October is a great time to discuss and explore bats, but really you can do this any time of the year. This post shares bat picture books that you can use for this purpose. All of the picture books on this list lend themselves to this topic really well. Take a peek below to learn more about these bat picture books!
5 Bat Picture Books
Below is a list of some of our favorite bat picture books to share with elementary students. They are part of our Bat Book Companion Bundle. Check them out!
1. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon is the heartwarming story of a young bat. One night when flying with her mother, an owl attacks and Stellaluna falls from her mother’s grasp. When she can’t find Mother Bat, Stellaluna joins a family of baby birds. Stellaluna tries her best to fit in with the bird family, even though she doesn’t like eating bugs and misses sleeping upside down.
One afternoon, as the young birds and Stellaluna practice flying, Stellaluna gets separated as the sun begins to set. As she sits on a tree to rest, a curious bat approaches her. He can’t seem to understand why she isn’t acting like a bat. As more bats gather around and Stellaluna tells her story, one bat is amazed! It is Stellaluna’s mother! The two are happy to reunite and Stellaluna learns all about being a bat.
Students will love this sweet story of the young bat’s journey to find out who she really is.
Check out these Stellaluna teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
2. Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies and Sarah Fox-Davies
Nicola Davies and Sarah Fox-Davies share the story of a mother bat going into the night to find food and fly through nature. While telling this story, they also include facts about bats that help readers better understand what is happening in the story. It is an entertaining blend of fiction and nonfiction that students are sure to enjoy.
Bat uses echolocation to fly through the night to find her way through her surroundings and discover food to eat. When she notices the sun is starting to come up, she flies back home to nurse her batling.
They sleep through the day and wait to wake up again in the nighttime.
Check out these Bat Loves the Night teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
3. Nightsong by Ari Berk and Loren Long
The story, Nightsong by Ari Berk and Loren Long, is about a bat named Chiro who is nervous to go out and fly on his own at night. Chiro says that it is too dark and that sometimes he has a hard time seeing. His mother tells him that to help him see, he needs to use his good sense.
Chiro asks his mother what his good sense is, and she says it is the song that he sings out into the world and that it will help guide him through.
When Chiro flies out of the cave, he is nervous and frightened. He remembers to use his good sense and travels across the world following his nightsong.
Chiro notices many different sounds that nature makes and follows his song back home when the sun starts to come back up. Chiro returns to his mother and tells her of all the great things he saw.
Check out these Nightsong teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
4. Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
Library night is finally here in the picture book Bats at the Library by Brian Lies. The bats are thrilled to go to the library and have been waiting all year for this special night.
When the bats get to the library, some read books on fancy foods, some discuss different books they have read, and some play with the copy machine and water fountain.
Even though the bats are full of adventure, storytime settles them down. They get lost in the stories and imagine themselves as being part of the stories they are hearing.
When the sun starts to come up, it is time to leave the library with their heads full of stories, until the next library night.
Check out these Bats at the Library teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
5. Bat’s Big Game by Margaret Read MacDonald
Bat’s Big Game by Margaret Read Macdonald is about a soccer game between the Animal team and the Bird team. When Bat gets to the game, he looks at the two teams and decides that the Animal team looks stronger and like it has a better chance of winning. He decides the Animal team is the one he will play on.
When the game gets started, points are scored quickly between the Animal and Bird teams. Before the players know it, the Bird team is winning. Bat decides he must be on the winning team and takes off his Animal shirt and goes to tell the birds he has just arrived at the game and will be on their team.
When the Animal team starts to win again, Bat switches back into his Animal shirt and tries to go back to their team. Bear catches him and both teams decide to kick Bat out of the game.
Bat says that next time he will only play on one team.
Check out these Bat’s Big Game teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
Grab the Free Reading Resources!
In closing, we hope you found this list of bat picture books helpful! They are part of our Starts With a Story collection. If you want to get more book ideas to read aloud to your elementary students, then grab this reading freebie. It includes read aloud books lists, reading logs, and reading challenges for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers. It will have you covered for the entire school year, as well as the summer months! Grab this free elementary reading packet now!
