This captivating story about a baby bat named Stellaluna manages to make an endearing impression of a creature otherwise thought of as scary. At the beginning of the story Stellaluna is separated from her mother during an attack of an owl. Stellaluna drops into a birds nest and quickly adapts to the... more

This captivating story about a baby bat named Stellaluna manages to make an endearing impression of a creature otherwise thought of as scary. At the beginning of the story Stellaluna is separated from her mother during an attack of an owl. Stellaluna drops into a birds nest and quickly adapts to their way of life. She learns to sleep at night and fly during the day. She learns to sleep in the nest instead of hanging by her feet, which is what comes naturally to her. When she gets hungry enough, she eats bugs instead of the fruit she is used to. One day Stellaluna gets separated from her bird friends, and soon encounters a group of bats. One of them turns out to be her mother who is finally able to take Stellaluna back home. She learns she can see in the dark, and is finally able to sleep upside down again! She can’t wait to share with her bird friends everything that she has discovered. Stellaluna realizes that even though she is different, the birds will always be her friends! Cannon’s full page acrylic, watercolor illustrations are so vivid and realistic that a reader might need to look twice when trying to determine if the photos are real or digitally created. Although the story itself is a great one with a good lesson, the stunning illustrations are really what set this book apart. This would be a useful book for a teacher to use for a unit about fruit bats, birds or other animals.