstood species. Changing the opinions of children can have long term positive consequences on how they will view and act towards these animals in the future. Many people growing up gained a negative perception of bats, connecting them to spooky stories and learning that they are something to be feared. Sharing stories that spread accurate and interesting information about bats can generate interest about protecting these cool creatures. It can also foster a positive relationship with bats into the future.  

For me, I know my path to become a biologist began with stories about animals and nature at a very young age. Even finding one species you are interested in and enjoy learning about can be the beginning of a more general love and appreciation of nature. This can lead to a desire to work to protect the environment.  

We wanted to share some stories about bats which we read growing up and really enjoyed. We have also added some new ones that have great factual information about bats. Although many of these are children’s stories, they are truly great for all ages and anyone interested in learning more about bats!  

Fictional Book Recommendations for a younger age group: 

  1. Stellaluna By: Janell Cannon. 

One of my all time favourite stories was Stellaluna By: Janell Cannon.  Great for ages 2-6, this children’s story follows the life of a baby fruit bat who is knocked away from her mother and lands in a bird nest. It is a great story which contains a lot of bat facts! This book can be found as a read aloud on YouTube :

  1. Nightsong By: Ari Berk.  

A young bat, on his first night out alone, discovers how to use echolocation to navigate his way through the forest and catch food. This book can be found as a read aloud on YouTube : 

 

  1. The Secret Life of the Little Brown Bat By: Laurance Pringle  

This picture book follows the life of a little brown bat as he learns how to hunt, escape predators and find a mate. This book includes background facts about bats and has some beautiful illustrations. This book can be found as a read aloud on YouTube: 

  1. Amara and the Bats By: Emma Reynolds 

This book follows a young girl with a passion for studying bats. She loves watching bats fly around her house at night but when she moves she realizes there are no bats roosting near by due to trees being cut down. This inspires Amara to take action to help save the bats and shows how young people working together can change the world. This book is set to be released on July 20th, 2021.  

  1. Little Red Bat By: Carole Gerber  

This book follows the journey of a solitary little red bat deciding whether to hibernate or migrate. Eastern Red Bats like the on featured in this story are one of our migratory species that live here in Ontario.  

  1. Bat Loves the Night By: Nicola Davies 

This book describes a typical day in the life of a female bat and how she uses her specialized skills to catch food and navigate through the night. This book can be found as a read aloud on YouTube:   

Fictional Book Series Recommendations for a young adult group: 

  1. The Silverwing Collection (Silverwing, Sunwing, Firewing, Darkwing) By: Canadian author Kenneth Oppel 

This series follows the journey of a young silverwing bat named Shade. Although smaller than the rest of the bats in his colony, he is determined to prove himself on the dangerous migration to the hibernaculum. Of course, it does not go as planned and leads Shade on a new and epic adventure. This series is a favourite among many bat biologists who happened to read it as young adults.  Bardel Entertainment brought Silverwing to life in an animated series! Here’s a sneak peak on YouTube:

Non-Fiction Book Recommendations for Children:  

  1. National Geographic Kids Bats By: Elizabeth Carney 

This book is a Level 2 Reader with great pictures and fascinating facts about bats.  

So explore your local library, bookstore or a YouTube read aloud for these bat books! Plus, we are always on the lookout for more awesome bat stories so please share any new ones you discover with us so that we could add them to our list!  

By: Bridget Sparrow-Scinocca and Krista Nicolson 

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Category : Bats, Conservation, Education
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