Bats in the Castle

A to Z Animal Mysteries #2

by Ron Roy, Kayla Whaley, Chloe Burgett (Illustrator)

Inspired by Ron Roy's A to Z Mysteries series, this bright and modern animal adventure story is perfect for budding young chapter book readers. This time, Abbi and her friends are determined to rescue a lost bat!

Solve Animal Mysteries from A to Z!

Abbi, Lydia, and Daniel love to watch bats flying around their neighborhood after sunset. Nature is so cool! But then they hear an un natural sound in Abbi's home. Is it a ghost? Or something scarier? With help from her trusty dog Barkley, Abbi and her friends will shine a light on the truth!

Don't miss the first book in this A to Z Animal Mysteries #1: The Absent Alpacas .

Did you know there's an original A to Z Mysteries series that has been beloved by kids for generations? Check out all 40 books in the A to Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy where kids Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose solve mysteries from A to Z in their hometown and beyond!

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2023

About the author

Ron Roy has been writing books for children since 1974. He is the author of dozens of books, including the popular A to Z Mysteries®, Calendar Mysteries, and Capital Mysteries. When not working on a new book, Ron likes to teach tricks to his dog Pal, play poker with friends, travel, and read thrilling mystery books.

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abbi is excited to use the new app she found to listen to the bats near her home. But the elevator in their ancient castle is down again so she has to be content with sending her friends Daniel and Lydia up to the top floor to use the app. What they hear sounds odd, though. Is there a ghost in the castle? Or is their a more scientific explanation?

I was a little disappointed that this book perpetuates the myth about bats being likely to have rabies. According to the US National Park Service "Less than 1% of bats have rabies..." Yes, kids should be encouraged to treat all wildlife with caution, but they don't need to fear them. It would be more helpful to let kids know how to tell if any animal has rabies. Thankfully, the book does encourage the readers to see bats as good for the ecosystem by the end (bug control!), but I felt it could have been done better. I did like how the situation helped Abbi have a conversation with her mom about how the elevator going down made her feel since she is wheelchair-bound. Daniel and Lydia are good friends to Abbi, and I like that the book shows 2 siblings sharing a best friend instead of feeling like they need to compete over her friendship.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: None
Ethnic diversity: Lydia and Daniel are Indian American (as in family from India), Abbi is White
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Abbi has spinal muscular atrophy which is explained well for readers.

[Katie Brookins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad this book came out in time for October! It isn't Halloween-themed, but there are bats and pumpkins and cider and talk of a ghost. It's a very slightly spooky mystery without being scary—perfect for my nephew, who really doesn't enjoy scary things. The evening colors in the illustrations were beautiful and I enjoyed seeing Abbi, who we met in The Absent Alpacas (though I think I heard that she was a character in the original A to Z Mysteries series), in her own home: a castle! There's a moat, a forest, an ocean, and a broken elevator, meaning Abbi is stuck on the first floor. I really appreciated that this problem was a big part of the plot and that we got to see how the broken elevator made Abbi feel and limited where she could go in her own home (even though it is a castle). Another fantastic read in the A to Z Animal Mysteries series!

[Kirsten Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abbi loves listening to bats with her special app and with the help of her friends Lydia and Daniel. One night, though, the sound and the sound waves the app recorded were all wrong. Abbi's mom jokes that it was a ghost, but Lydia is afraid of that idea, so they set out to find what really made the sound. In addition to this storyline, is one about Abbi being stuck on the first floor because the elevator keeps breaking in their old house. She can no longer climb the stairs because of her spinal muscular atrophy.
This was a captivating mystery that also taught so many facts about bats and helped make them less scary to children.
This was a wonderfully written book and I look forward to reading the rest in the series!

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This addition to an appealing series has many strengths- natural readability, diverse characters with humor and curiosity, solid friendships, technology and science content well-suited to the target age, and a subject that can't be beat- BATS! The analytic and investigative approach of the kids is impressive and yet a mystery adds just enough side-suspense to have kids recommending this one to each other.

[Elizabeth Dickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following a new group of friends, these books update Ron Roy's series to a more relatable scene. The group is more diverse with Abbi in a wheelchair thanks to her Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The animal theme is such a draw for young readers looking to branch into chapter books and the simple mystery is perfect for book lovers and mystery hunters alike!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love mixing of animal facts and mystery. I also love the illustrations.