Little Lost Bat

by Sandra Markle, Alan Marks (Illustrator)

A baby Mexican free-tailed bat clings to the ceiling of a crowded noisy cave, waiting for his mother to return from her daily hunting trip. After three days of searching and waiting, he is rescued by a bat that is in a strangely similar circumstance. A surprising story of adoption in the animal kingdom based on current research.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Science, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Sandra Markle is the author of more than two hundred children's books, which have won numerous awards, including Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, IRA/CBC Children's Choice, NSTA/CBC Outstanding Trade Books for Children, NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended, and ALA Notable Books for Children. She lives in Lakewood Ranch, Florida and frequently travels to schools sharing her program "Sandra Markle's Books Are REAL Adventures."

Reviews

[Lindsi (Do You Dog-ear?) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at your own risk! Little Lost Bat had me SOBBING. You can probably guess why based on the synopsis, and I will never forgive my kids for asking me to read this book to them (just kidding - - love my monsters!). I thought the author did a wonderful job of portraying the bats and how they function as a group. The illustrations were also fantastic and really did the story justice. (★★★★☆)

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[Ashlynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book absolutely traumatized my daughter. I thought this was going to be a story of a young bat getting lost, having a small adventure, and finding his way home to his mom. Nope. We have a baby bat casually getting eaten a few pages in. And then mama bats getting eaten after that. Until his own mama bat get hunted down by an owl and snatched out of the air. Then the poor baby bat starves for three days while the other female bats push him out of the way because he is not their baby. (And yep daughter is hysterical by now). Luckily for the bat, he is taken in by a bat who lost her pup early on. But ending the book with the line about him and the new mother really solidified his mom was not coming back. Which led to more tears and trauma. And even after three other books and praying for all the baby bats and mamas to be safe and together, we still have such strong feelings about this book. I feel like the title of this book was EXTREMELY misleading. The little bat was not lost, his mother died. Give the book a name that conveys what we are going to be reading. The name implies hope that does not exist in this story.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bittersweet book I checked this out for my small children thinking it would be a nice book to read in light of the Halloween season little did I know that this book would be about found family

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

American children's author Sandra Markle and British illustrator Alan Marks team up in this picture book about a little Mexican free-tailed bat, born in a massive bat colony in Bracken Cave, in central Texas. Nursed by his mother, who must leave him each night to hunt, the little bat grows steadily for a week, until one night his mother, taken by a hunting owl, does not return. Desperate to find her, his search slowly takes him toward the cave mouth, where he encounters an unfamiliar mother bat, looking for her lost baby...

Published in 2006, Little Lost Bat is the second picture book I have read from this author/illustrator team, following upon their more recent Snow School , which was about snow leopards. This one had the same pairing of informative and educational text and gorgeous artwork. It was also quite poignant, and I confess to having a lump in my throat when the little bat's mother was killed, and didn't return to him. Of course, the owl too has to eat, and it is a part of nature, but because the focus was on the mother-child bond, it made it emotionally resonant. The conclusion, in which the bat is adopted by the mother bat who lost her baby, was reassuring, and according to the author's brief note on the colophon, in keeping with what scientists know of actual parenting practices amongst this species. Apparently tests have revealed that around 10% of Mexican free-tailed bat mothers are raising offspring that are not their own, biologically speaking. I have no idea how this was determined, but if true, indicates the benefits of communal living, as these bats reside in huge colonies. In any case, with the proviso that adults be aware of the potentially sensitive subject matter of losing a parent, this is one I would recommend to young animal lovers, particularly those fascinated by bats.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture book showing a possible way an orphan baby bat could find a replacement mom, since apparently about 10% of bat families (mom/nursing bat babies) are not genetically related. It's a great concept, showing nature in all its tragedy (the mom dies. A snake eats a baby bat. Beetles wait to eat any babies that fall to the ground.) but without getting sentimental about it. The afterward talks about what is known and what she is guessing at.

[Mizzy Mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is absolutely stunning. Watercolor and dark, but so beautiful. The book is informative but also delicate and although it mentions darker subjects in a bats life, i.e. predators, it does it in a way that wouldn't scare the intended audience. Love this, and definitely want it for my personal collection. Also Spoiler baby bat adoption. Sad but sweet.

[Dominique Roe]

I’m never reading this book again. The mom gets eaten by an owl and never comes home. The baby is adopted by a mom who lost her bat baby, probably to the snake. I thought we were going to read a nice bedtime story and I was wrong. Idk how to even rate this.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting story about female Mexican free-tailed bats and their babies, but focusing on one mother and baby. Great illustrations!

[Maria Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about the life of Mexican free-tailed bats and it's a story that in the middle it's kind of sad but at the end it's a happy story.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad but a great story.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4

[Kristy Sikora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published: 2006

Summary: The little bat's mother becomes prey to an owl, leaving the bat motherless. Another bat loses her baby, and takes the little bat in as her own.

Lesson ideas: I use this book every year at Halloween because we have just finished teaching about animal adaptations and food chains in science. After reading the book, we discuss the predator/prey relationships, learned behaviors, and instincts. It's a great way to discuss these topics through a heartwarming story.

Themes: parent loss, predator/prey, adoption, love, family

[Lyndy Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to critique this book because the eight-year-old that I babysit for seems to know everything there is about bats and wolves...so I wanted to brush up on my knowledge of bats. This book has great illustrations and would be a fun book to read aloud to students because of all the sounds that bats make. I also like that there are a few websites and other books that students can use as resources for further learning. I learned so much about bats that now I can finally hold a conversation about bats while babysitting!

[bookworm22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for a child who has lost a parent and who is in the process of gaining another parent through adoption/foster care. The book goes through the process of a baby bat being born and being cared for by his mother and then the mother does not return and he almost dies. Another mother bat, who lost her baby, finds him and they meet each other's needs... Very well written and provocative. More appropriate for an older child than really young as there is a lot of text...

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great 'living book' about bats. Told as a story about a little bat that loses it's mother (I skipped the pages about the owl preying on the mommy bat for my 2 year old's sake, but my 6 year old knew what happened without my even reading it), Sandra Markle does a great job of describing a bat's life cycle and living environment without it reading like a text book. Great descriptive language and illustrations definitely help this story along.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Lost Bat is a positive look at a much maligned animal. The benefits bats provide in consuming insects, as well as the many hazards they face in nature, are discussed.

Perhaps most positively, we see a "creepy" creature nurturing and caring for her young, with the same devotion as other animal mothers. The humane education message comes though loud and clear: even an unusual or misunderstood animal like a bat has a life worth respecting.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A baby bat whose mother gets eaten by an owl is adopted by a mother bat who has lost her baby. Facts about the way bats live educate in an unobtrusive way by way of the story. And apparently, "as many as 10 percent of Mexican free-tailed bat mothers aren't the genetic mothers of the babies they're nursing," so the adoption story may be true. I consider this a good choice for preschoolers interested in bats or for opening up discussions about adoption.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A baby bat loses his mother to an owl. A mother bat loses her baby to a snake. The pair search and search for their lost one and finally become a new family. Watercolor illustrations are the highlight of this book.

The text is way too lengthy, overly descriptive. That being said, it does provide a lot of factual information about the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat.

[Sarah Herrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've read several books about birds/owls/bats recently and this was my favorite. A baby bat is adopted by a mother who has lost her baby. It was sad, but not overly graphic. The story and illustrations are beautiful and interesting information about bats is interspersed throughout in a way that's not awkward or overt.

[The Book Maven · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Beautiful watercolor illustrations and simple poetic text of this book convey a lot of information about the Mexican free-tailed bats and their offspring (as many as 10% of these mama-bats “adopt” bats that are not their own!) A wonderful and educational read for your young one at bedtime.

[Esther · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be a good book about bats, although I would still find it a little graphic about the animal world and disturbing and I defintely will not be using it for the adoption support group.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The drawing is artsy but good. There are way too many words for a kids' book

[Courtney Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bats, nocturnal animals
Grades K - 5

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about a life of a bat. I love non-fiction that achieves the balance between fact and story. This tale is a great example of one that is done well.

[Megan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book showing the lives of bats and how mothers are to them. Also very cool how another bat takes on the role. Great for nature lovers and for the start of a unit.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually teared up a bit at the end of this one. Narrative nonfiction about the relationship between a mother bat and her baby.