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Nature Storybooks
Bat Loves the Night
"A charming and informative story about a pipistrelle bat. . . . Offers vivid descriptions of the animal's flight, its navigational skills, and the hunt for food." — School Library Journal
Night has fallen, and Bat awakens to find her evening meal. Follow her as she swoops into the shadows, shouting and flying, the echoes of her voice creating a sound picture of the world around her. When morning light creeps into the sky, Bat returns to the roost to feed her baby . . . and to rest until nighttime comes again. Bat loves the night!
Back matter includes an index.
A Common Core Text Exemplar
Night has fallen, and Bat awakens to find her evening meal. Follow her as she swoops into the shadows, shouting and flying, the echoes of her voice creating a sound picture of the world around her. When morning light creeps into the sky, Bat returns to the roost to feed her baby . . . and to rest until nighttime comes again. Bat loves the night!
Back matter includes an index.
A Common Core Text Exemplar
32 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2001
9 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
About the author
Nicola Davies
163 books181 followers"I was very small when I saw my first dolphin," says zoologist Nicola Davies, recalling a seminal visit with her father to a dolphin show at the zoo. Enchanted at the sight of what she called the "big fish" jumping so high and swimming so fast, she determined right then that she would meet the amazing creatures again "in the wild, where they belonged." And indeed she did--as part of a pair of scientific expeditions, one to Newfoundland at the age of eighteen and another to the Indian Ocean a year later. In WILD ABOUT DOLPHINS, Nicola Davies describes her voyages in a firsthand account filled with fascinating facts and captivating photographs of seven species of dolphins in action.
Nicola Davies's seemingly boundless enthusiasm for studying animals of all kinds has led her around the world--and fortunately for young readers, she is just as excited about sharing her interests through picture books. The zoologist's latest offering puts a decidedly quirky twist on her years of experience: POOP: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UNMENTIONABLE is a fun, fact-filled guide to the fascinating world of poop across species. "As a zoologist, you are never far from poop!" the writer explains. "I've baked goose poop in an oven with my dinner, looked at bat poop under the microscope, and had my T-shirt stained pink with blue-whale poop. I was obviously fated to write this book."
The exceptional combination of Nicola Davies's zoological expertise and her first-rate children's writing is apparent in her remarkable catalog of award-winning titles. Her first book with Candlewick Press, BIG BLUE WHALE, was hailed by American Bookseller as an "artfully composed study" offering "language exactly appropriate for four- to seven-year-olds and precisely the right amount of information." In ONE TINY TURTLE, Nicola Davies's clear, compelling narrative follows the life of the rarely seen loggerhead turtle, which swims the oceans for thirty years and for thousands of miles in search of food, only to return, uncannily, to lay her eggs on the very beach where she was born. The author's next book, BAT LOVES THE NIGHT, is a tenderly written ode to a much-misunderstood flying mammal, the pipistrelle bat, while SURPRISING SHARKS--winner of a BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Honor Award--contains unexpected facts about another one of the planet's most infamous animals.
When she is not off on scientific expeditions, Nicola Davies lives in a cottage in Somerset, England, where she is lucky enough to have pipistrelle bats nesting in her roof.
Nicola Davies's seemingly boundless enthusiasm for studying animals of all kinds has led her around the world--and fortunately for young readers, she is just as excited about sharing her interests through picture books. The zoologist's latest offering puts a decidedly quirky twist on her years of experience: POOP: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UNMENTIONABLE is a fun, fact-filled guide to the fascinating world of poop across species. "As a zoologist, you are never far from poop!" the writer explains. "I've baked goose poop in an oven with my dinner, looked at bat poop under the microscope, and had my T-shirt stained pink with blue-whale poop. I was obviously fated to write this book."
The exceptional combination of Nicola Davies's zoological expertise and her first-rate children's writing is apparent in her remarkable catalog of award-winning titles. Her first book with Candlewick Press, BIG BLUE WHALE, was hailed by American Bookseller as an "artfully composed study" offering "language exactly appropriate for four- to seven-year-olds and precisely the right amount of information." In ONE TINY TURTLE, Nicola Davies's clear, compelling narrative follows the life of the rarely seen loggerhead turtle, which swims the oceans for thirty years and for thousands of miles in search of food, only to return, uncannily, to lay her eggs on the very beach where she was born. The author's next book, BAT LOVES THE NIGHT, is a tenderly written ode to a much-misunderstood flying mammal, the pipistrelle bat, while SURPRISING SHARKS--winner of a BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Honor Award--contains unexpected facts about another one of the planet's most infamous animals.
When she is not off on scientific expeditions, Nicola Davies lives in a cottage in Somerset, England, where she is lucky enough to have pipistrelle bats nesting in her roof.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
July 15, 2012
4.5 STARS
I really loved this book for what it did. We follow a day in the life of a pipistrelle bat and she is so darn cute! The text is engaging and even a bit lyrical, not at all dry, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story and illustrations. Probably would have been a five-star book except that I would have liked a little more information about other types of bats maybe in an Afterward.
I really loved this book for what it did. We follow a day in the life of a pipistrelle bat and she is so darn cute! The text is engaging and even a bit lyrical, not at all dry, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story and illustrations. Probably would have been a five-star book except that I would have liked a little more information about other types of bats maybe in an Afterward.
June 13, 2017
This is a good children's book about one bat's night time journey. Laced with numerous drawings and side bars, it is an very good way for children to get a basic understanding of bats.
May 4, 2023
No sé cómo terminé leyendo este libro, pero me enseñó vocabulario nuevo 🤣
November 20, 2023
Loved the lyrical text of this one, with realistic illustrations. Nonfiction told in a story format is accessible and informative.
June 7, 2016
This was a short fun story about one bat's night flight, and it packs a punch with the most evocative explanation of echolocation I have ever read! "Bat shouts as she flies, louder than a hammer blow, higher than a squeak. She beams her voice around her like a flashlight, and the echoes come singing back. They carry a sound picture of all her voice has touched. Listening hard, Bat can hear every detail, the smallest twigs, the shape of leaves."
November 9, 2011
I love this book and the illustrations. It is very educational for children to learn about bats, as well as the general story. Wonderful book!
June 22, 2025
A little pipistrelle bat emerges from her roost in this lovely work of picture book natural history from British author/illustrator team Nicola Davies and Sarah Fox-Davies, flying through the night with the help of echolocation, and hunting for moths and other insects. As morning draws near, she returns to her home underneath some roof tiles, feeding her own little batling, waiting for her there...
Bat Loves to Fly is the second picture book of this nature from Candlewick Press that I have read from Davies, following upon her One Tiny Turtle , and like that other volume it is part of this publisher's Read and Wonder series, which includes a number of titles on various animals species. As with the book on turtles, I appreciated the gentle but information narrative here, with its little factual asides, and found the artwork from Fox-Davies, done in watercolor and pencil, absolutely charming. I really appreciated the use of color and light, and the way the artist (and the author!) made a species feared by some seem appealing. This feels a little young, perhaps because it has no back matter offering further information—something I missed in the other book as well—but I would recommend it to picture books audiences interested in bats specifically, and nocturnal animal in general.
Bat Loves to Fly is the second picture book of this nature from Candlewick Press that I have read from Davies, following upon her One Tiny Turtle , and like that other volume it is part of this publisher's Read and Wonder series, which includes a number of titles on various animals species. As with the book on turtles, I appreciated the gentle but information narrative here, with its little factual asides, and found the artwork from Fox-Davies, done in watercolor and pencil, absolutely charming. I really appreciated the use of color and light, and the way the artist (and the author!) made a species feared by some seem appealing. This feels a little young, perhaps because it has no back matter offering further information—something I missed in the other book as well—but I would recommend it to picture books audiences interested in bats specifically, and nocturnal animal in general.
December 22, 2024
This is the other book we're reading for our night sky literacy classroom visits, and I like it a lot more. For one thing, the illustrations are clearer and easier to see. For another thing, the bat is so frickin' cutie. I love her. She's so adorbs. And the page about the batlings? My heart is melting. I also appreciate that it isn't as sing-song-y and that it includes extra information that isn't exactly part of the book but you could look at if you wanted more information. I think this book sets up the point we're trying to make with the program nicely: animals need nighttime, and ensuring that our night skies are dark helps all the nocturnal critters thrive. It's a lot more dynamic and it has a lot of solid vocab words we can parse out for the program too. Also kids love critters. They're more tangible than The Concept of Light Pollution and The Stories People Tell About Darkness (looking at you TOWASFOS).
April 28, 2020
Bat Loves the Night: Read and Wonder is written by Nicola Davies. This story goes in depth about bats one in particular that is very small it is called the pipistrelle bat and they refer to it as she. The book goes on to explain the body parts of the abt and how they work, it talks about how it sleeps upside down and why they fly at night. This book really is just giving information about bats, the pipistrelle in particular and how they function throughout their everyday lives.
Davies explains this book in a very simple way, she does not make it complex to read which makes it enjoyable for younger kids. There are multiple pictures per page and it is showing what the text is trying to explain. They are used with what looks like watercolors and they have a very soft touch to them.
I gave this book 3 stars because it does hold a lot of information but the way it is written is kind of weird. At times in the book it sounds like there are missing words and that there is really no moral of the story. It really is just spitting out facts about bats which is okay but I think it may bore some kids, there is really no story behind it.
Davies explains this book in a very simple way, she does not make it complex to read which makes it enjoyable for younger kids. There are multiple pictures per page and it is showing what the text is trying to explain. They are used with what looks like watercolors and they have a very soft touch to them.
I gave this book 3 stars because it does hold a lot of information but the way it is written is kind of weird. At times in the book it sounds like there are missing words and that there is really no moral of the story. It really is just spitting out facts about bats which is okay but I think it may bore some kids, there is really no story behind it.
October 22, 2020
Vivid and beautiful nonfiction book. The text is almost lyrical, with plenty of metaphor and description such as “the moth’s pearly scales are moon-dust slippery.”, or “batling clings to bats fur by its coat hanger feet.”
The text is large and appealing for new nonfiction readers. It also features some nonfiction text features to introduce children to the genre, such as italic text, and a glossary.
The illustrations are nice, with a high level of detail. On many pages they bleed over into the text area which makes them appear to pop off the page a little.
The text is large and appealing for new nonfiction readers. It also features some nonfiction text features to introduce children to the genre, such as italic text, and a glossary.
The illustrations are nice, with a high level of detail. On many pages they bleed over into the text area which makes them appear to pop off the page a little.
October 23, 2021
fabulous award winning picture book. We are introduced to the most adorable Pipistrelle bat who leaves in the night to find food for her family. She swoops into the shadows, shouts as she flies ' louder than a hammer blow, higher than a squeak. She beams her voice around her like a flashlight, and the echoes come singing back'. Just wonderful language.
Nicola Davies is a zoologist and author, combing fiction with facts - bats aren't birds, they are mammals. They sleep upside down.
Nicola Davies is a zoologist and author, combing fiction with facts - bats aren't birds, they are mammals. They sleep upside down.
September 11, 2019
This is an informational text about bats in a children’s story format. I think it is very cute how they make “bat” a character that we follow in the story to understand how she lives. The illustrations in this novel are also beautiful. This is more of a fun text to read unless you are doing something specifically on mammals in a science class.
January 21, 2021
This is such a cute book and very educational! It has facts about bats throughout the book to help the reader not only engage in the story, but also learn more about bats. Any child who enjoys nature or animals would benefit from reading this book and learning about echolocation and nocturnal animals.
March 30, 2021
Davies does a great job of weaving storytelling and bite sized facts into her nature writing and like all of her books, Fox-Davies delivers fitting illustrations. We installed a bat box (incorrectly) this spring, and E. and I check it every couple of days. This was fun to read and for him to practice turning pages.
March 1, 2019
Really excellent. Does a great job at what it's trying to do. Enough of a narrative while giving a ton of information. Larger text for the story, with little blurbs of extra info throughout in different text size.
November 6, 2019
I love this wonderful book about bats. It is beautiful written, informative, and has lovely illustrations. I look forward to giving it to the Little Free Library I steward for our neighborhood kids to read.
January 24, 2021
The illustrations in this book does really well to show the true life of a bat. The books tells how bats use their amazing senses to hunt at night and then find their way back home when it gets light outside. The bat cares for her babies in the day time.
January 16, 2018
Good book for our kids' bat unit in the fall.
January 30, 2018
This informational text reads like your favorite picture book--with a lyrical flow and captivating illustrations.
February 15, 2018
Nice story about how a bat flies, sleeps, and eats, as well as how they care for their young. Lots of side matter and back matter info about bats.
May 8, 2018
Non-fiction in a narrative format describing the life of bats in the night. Engaging due to the narrative style and actually teaches the reader a lot about bats.
September 13, 2018
This simple story follows a bat through one night. Great for learning just a bit about bats with lyrical text and amazing illustrations.
September 17, 2018
This is a great book that will help the reader learn about the tiny bat called a pipistrelle. Wonderfully told story and fabulous illustrations.
February 9, 2019
Poetic and beautiful with lovely illustrations and learning moments.
July 3, 2019
Very interesting and engaging
October 8, 2019
Beautifully illustrated and mixed with facts.
November 26, 2019
This is a nicely drawn book about a bat's night journey.
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January 27, 2021Very cute book. I loved the bat facts and the real picture of bats in the book.
February 9, 2021
I love the pictures and the message in this book.
November 30, 2021
This is an excellent selection for third grade students. The book, written as narrative non-fiction, has easy to read text and lovely illustrations with informative captions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews