Bats Around the Clock

by Kathi Appelt

It's fun to tell time as you dance around the clock!Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie! It's American Batstand - a twelve-hour rock and roll extravaganza with Click Dark as your host. Decked in go-go boots and bobby sox, the buoyant bats bebop their way around the clock. And there's a special guest appearance at the end!With their swinging text and groovy illustrations, the creators of Bat Jamboree and Bats on Parade don't miss a beat when it comes to the basics. Telling time has never been so much fun!

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Childrens, Animals, Halloween, Number, School

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Lives in College Station, TX with husband Ken and four adorable cats.

Two sons, both musicians.

Serves on the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults Program.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite 'Bats' book. I love the details, from the time we meet the host of the dance party, Click Dark, until we see the raccoons dancing to the display of TVs being sold at Gotham Electronics, to the girl bats in go-go boots, and more. So cute! The text is easier to read aloud fluently than Appelt's other Bat books I've read, too. And the introduction to telling time on an analog clock is a good bonus and I think kids should still know how to tell time that way. Also, bats are good critters, not spooky. So, even though I don't love this whole series, I do recommend it to you parents & teachers out there.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this initially as a forerunner to Halloween, thinking that the bats would be right in season. We must have had out a lot of interesting books at the same time, because my 2 1/2 y.o never wanted me to read this one. When I finally did, he was in love with it! The bats do a different kind of dance at each hour (and if I were my mom's age I probably could have shown them what they were, but I've only heard of them, never seen any except maybe the swim). There is a nice little clock face on each page which my son loved to call out each hour (6 o'clock, 7 o'clock!) before I could even make it through the corresponding rhyme. He's been obsessed with letters and numbers recently, and now I have to add clocks to that list because of this book. Thank goodness there was another one in the series at our library for him to request for the next couple of weeks!

[Maritza · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite of Kathi Appelt's bat books. The rhymes are more in sync. Teaches time to children in an entertaining way, not distracting. I liked the dance theme.
+fun

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little weird, a little goofy, and lot of fun! This one would be a nice read-aloud with a group.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bats participate in a 12 hour dance-a-thon.

This picture book pays homage to American Bandstand and its host Dick Clark as well as the music and dance styles of the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. All of this will probably be lost on younger readers, but it will appeal to older caregivers.

My children kept asking me about the dance moves, and only having a vague idea myself, I could just say that they are real dances from the olden days that people don’t do anymore … except for the hokey pokey.

It also helps teach how to tell time as clock faces in the lower corner of the page show the hours named in the text. The start time, however, isn’t given. Maybe the creator thought two 12 o’clocks would be confusing.

[Nicole Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book to teach my first grade students about time. My first graders all had bat clocks that I made for them and they used the clocks to follow the time on each page. The kids loved the book and really loved that they were friendly bats. By the end, of the book they understood the hour. Which is great that the book taught each hour. My only complaint would be that I wished it had more of a story to tell. There was only one character but you really don't know much about him because he was the host of the T.V show. The book has some great rhyme and some fun words to say. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has to teach time to a child.

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book that simultaneously involves telling time/counting, dancing, puns for the adults, and BATS. As time ticks on from 1-12, the bats dance various dances together. This story would be amazing with a big clock with movable hands and prompts to get the kids dancing along with each page. Delightful.

Themes: Dancing, Halloween, Counting, Telling Time

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interest Level: 2nd - 4th grade Independent Reading Level: 3.5

Click Dark is hosting a 12-hour dance-a-thon on American Batstand. Each hour the type of dance changes with an analog clock used to show the time

Tags: Bats -- Rock music -- Time -- Clocks and watches -- Rhyme --

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was a time in the dark past when I would of thought this was a fun title and there would have been young people that recognized Click Dark and all the dances as well as the guest. Doesn’t work for me today and probably won’t for today’s children unless you are doing a retro, Time Machine, themed dance party.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely convinced that a child today would pick up on the references to Dick Clark's countdown and the antique dances of the day but the rhyming story moves along at a boogie and there is some fun to be had.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bats dance around the clock doing all the oldies but goodies dances across the ages. Funny and good rhyming.

[Joseph · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy horrible... this is just plain awful and I told my kids I am not reading this to them again. They sort of liked it, but it is being returned the library right away...

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bats are fun, not scary. This one has some great possibilities as a group read aloud and the illustrations are accessible and fun, too.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it ; so Fun ! Rhyming, telling time, and fun references from American Bandstand :)

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute children’s book

[McKenna R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helps young readers learn to tell time. Still cute but I liked the first one better.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story time read with some emphasis on the clock and the time. It was fun to also add in some dance moves along the way.

[Evan Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! Love the illustrations, love the rhyming, love the "guest" at the end, and everything in between.

[Jeani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book but the kids do not understand it anymore - all of the references are for the 50s and 60s...

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appelt Box #8
Learning to tell the time with added bats for I don't know some reason.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I feel about this book? I think that if it were 1955, then the kids would like to do the motions and dance with the bats, but I don't think that most kids today know what the jive is, let alone who Elvis was. So, I'm not a huge fan.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bats, typically nocturnal creatures, gather for a 12 hour dance-a-thon, American Batstand style. Starting early at one o'clock, they start with the shug, moving through various other dances like the twist, hootchi-coo and hokeypokey as the clock strikes hour after hour all the way to midnight. Click Dark hosts the rockin' dance event and a special bat in blue suede shoes makes a late night appearance. Little mice hold up analog clock images at each hour, making the book especially fun for kids that are learning to tell time.

This is the third book in Applet's bat math book series that includes Bat Jamboree (counting) and Bats on Parade (multiplication). The rollicking verses rhyme, and Sweet's humorous watercolor illustrations add a fun twist to the story with images like a "Gotham Electronics" store and bats lined up in the street doing the locomotion.

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is ideal for Kindergarten to 2nd grade. It teaches students how to tell time by incorporating song and dance into the book. It's engaging and entertaining, as well as informative. However, the amount of time that is reviewed in the book is 12 hours vs. the 24 hours in a day, so I'd have to elaborate on that (AM and PM).

This book can also be used as a science book. This book can be used to teach students about nocturnal animals. Bats come out at night. I would use this to engage students.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would use this book during my math centers if I were introducing or teaching telling time. On each page there is a bat holding a clock and the reader can see the time passing with every turn of the page. The bats say '60 minutes later', the students could figure out what time that would be. This could also be used as a seasonal book for fall time. There is rhyming, the students could find the rhymes. I would have them make up their own rhyme with time. I would recommend this book for use during math instruction.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie! It's American Batstand - a twelve-hour rock and roll extravaganza with Click Dark as your host. Decked in go-go boots and bobby sox, the buoyant bats bebop their way around the clock. And there's a special guest appearance at the end!

With their swinging text and groovy illustrations, the creators of Bat Jamboree and Bats on Parade don't miss a beat when it comes to the basics. Telling time has never been so much fun!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a television show marathon for duration of 12 hours. It has features a segment each hour which is when the bats performs something. It teaches about time.


This book could be incorporated into a math lesson about time. By providing the students with a book that emphasizes on time, students will be able to see how we use time throughout our day.

[Lissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

llustrated by Melissa Sweet

I will be using this book in large group creative movement activity. This book is so much fun, add a little music and we can dance the night away. There is lots of movement described in this book, such as, shrugging shoulders, jitterbug, roll, spin, swim, etc. The book can also be used when learning about rhyming.

[Felicity The Magnificent · Rating 5 out of 5]

At one o'clock the bats shrug. At two o'clock the host said stop. It's time to jitterbug. The bats spun at three o'clock. The bats bopped. All around the clock the bats danced and did funny things. And every single bat in the world was at the party. Every single one. -by Felicity

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a 12-hour dance marathon happening on TV, and who's dancin'? Bats! This story in rhyme is a fine idea but its rhythm is uneven. Watercolor illustrations are cute and the telling-time element makes it useful for primary grades.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be a fun book to reinforce telling time--but it really has nothing of substance to offer. . .