Bats in Trouble

by Pamela McDowell, Kasia Charko (Illustrations)

Cricket McKay and her best friend, Shilo, are enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation when they discover that something is killing bats around Grandpa McKay's farm. Could the new wind turbines be the cause? The kids do some detective work and then jump into action coming up with a plan to save the bats.
Bats in Trouble is the third book featuring animal-activist Cricket MacKay, following Ospreys in Danger and Salamander Rescue.

Genres: Canada

96 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2017

About the author

I am a Canadian children's author and presenter. My fiction series for young readers features ecological adventures set in Waterton Lakes National Park. The next book in the series, Fire on the Mountain, will be released into the wild on March 22, 2022.

I also enjoy writing non-fiction and have published over fifty books for students in Kindergarten to grade six. My most popular non-fiction book is a biography of Selena Gomez, the creepiest book is about lice, and the cutest is about black bears. I like to write about science and nature, as well as people and history.

I love visiting classrooms to talk about writing, wildlife and environmental stewardship. Presentations use my books as springboards to dive into these larger discussions with students in Kindergarten to grade six.

Reviews

[Angie Simmonds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cricket and her friend Shilo are staying at her grandparent's farm when they discover something that disturbs them. It seems that bats are dying at a remarkable rate and they seem to be dying by the wind turbines on her grandpa's farm. Cricket, Shilo and her cousin Tyler spend the net evening out by the wind turbines trying to figure out what's happening. They deduce that the bats, who are migrating, are running into the blades of the turbine when the wind is barely moving them.
Armed with this knowledge they talk to an engineer at the power company and work to make their town aware of the problem so the power company will shut off the turbines during the two week migration.
I loved how these youngsters researched the problem and came up with a creative solution for saving the bats that are so important to our ecosystem. This is a 90 page chapter book that would be the perfect reading level for a second to fourth grade student.

[Susan Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Grade 2 class loved learning about bats with this book. The teacher's guide has great ideas for projects and discussion, like drawing maps, researching echolocation and constellations, drawing a food web and even folding origami bats. By the end of the unit, all the kids loved bats and understood their importance in the environment.

[Jill CD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for those that are moving towards chapter books. It has a good message about taking action ( in kind of an unrealistic way) but I could forgive that for the intended reading audience. A fun quick read-grades 1-3.

[Bertha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Containing a great story and factual information Bats In Trouble is a great read for kids ages 7-9. The book empowers children to make a positive difference no matter how old they are.