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Bat's Big Game
The Animals and Birds are getting ready for the big game. Bat wants to WIN. The Animals look strong and fast, so Bat picks that side. But when the Animals fall behind, Bat switches to the Bird team--doesn't a bat have wings? Maybe the Birds will win!
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Read MacDonald
92 books78 followersFollow
Biography
Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald travels the world telling stories....always on the lookout for more great folktales to share. She shapes these found stories into tellable tales which anyone can share with ease. Filling her folktale collections with these delightful tales, she creates perfect read alouds for you and your family. MRM wants everyone to experience the joy of a beautifully told tale. She hopes you will read them a few times...then put down the book...put down the electronic device...and just TELL the story to your children!
Some of her favorite folktales she expands into picture books...hopefully with delightfully readable language while will roll right out of your mouth. Share them with your children and then....act the tales out! Revisit the tales by TELLING them! At bedtime. While on the road. Fill your pockets with great stories to share wherever you go.
Joining her Folklore Ph.D. with her 30 plus years as a children's librarian, Margaret brings folktales to life in playful, lilting language which should delight both reader and listener.
See her performance schedule at: www.margaretreadmaconald.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 15, 2009
Cute story about a bat who just wants to play on the winning team. He starts off by Joining the "Animal" team, but then quickly switches to the "Bird" team when the Animals start loosing. He proceeds to flip flop from team to team depending on the score until the animals become wise to his plan and remove him from both teams.
The story is cute but it just seems thickly layered in the message that you can't just pick to be on the winning team.
The story is cute but it just seems thickly layered in the message that you can't just pick to be on the winning team.
April 29, 2019
In this book, the Animals and the Birds are having a soccer game. Bat wants to play in the soccer game too, but he only wants to be on the winning side. At first, he chooses to be on the Animals side where he cheers and cheers for his team to win. When the Animals start to lose, Bat decides to sneak over to the Birds team. Here he cheers and cheers for his new team to win until they begin to lose. At the end of the book, Bat learns an important lesson regarding team loyalty.
July 2, 2021
Cute book with great characters that require fun voices when reading aloud. It has a good lesson about how playing the game is more important than winning, but the ending felt kind of mean. My biggest problem is that the teams are the Animals and the Birds...but birds ARE animals. Maybe if it had been mammals and birds, but then the bat is not a bird, so that's off too. I guess I got too caught up in these scientific specifications that it took away from my enjoyment of the book.
June 18, 2024
Hmmm, why do I think no baseball was involved in this story?
Given that the hero is an altogether different kind of bat....
Goodreaders, I read this book as a parable about loyalty. In this soccer game Bat's loyalty is only to winning. He even switches sides.
Children with some depth to them can appreciate bow this educational tale is about playing two sides against each other.
FIVE STARS
Given that the hero is an altogether different kind of bat....
Goodreaders, I read this book as a parable about loyalty. In this soccer game Bat's loyalty is only to winning. He even switches sides.
Children with some depth to them can appreciate bow this educational tale is about playing two sides against each other.
FIVE STARS
March 24, 2020
creative & fun! look at that cover. so fun. finding such amazing reads these days. well done!! check it out ... i have been reading a lot of Margaret's read lately ... so fun. enjoyable ... very creative and quick & done!
May 14, 2020
Genre: Children Fiction
Grade: K-3
This book definitely left me wanting more at the end. The whole story felt like a build-up and then in the end, it ended abruptly. However, the message of the story is a very important one that all kids struggle with, I think.
Grade: K-3
This book definitely left me wanting more at the end. The whole story felt like a build-up and then in the end, it ended abruptly. However, the message of the story is a very important one that all kids struggle with, I think.
September 13, 2018
Just okay, although the illustrations were nice, the message felt heavy-handed to me.
June 28, 2020
Cute story about integrity.
October 12, 2020
This book is going to be great for teaching my students that they can do things they might not be best suited for!
March 30, 2022
What a great book and what a great way to express it
January 23, 2024
Art was nice, no real conclusion in the story.
August 9, 2024
As much as I love bats, I didn't care for this story. I didn't like that they made the bat into a cheater and I hated the ending. I was disappointed. I wasn't even enjoying the illustrations. The one star is purely because it featured a bat. I just wished it sent a better message.
November 7, 2016
Title: Bat’s Big Game
Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Eugenia Nobati
Genre: Fable
Themes: Sportsmanship, Loyalty, Soccer, Don’t play both sides at once, Winning isn’t everything
Opening line:
The Animals and the Birds decided to have a ball game.
Brief book summary: A soccer game is held with birds vs. animals. A bat comes along and joins the animals team because they look stronger, and he want to be on the winning team. As the birds start winning the game he pretends like he never joined the animals and goes on the bird’s team. He keeps switching back and forth between teams every time a different one is in the lead. The animals and birds eventually catch on to what Bat is doing so they tell him he can’t be on either of their teams. At the end of the book it exclaims how bat learned his lesson, and he’ll never try to play both sides at once again.
Professional Recommendation/ Review #1: CLCD: Susan Borges (Children's Literature) Through the use of a popular sport and appealing animal characters, this simplified retelling of a classic Aesop s tale teaches a lesson about team spirit, loyalty and friendship. The Animals and Birds decide to play a competitive game of soccer, and both teams design T-shirts to prepare for the big game. The Birds T-shirts are orange with a big white B and the Animals T-shirts are blue with a big white B. Bat, who wants to play on the winning team, switches from team to team throughout the game and is finally told that he can not play at all because, as Bear says, good players stick with their team even when they are losing. This is a wonderful book with a special message and illustrations that are lively, expressive and unique. Young readers will learn about characteristics of animals as well as birds as they read about how Bat classifies himself as a bird to be on the birds team and then as an animal to be on the animals team. Young readers will enjoy this delightful animal story about soccer, loyalty and sportsmanship, and they will enjoy reading this book with or without an adult reading partner. This appealing book will be treasured by young readers, and it will be a wonderful addition to any primary-grade classroom library collection.
Professional Recommendation/ Review #2: CLCD- Shelle Rosenfeld:
It s time for the Animals versus Birds soccer game. Bat only wants to play on the winning team, though, and he decides that the Animals have a better shot at victory. Showing off his teeth and fur, Bat convinces the Animals that he belongs with them, but when the Birds start winning, Bat slips away, removes his A jersey, and, spreading his wings, convinces the Birds that he is one of them. Then the Animals regain the lead, and Bat tries to change sides again. Bat learns his lesson, though, when Bear tells him that a good player sticks with the team, even when they are losing. MacDonald s retelling of an Aesop tale features a lively cast of diverse animals and birds. The text incorporates font and punctuation cues to inspire lively read-alouds, and the colorful, stylized digital illustrations feature animated soccer action and comical characters. Kids will find Bat s escapades entertaining, and they may also appreciate the lessons in loyalty and sportsmanship. A brief author s note cites the story s source.
Response to two professional reviews: Both reviews give very positive feedback towards this book. I agree that this would be a great addition to a primary grade classroom because the different faces the animals make are very entertaining. I also think you could turn this into a fun read aloud as there are certain chants said throughout the book.
Evaluation of literary elements: The plot works for the audience this book is intended for because kids will understand the idea of winning vs. losing on a sports team as many of them probably play on some kind of team. The author uses repetition as the bat always cheers, “Go! Go! Go! I’m on the winning side!” The illustrator uses green tones for the background of the pages instead of showing a typical, white background.
Consideration of instructional application: This book can be used in a readers workshop to teach kids to identify the moral of a story. I would read through the book and have them brainstorm what they thought the moral of the story was. I would then go over the correct moral and have them identify clues in the story that led to the moral. For the independent practice part of the readers workshop I would have the students write their own story that had to have a moral in it.
Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Eugenia Nobati
Genre: Fable
Themes: Sportsmanship, Loyalty, Soccer, Don’t play both sides at once, Winning isn’t everything
Opening line:
The Animals and the Birds decided to have a ball game.
Brief book summary: A soccer game is held with birds vs. animals. A bat comes along and joins the animals team because they look stronger, and he want to be on the winning team. As the birds start winning the game he pretends like he never joined the animals and goes on the bird’s team. He keeps switching back and forth between teams every time a different one is in the lead. The animals and birds eventually catch on to what Bat is doing so they tell him he can’t be on either of their teams. At the end of the book it exclaims how bat learned his lesson, and he’ll never try to play both sides at once again.
Professional Recommendation/ Review #1: CLCD: Susan Borges (Children's Literature) Through the use of a popular sport and appealing animal characters, this simplified retelling of a classic Aesop s tale teaches a lesson about team spirit, loyalty and friendship. The Animals and Birds decide to play a competitive game of soccer, and both teams design T-shirts to prepare for the big game. The Birds T-shirts are orange with a big white B and the Animals T-shirts are blue with a big white B. Bat, who wants to play on the winning team, switches from team to team throughout the game and is finally told that he can not play at all because, as Bear says, good players stick with their team even when they are losing. This is a wonderful book with a special message and illustrations that are lively, expressive and unique. Young readers will learn about characteristics of animals as well as birds as they read about how Bat classifies himself as a bird to be on the birds team and then as an animal to be on the animals team. Young readers will enjoy this delightful animal story about soccer, loyalty and sportsmanship, and they will enjoy reading this book with or without an adult reading partner. This appealing book will be treasured by young readers, and it will be a wonderful addition to any primary-grade classroom library collection.
Professional Recommendation/ Review #2: CLCD- Shelle Rosenfeld:
It s time for the Animals versus Birds soccer game. Bat only wants to play on the winning team, though, and he decides that the Animals have a better shot at victory. Showing off his teeth and fur, Bat convinces the Animals that he belongs with them, but when the Birds start winning, Bat slips away, removes his A jersey, and, spreading his wings, convinces the Birds that he is one of them. Then the Animals regain the lead, and Bat tries to change sides again. Bat learns his lesson, though, when Bear tells him that a good player sticks with the team, even when they are losing. MacDonald s retelling of an Aesop tale features a lively cast of diverse animals and birds. The text incorporates font and punctuation cues to inspire lively read-alouds, and the colorful, stylized digital illustrations feature animated soccer action and comical characters. Kids will find Bat s escapades entertaining, and they may also appreciate the lessons in loyalty and sportsmanship. A brief author s note cites the story s source.
Response to two professional reviews: Both reviews give very positive feedback towards this book. I agree that this would be a great addition to a primary grade classroom because the different faces the animals make are very entertaining. I also think you could turn this into a fun read aloud as there are certain chants said throughout the book.
Evaluation of literary elements: The plot works for the audience this book is intended for because kids will understand the idea of winning vs. losing on a sports team as many of them probably play on some kind of team. The author uses repetition as the bat always cheers, “Go! Go! Go! I’m on the winning side!” The illustrator uses green tones for the background of the pages instead of showing a typical, white background.
Consideration of instructional application: This book can be used in a readers workshop to teach kids to identify the moral of a story. I would read through the book and have them brainstorm what they thought the moral of the story was. I would then go over the correct moral and have them identify clues in the story that led to the moral. For the independent practice part of the readers workshop I would have the students write their own story that had to have a moral in it.
November 15, 2013
The bat in this book portrays us as humans when it comes to wanting to win and to be on a winning team. Especially with children, they like to win because this is pressured by their parents and our society. We teach children that winning is good and that losing is bad. This concept of idea needs to be changed. Like the book, with all the different characters of animals and birds, they all have feelings. And when the bat was going back and forth on the teams, it upset them all. We should teach children that it is ok to lose and that winning is not everything. Regardless of winning or losing, it should be fun and enjoyable. As long as you did your very best, it should not matter if you win or lose. Sometimes trying to win all the time will put in last or losing position. Being humble and having good sportsmanship is more important to our children than being a winner at any cost.
February 18, 2013
This is a very cute story about the Bat and the game. There is a game between the birds and the animals. The bat keeps changing teams secretly to be on the winning team. Once all of the birds and animals find out, they ask him to choose, but he cannot make up his mind. He only wants to be on the winning team, so everyone decides to kick him off and not allow him to play. This is a great story to talk about playing fair, as well as perspectives. I would use this book in the first few weeks to talk about being fair and playing by the rules and to show students that we win and we lose some. It can also be used to talk about the different perspectives and how each of the animals (birds, animals, and bat) felt.
September 30, 2012
Illustrated by Eugenia Nobati
This is a good story to use as a good way to introduce playing fair with others. Bat wants to be on a winning team, so at first the animals are winning, and bats are mammals, so he joins that team. Then the birds are winning so he joins the birds, since he has wings he tells the birds he is a bird. Bat goes back and forth because he wants to win, after awhile the animals and the birds realize what bat is doing and tell him he can't be on either team, because a good player stay with their team even if they are losing. This book can be used for Social/Emotional development.
This is a good story to use as a good way to introduce playing fair with others. Bat wants to be on a winning team, so at first the animals are winning, and bats are mammals, so he joins that team. Then the birds are winning so he joins the birds, since he has wings he tells the birds he is a bird. Bat goes back and forth because he wants to win, after awhile the animals and the birds realize what bat is doing and tell him he can't be on either team, because a good player stay with their team even if they are losing. This book can be used for Social/Emotional development.
Read
February 1, 2011This is a funny story about a Bat who wants to be on the winning team when the Animals and Birds play a game of soccer against one another. Each time the Animals or Birds were in the lead, the Bat would switch sides to whatever team that was winning. In the end, the Bat gets kicked out of the game because he kept on switching teams. This book can be used as a teaching tool when teaching a lesson about honesty. It also can help you explain to students what a team player is and the importance of working with one another to reach the same goal.
April 25, 2016
So the message about Bat being a poor sport and only wanting to win is nice. And I can see how it really only works in this particular set up with a bat as the main character, but I don't like the fact that it plays up the confusion about what a bat is for children and doesn't including anything to clear this up for readers that bats are indeed animals and there is no debate about this.
Update: I've since read the Aesop's fable that this book cribs for its storyline. As a modern retelling of the fable, it does just fine, but I still have trouble with the fake debate over bats classification.
Update: I've since read the Aesop's fable that this book cribs for its storyline. As a modern retelling of the fable, it does just fine, but I still have trouble with the fake debate over bats classification.
October 26, 2010
The animals and birds decide to play a game of soccer. The bat, wants to "WIN, WIN, WIN." He decides to play with the animals, but when he realizes the animals aren't making any goals, he decides to play with the birds. He switches back and forth, just to play on the winning team. Bat gets caught and is suspended from the game. The moral of the story is that you stick with your team through the wins and losses. Good book to teach morals and teamwork.
December 6, 2010
This story is about a bat who wants to win a soccer game so bad that he switches back/forth between teams according to which one is winning. In a classroom setting I would use this book for a conversations about team spirit or good sportsmanship, however, there is a little bit of animal classification that one could also take notice of.
November 19, 2011
This story is a retell of a traditional fable. Bat, the main character cannot decide if he wants to be on the animals' or the birds' soccer team. He chooses teams, but when they are not winning he switches. This book would be great for a literature circle or classroom discussion about loyalty. The illustrations are very vivid and cute!
Copyright 2008
Copyright 2008
Read
April 14, 2012Bat jumps from team to team in a soccer game to try & ensure he is on the winning team.
Story could be used to teach that winning isn't everything. . .students should play to have fun and enjoy the game.
Story could be used to teach that winning isn't everything. . .students should play to have fun and enjoy the game.
August 9, 2008
This had potential to drive home a very important lesson about winning/losing but missed the mark.
October 27, 2009
Q didn't like this book. She cried at the end. She said, "They are so mean, now bat can't play on the team ever again!"
November 6, 2009
A great book about sticking with your team, even though they might be losing.
July 2, 2011
Mommy says: We learned the lesson that you don't keep switching teams just to be on the winning side. You stick with what you have. Loyalty!
August 2, 2012
I love the lesson this books teaches about sticking with your team and not switching sides.
September 7, 2012
An interesting take on Aesop's The Bat, The Birds and The Beasts, turning a war into a friendly soccer game.
October 11, 2018
Sportsmanship
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews