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Halloween, Hill Country and bat books for fall

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Austin may be the “City of Bats” but we have our share out here in the Hill Country, too. Why not take some time to read about these fascinating animals with your children? You can kill two birds with one stone (pardon this expression, please, I don't mean it literally - I mean I've never killed a bird, really! And besides, bats are mammals!) and get some reading in with some interesting facts about this local favorite.

“Bat Loves the Night” is a fact book that reads like a story and children like to hear it again and again. Written by Nicole Davies and illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies, this is a great nighttime read aloud book with poetic language and beautiful pictures.

You can love the night and take a nighttime walk around your neighborhood. Notice the insects that a bat might snack on. You can look for good places for a bat to live too, like holes in trees, under eaves and bridges. What would make it a better place for bats to live?

Still hungry for more facts? Try “Zipping, Zapping, and Zooming Bats” by Anne Earle and illustrated by Henry Cole. This book is full of information about one of the most misunderstood animals. This has a fun quality and goes beyond the dry paragraph or two in an encyclopedia. In the back there are plans for a bat house you can build at home.

If you like the idea of hosting a colony of bats, there are other options. Bat Conservation International, founded by Merlin D. Tuttle right here in Austin, has plans available on its website, batcon.org. The website is full of interesting info and pictures of bats.

The most famous bat in children's literature is probably Stellaluna, from Janell Cannon's “Stellaluna.” It is about a bat who loses her mother to an owl and falls into a nest of birds. She struggles with her identity but comes to love and accept herself as she is, with all her differences.

You and your child can make plenty of bats to fly on the trees in front of your house. Take some black or brown paper and fold it in half. Cut out the shape of half a bat body and one wing with the fold in the middle. Unfold your bat, poke holes in each wing and tie with a piece of string. Hang them from trees for a spooky decoration.

For a fun take on the life of a bat, there is “Bill the Bat Loves Halloween,” by Daryl K. Cobb with pictures by Manuela Pentangelo. This rhyming story about a bat who gets into mischief on Halloween night is not realistic, but more like reading a cartoon. If you have a reluctant reader around, this might be a hit.

Try making up your own story about a bat. Let your child come up with a name and something silly the bat might do to get in trouble at your house on Halloween. Then they can draw pictures of the story to decorate the front windows of your house.

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