Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors

by Tomi Ungerer

Tomi Ungerer’s classic tale about a bat who learns to embrace his differences through friendship.Like all bats, Rufus sees life in black and white, until he chances upon an outdoor movie theatre and is awakened to the dazzling world of colours for the first time.Inspired and excited, Rufus paints his own wings and ventures out into the day, only to discover that his unusual appearance attracts unwelcome attention.Though he is initially rejected for his difference, Rufus soon learns to accept himself for who he is, thanks to a new friend.Beautifully written and illustrated by the legendary Tomi Ungerer.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, Classics, Halloween

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer was a French illustrator best known for his erotic and political illustrations as well as children's books.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors is a picture book that was originally published in 1961 by Alsatian (French nationality, but originally speaking and writing a dialect of German) author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer (and yes, both Ungerer's story and his colourfully expressive pictures combine for a totally and utterly delightful textual and visual treat).

And regarding the German original (where the story is simply titled Rufus, was a huge childhood favourite, and that yes, from what I am able to recall, the anonymous English translation in Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors very nicely mirrors Ungerer's German words), well, a book title that simply mentions the name of the main protagonist (namely Rufus the bat), I very much prefer this to Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors, since in my humble opinion, with the English translation book title specifically pointing out that Rufus is a bat who loves colours, this really gives away way too much of a potential spoiler (and quite annoyingly and for no reason I might add). So indeed, when my mother read Rufus to me in late 1970 (and in German, of course), four year old I really and hugely enjoyed being very much and very nicely surprised by Ungerer's text and artwork showing Rufus during one of his regularly nighttime hunting excursions suddenly discovering the magic of colours (and while Rufus actually discovers and is intrigued by colours pretty early on in Tomi Ungerer's text, I still strongly consider that the English book title should simply be the bat's name, should be like is the case in the German original and thus not Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors).

Now both textually and illustratively, in Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors, Rufus is shown by Ungerer as being a standard bat, with black fur, glinting eyes, sleeping during the day and waking up at night to go hunting. However, one night, this all changes when Rufus flys near a drive-in theatre where a cowboy movie is playing (and with the film's colours dazzling Rufus and making him want to experience daytime and what the world looks like then). So after not going to sleep at sunrise like is usually the case for bats, Rufus absolutely relishes the vivid colours of birds, flowers, butterflies, grasses etc., decides to paint himself but then unfortunately gets shot at by ignorant humans upset at and scared of a multicoloured bat fluttering around in broad daylight (but just to say that in my opinion there is nothing AT ALL wrong with Tomi Ungerer showing in Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors dumbass people shooting multiple firearms at Rufus and that this is not in any way even remotely promoting guns, shooting etc. but is in my opinion presenting the exact opposite, featuring guns being used by cowards, by nasties, by the massively ignorant). And wounded by the gunshots, Rufus is rescued, bandaged up and befriended by butterfly expert Dr. Taturo, lives with him for a while but sadly that the longer Rufus stays with his new friend and is awake during the daytime, the more his eyes and his head ache due to Rufus as a nocturnal bat not being used to being out and about during the day. Thus by the end of Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors, Rufus realises that returning to his cave and to once again be primarily active at night is what is best, what is safest and also most healthy for him (but that he and Dr. Taturo keep being on friendly terms, with Rufus often visiting at night, enjoying Dr. Tarturo's company and of course vice versa).

Finally and yes, Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors shows an absolutely wonderful, a marvellous marriage of words and illustrations, is rated with five stars both from my inner child and equally so from my adult reading self, and with Ungerer verbally and visually also showing both the importance of challenging the same old, same old and venturing forth into life, into new experiences and territories but to also accept that sometimes, returning back to one's roots (like Rufus realising that being nocturnal is good, is natural, is healthy and something to celebrate by him as a bat). Highly recommended (but well, I am also not just really happy to have rediscovered Rufus the bat and his friend Dr. Taturo through Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors, but that I am also now wanting to obtain a copy of the original German edition Rufus for nostalgia and for my German picture books of my childhood bookshelf).

[Elodin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Guns in a children's book 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He thought it would be nice to see the day with all its beautiful colors. So instead of going to sleep when morning came, he stayed awake. The sun came up, and Rufus watched with enthusiasm."

I think there’s a better way to shoo away a bat…

Anyways, this book was cute with fun little illustrations. It’s okay to be different and to let your freak flag fly!

[Cristina Di Matteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

RUFUS il pipistrello a colori è un meraviglioso albo illustrato per bambini in una nuova versione che parla di sogni, di accettazione di sé e di amicizia.

Un racconto in cui il piccolo protagonista, ispirato dalla novità e dalla voglia di scoprire, decide di uscire dal suo “guscio” e vivere un’esperienza fantastica.

https://ilmondodichri.com/rufus/

[Edmundo Mantilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Precioso.

[Door · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pour l'instant, mon préféré. On se demande pourquoi.

[The Bookshop Mons · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Colorful
- Cute
- Poetic

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite bedtime story as a child...

Warning: Spoilers

Rufus is your typical bat - hangs from the ceiling in his cave and flies around hunting at night. But then he chances upon a technicolor cowboy movie at a drive-in theater and, in awe of the vivid, vivacious color-feast, decides to stay up until dawn to see the daytime world: and is filled with sheer delight to see what he'd been missing during sleep - a world of flowers and birds etcetera. But then he takes a cold, hard look at himself: he looks nothing like a flower or bird - he is dull-black (as bats are, as bats need to be). Luckily, he finds a some paints in a field and, so, decides to brighten himself up...and this is my favorite part: He painted his ears pink, his hooks blue, his feet violet, and he drew a big green star on his stomach. Then he proudly took off into the sunlight. (I love the fact the author doesn't force this moment with an exclamation point). But a wild-eyed wildly dyed bat flying and swooping during the daytime?! People freak the fuck out and shoot at him! He falls, falls, falls into a garden and...and what happens next? Well, you'll just have to read Rufus: The Bat Who Loved Colors to find out!

[Victor Gimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally, Tomi Ungerer children's books are not for everyone because they invite kids to ask questions about themes or images used a parent may not want to answer yet.

In this story Rufus is shot at for being something unknown.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute, old-fashioned story, but the recurring images of guns - in particular, the scene where Rufus the bat gets shot - made me feel uncomfortable with the idea of using this for library story times.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book as a child.

[Jennifer B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! A lovely story, charming.

[F.Strand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suspect this book crept into my affections upside down, as any respectable bat ought. Rufus is a delight, all earnest wings and candour rather than heroism, fluttering through a world that begins in sensible greys before surrendering to unapologetic technicolor. It is charmingly clumsy storytelling, rather like the flight of a butterfly blissfully unaware of the collector's net.

Yes, several reviews mention the scene where a mob starts shooting at Rufus simply because they have no idea what he is. My kids mostly found it mean and rather idiotic, which, frankly, felt like the intended reaction. It's brief, and I certainly wouldn't dismiss the book because of it.

For us, this is first and foremost a lovely bedtime story. Not every book has to arrive with a thesis tucked under its wing. Sometimes it's enough to follow a curious little bat who discovers that the world is prettier by day, then realises he is happiest living as the bat he was always meant to be, while remaining a loyal friend who occasionally supplies particularly fine moths to the butterfly collector who once made him tiny sunglasses. If you wish, there are morals to gather along the way. If not, Rufus is simply a sweet little fellow who wanted to try something different for a little while, and frankly that is more than enough of a story for me.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because this is about a bat who finds colors. The first place he sees them is a drive-in theatre with good colors. He'd only seen the black of dark. The next day he went out when the sun was up and people shooted at him, and he got injured, so he [spoiler alert] painted himself with a star on his belly, and he dropped because of all of his wounds. He fell to the ground and a man thought he was a rare butterfly, but soon he noticed his mistake. Soon he learned he had to wear special glasses to protect him from the sun. He slept in the basement and then he went, but they stayed in touch and after sun had set he would go to his house and they would play friendly games.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many spreads made me want to stare. The first one -- dark on dark! Brilliant.

What's amazing is that this book feels ancient, and it's only 40 odd years old. But we don't dare to publish such thrillingly straightforward stories right now -- and with guns in them! (The gun spread did make me flinch. And it made my 5-year-old student puzzled. "What are they doing?" he asked. I don't think either of us liked this book as much as we might have because of the (what to our tender modern souls seems) thoughtless violence.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the design in this book. The atmospheric dark. Deceptively simple. I especially appreciated the use of watercolors for the color images -- the lovely landscape Rufus sees outside the cave, the flowers and the birds . . . very effective use of color in telling the story. Sad when people not used to seeing bats attack Rufus, but fortunately there is sympathetic friend to help. And love the wry humor; Rufus "soon realized that the sun hurt his eyes and he had to wear dark glasses and swallow pills for his headaches."

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rufus realised he really wanted to see the colour, but he could only do it during the day. So, he goes after his wish!
I loved the moment that he paints himself in many colours! So lovely!
I see some people were disappointed because of the guns part. I don't get it, that is exactly what people do, what's the big deal? Anyway, opinions, opinions.

Such a cute story! <3

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My inner child loves this, and young me would have read it over and over again. Compares to Ungerer's masterpiece, Moon Man in poignancy, heart, and social commentary. Even adult me, reading it for the first time, gives it 4.5 stars.

[RosaDG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un murciélago curioso que llega a ser pintor al descubrir todos los colores de la Naturaleza.Muy bonito.

[Kiki Kokosova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neodporúčam.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging art, with a cute story. My 2 year old loves it.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging story. I especially enjoyed the illustrations.

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet tale of a bat having his head swayed by a more colorful life. In the end, he goes back to what works for him, but not before gathering a new friend and hobby.

12)  Has a moon on the cover 

[Claire Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5 stars because I loved the concept of a bat who loves color.

[Rafael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a cute read!

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

After Rufus experiences color for the first time, he decides to stay awake during the day.

When a bat named Rufus strays into a drive-in movie theater, he is introduced to the world of color. Intrigued, he decides to stay awake and see the daytime world. His experience of color instantly makes him a daytime convert, and he paints himself multiple colors with a discarded painter's palette.

Unfortunately, the sight of a multicolored bat flying around during the day is a cause for alarm, and people shoot at him. Wounded, he lands in the yard of a famous butterfly collector who nurses him back to health and befriends him. Eventually, Rufus discovers he misses the nighttime world and returns to being nocturnal.

This story is about thinking outside the box with the classic children's moral "it's okay to be different." Rufus decides to do something atypical for his species and discovers he has an aptitude for it, which is gentle encourage for young readers to try new things that catch their interest even if it is considered unusual for their ethnic group/gender/culture/socioeconomic class.

It also defies the assertion that you can't go home again. While it is important to finish what you started, it's equally important not to fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy. If something isn't working out, or if one decides that a course of action simply isn't for him/her, it's foolish to pursue whatever it is to the bitter end. If one doesn't like how one's life is going, then s/he can stop, reevaluate, and change course.

Since this is a picture book marketed to children, I was rather surprised that the bat was shot. Bats are misunderstood creatures that are often discriminated against, but I hadn't expected to find acts of violence against them in a children's story book. The fact that this book was originally published in 1961 isn't sufficient to explain this.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rufus discovers color at a drive-in movie and decides to stay awake to see them in the daytime. He loves what he sees, but not everyone is so excited to see him. A kindly butterfly collector helps him and befriends him. He eventually realizes that he misses his old nightlife, but remains friends with the butterfly collector.

[Abril G. Karera · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia de un murciélago que busca su lugar en el mundo en el sitio más insospechado. Ungerer acostumbra mezclar en sus historias violencia, bondad y alivio de una forma que invita a leerlo más de una vez.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less weird than his others, but still delightfully odd and unsettling.

[Jschofi4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but I couldn't read it to a group because of the weapons spread.