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Baby Bat's Lullaby
Mama and her precious baby bat wake up at dusk ready to take a flight into the sky. Together they soar and explore, relishing each tender moment spent with each other until bedtime at dawn. New York Times best–selling author Jacquelyn Mitchard's soothing bedtime rhyme and Julia Noonan's soaring images capture the simple joys and special love shared by a mother and child. Ages 3 – 6
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 17, 2004
1 person is currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Jacquelyn Mitchard
68 books1,251 followersJacquelyn Mitchard’s first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was named by USA Today as one of the ten most influential books of the past 25 years – second only to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (but second by a long shot, it must be said.)
The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen as the first novel in the book club made famous by the TV host Oprah Winfrey, and transformed into a feature film produced by and starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Most of Mitchard’s novels have been greater or lesser bestsellers – and include The Most Wanted, A Theory of Relativity, Twelve Times Blessed, The Breakdown Lane, The Good Son, and Cage of Stars. Critics have praised them for their authentic humanity and command of story. Readers identify because they see reflected, in her characters – however extreme their circumstances – emotions they already understand.
Mitchard also has written four novels for young adults.
The first, Now You See Her, from HarperTeen, is the story of a pampered, driven young actress who fakes her own abduction.
All We Know of Heaven told the story of lifetime best friends Bridget and Maureen, who are just sixteen when a fatal crash on an icy road and a poignant case of mistaken identity divide their small Minnesota town forever.
The Midnight Twins was the first in a trilogy of teen mysteries about identical twin sisters born on New Year’s Eve – one a minute before and a minute after midnight – Meredith and Mallory Brynn learn on the night they turn thirteen that their psychic abilities will force them to intervene in dire events, although one twin can see only the future and one can see only the past. The Midnight Twins is in development as a TV series by Kaleidoscope Entertainment.
Mitchard's newest novel for adult, A Very Inconvenient Scandal, out in November 2023 from Mira/HarperCollins, is the story of an acclaimed young underwater photographer whose famed marine biologist father shatters their family by marrying her best friend., a woman 35 years his junior.
At the local coffee shop, Mitchard is best-known as the mother of Rob, Dan, Marty, Francie, Mia, Will and Atticus , as the grandma of Hank and Diana and the wife of handsome Chris Brent.
Her favorite color is periwinkle blue; her favorite holiday is Halloween; her favorite flower is freesia; her favorite word is "smite," and her second favorite is "Massachusetts"; her lucky number is 119 (anyone who can guess where that comes from wins free first editions of her novels for life). She lives in her favorite place on earth, Cape Cod, summering in a villa on the Amalfi Coast. (Guess which part of that sentence is fiction.)
Her essays have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune Magazine and Reader's Digest, and are widely anthologized and used in school curricula. She has taught in MFA programs in Vermont, Ohio, and Massachusetts, and is part of the faculty at the Summer Writers Institute at Yale University. She is a member of the Tall Poppies Writers and has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Ragdale Foundation.
Her pet peeves are known authors and editors who cannot and will not learn the difference between “lie” and “lay” and family signs pluralized with apostrophes.
She would love to appear on just ONE episode of any incarnation of ‘Law and Order,’ as has everyone else in America. She still is willing to play the role of a murder victim – except one found by earth-moving equipment in a landfill – though she would do that in a pinch.
Mitchard would like to have a swimming pool, because, although she lives near the ocean, she is afraid of the dark water and hates sand. She would love to have a clawfoot tub, or any tub.
She believes that stories are the ways that human beings make sense of life and that our stories will save us.
The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen as the first novel in the book club made famous by the TV host Oprah Winfrey, and transformed into a feature film produced by and starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Most of Mitchard’s novels have been greater or lesser bestsellers – and include The Most Wanted, A Theory of Relativity, Twelve Times Blessed, The Breakdown Lane, The Good Son, and Cage of Stars. Critics have praised them for their authentic humanity and command of story. Readers identify because they see reflected, in her characters – however extreme their circumstances – emotions they already understand.
Mitchard also has written four novels for young adults.
The first, Now You See Her, from HarperTeen, is the story of a pampered, driven young actress who fakes her own abduction.
All We Know of Heaven told the story of lifetime best friends Bridget and Maureen, who are just sixteen when a fatal crash on an icy road and a poignant case of mistaken identity divide their small Minnesota town forever.
The Midnight Twins was the first in a trilogy of teen mysteries about identical twin sisters born on New Year’s Eve – one a minute before and a minute after midnight – Meredith and Mallory Brynn learn on the night they turn thirteen that their psychic abilities will force them to intervene in dire events, although one twin can see only the future and one can see only the past. The Midnight Twins is in development as a TV series by Kaleidoscope Entertainment.
Mitchard's newest novel for adult, A Very Inconvenient Scandal, out in November 2023 from Mira/HarperCollins, is the story of an acclaimed young underwater photographer whose famed marine biologist father shatters their family by marrying her best friend., a woman 35 years his junior.
At the local coffee shop, Mitchard is best-known as the mother of Rob, Dan, Marty, Francie, Mia, Will and Atticus , as the grandma of Hank and Diana and the wife of handsome Chris Brent.
Her favorite color is periwinkle blue; her favorite holiday is Halloween; her favorite flower is freesia; her favorite word is "smite," and her second favorite is "Massachusetts"; her lucky number is 119 (anyone who can guess where that comes from wins free first editions of her novels for life). She lives in her favorite place on earth, Cape Cod, summering in a villa on the Amalfi Coast. (Guess which part of that sentence is fiction.)
Her essays have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune Magazine and Reader's Digest, and are widely anthologized and used in school curricula. She has taught in MFA programs in Vermont, Ohio, and Massachusetts, and is part of the faculty at the Summer Writers Institute at Yale University. She is a member of the Tall Poppies Writers and has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Ragdale Foundation.
Her pet peeves are known authors and editors who cannot and will not learn the difference between “lie” and “lay” and family signs pluralized with apostrophes.
She would love to appear on just ONE episode of any incarnation of ‘Law and Order,’ as has everyone else in America. She still is willing to play the role of a murder victim – except one found by earth-moving equipment in a landfill – though she would do that in a pinch.
Mitchard would like to have a swimming pool, because, although she lives near the ocean, she is afraid of the dark water and hates sand. She would love to have a clawfoot tub, or any tub.
She believes that stories are the ways that human beings make sense of life and that our stories will save us.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 12, 2014
The only reason this gets two stars is the illustrations are pretty. The rhymes are clunky and don’t roll off the tongue with ease. If you intend to do this as a read-aloud, practice first. If you are looking for a bedtime book, so many picture books do it better. Try Going to Sleep on the Farm
by Wendy Cheyette Lewison (Author) , Juan Wijngaard (illustrator).
by Wendy Cheyette Lewison (Author) , Juan Wijngaard (illustrator).
February 11, 2016
A sweet read. It really feels like a lullaby.
+Cute illustrations.
+Cute illustrations.
June 1, 2023
If your kid drives you batty, you might wish to read this lullabye book to that "lovely" child.
Just kidding. Baby Bat here is taken very seriously -- and affectionately -- by the author.
- Language here is ultra-poetic. In addition there are all the rhymes.
- As for the illustrations, they're dreamy verging on surreal.
Is this book for everyone? Hardly. But if it's for you, then you can appreciate why I rated it at FIVE STARS.
Just kidding. Baby Bat here is taken very seriously -- and affectionately -- by the author.
- Language here is ultra-poetic. In addition there are all the rhymes.
- As for the illustrations, they're dreamy verging on surreal.
Is this book for everyone? Hardly. But if it's for you, then you can appreciate why I rated it at FIVE STARS.
August 21, 2020
Mother Bat is singing a sweet lullaby song to her little bat. Her song explores all the wonderful things bats can do - so there are many new vocabulary words for little ones. And lots of opportunities to discuss what bats do, how they are helpful, and why we should not be scared of them. The picture of the little bat at the end of the book is adorable!
June 23, 2018
So stinking cute! 😊
October 12, 2018
Beautiful illustrations! This was such a sweet story!
January 23, 2021
Cute. But bats caused coronavirus and I haven’t forgiven them yet.
November 8, 2022
Did I learn anything from this book? No.
Was it cute AF? yes.
Ids that the only reason I gave it a 5-star rating? Also yes.
Was it cute AF? yes.
Ids that the only reason I gave it a 5-star rating? Also yes.
September 15, 2025
Very cute with soft images. Very small amount of text per page, following the little bat and mama bat around at night. Basically just a poem full of epitaphs of the baby bat. Cute.
November 9, 2011
This book is SO cute. Aw, I love it and the illustrations are amazing. I must have this and read it to my future children. Bats are my favourite animals, and I am so glad that there are childrens' books showing them as not something scary, but something amazing and important.
March 21, 2016
This book is SO cute. Aw, I love it and the illustrations are amazing. I must have this and read it to my future children. Bats are my favourite animals, and I am so glad that there are childrens' books showing them as not something scary, but something amazing and important.
August 24, 2012
I had to include this book. My daughter and I read this book together 100 times, laughing always at the cute and hilarious pictures of baby bat. Great literature it isn't. A plot, only a hint of one. But it will always be special to me because it was special to my daughter.
August 12, 2016
I've been obsessed with bat books since I read "Bats at the Library" by Brian Lies. This was a sweet nighttime type book. My only complaint is that the copy I have at school is a paperback....not effective for storytime readings.
April 23, 2010
So sweet! My daughter loves it and the illustrations are priceless!
October 19, 2010
This book was a simple rhyming book that was quite literally a lullaby. Might be a good book to use for the lower grades to introduce rhyming and phonemic awareness.
June 18, 2012
A beautiful rhyming book with soft illustrations about a mother bat who is teaching her baby all the skills to be a bat
June 27, 2012
This book is only getting three stars because the illustrations are adorable. The language does not keep me particularly interested, nor my daughter.
May 15, 2013
I love this book. It's simple and cute.
March 10, 2016
I still don't like bats and I'm not going to share this with my. grandson.
July 16, 2016
So very sweet, a real bedtime treat.
November 3, 2009
Very cute, rhyming read aloud.
March 12, 2014
Love this one! Cute and perfect for first graders.
March 12, 2015
un lindo cuento <3
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews