I Am Bat by Morag Hood

I Am Bat by Morag Hood
Buy I Am Bat by Morag Hood at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: Simply and beautifully done, this story made me laugh out loud, and is quite joyous to read!
Buy? yes	Borrow? yes
Pages: 32	Date: September 2017
Publisher: Two Hoots
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9781509834617
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Bat is a creature with very definite opinions. He does not like mornings, for example, but he does like cherries. In fact, he really loves cherries, as they are his favourite of all things! What do you think might happen if somebody takes Bat's cherries? Bat won't be happy, will he?!

Bat, with his vampire teeth, is a rather volatile character, lurching between a sweet and happy discussion of his love of cherries, to fierce protectiveness over them when he is suspicious that the reader might just steal them from him! He is full of threats about how angry he will be if anyone takes his cherries and so of course, when he returns to find some of them missing he is both distraught and angry! He goes so far as to accuse the reader of having stolen them (though the reader has seen who the real thieves are…) and he becomes bereft without his precious cherries. Poor Bat! All is not lost, however, as the mystery thieves give Bat a pear, and Bat soon becomes as protective of his pear as he was of his cherries.

I really enjoyed this story, as did my little boy, and it's one I've sneaked back to, so I can chuckle again at Bat. He is very much like a precocious toddler, protective of his 'stuff', but quite changeable in what is his most favourite thing. I loved his expressions, which switch quickly from serenely happy to extremely angry from one page to the next! I also really liked his interaction with the reader. Bat directly tells the reader to not touch his cherries, and then says (in large bold writing) I will know if you take one, so when you then see the cherries being stolen there is a moment of anxiety as you know that Bat is going to be really cross, and of course he accuses the reader of having taken them! When Bat says Was it you?' with his angry, frowning monobrow, my little boy shouted out 'NO! I didn't take them!' I think we were all relieved when Bat was given a pear and he turned out to like them just as much as cherries!

The bright, bold pictures work perfectly with the short, simple sentences. Each page has impact, and you're directed to give emphasis through larger, bold fonts where necessary. Thanks to the simplicity, it's great to hold up and read aloud to a group of children. Everyone can see what's going on with Bat and his cherries, and the interaction with the reader works well. It's easy to follow, and easy to understand for small children, with no other explanations of what's happening required. I liked how expressive Bat was, even with such simple drawings, and the bright colours somehow give a cheerful, lively pace to the book as you read. I must mention the cover to the hardback version of this book too, as it's really lovely. The title and the outline of Bat are imprinted into the book, so you just want to run your fingers over it to feel the dips of the words and of Bat, whilst Bat's face is raised, so again you run your fingers over his pointy little teeth! It's a small detail, but as a lover of these small touches on books it's very pleasing.

I love cherries with a passion, and I do get grumpy whenever my children eat my cherries from the fridge, so I have to say I did identify somewhat with Bat. I also really loved when Bat talks himself up, saying how angry he will be if anyone takes one of his cherries and saying he will be ferocious like a lion. What a great word ferocious is for a simple picture book! It's a delightful story to read aloud, and I enjoyed throwing myself into Bat's grumpy character. You can get good and loud whilst pretending to be bat! It's very easy to follow, so would be good for small pre-school children right through to those at the end of Key stage one, and beyond (I caught my husband reading it to himself one evening and chuckling over Bat's antics!) We all enjoyed it in our house, so it's definitely recommended!

Further reading suggestion: You might also enjoy reading this story by the same author: When Grandad was a Penguin.

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You can read more book reviews or buy I Am Bat by Morag Hood at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy I Am Bat by Morag Hood at Amazon.com.

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