BATS AT THE BEACH
Written and illustrated by Brian Lies
Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006
ISBN 0-618-55744-X
Quick, call out! Tell all you can reach:
the night is just perfect for bats at the beach!
So pack your buckets, banjoes, and blankets—don’t forget the moon-tan lotion—and wing with this bunch of fuzzy bats to where foamy sea and soft sand meet.
Brian Lies’ enchanting art and cheery beachside verse will inspire bedtime imaginations again and again. Come visit a bedazzling world of moonlight, firelight and... bats!
Awards:
• Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Book Award
• Maine Chickadee Award 2008–honor
Nominations:
• New Hampshire Ladybug Award
• 2009 California Young Reader Medal
• Grand Canyon Reader Award (AZ)
• Volunteer State Book Award (TN)
On June 24, 2006, NPR Weekend Edition Saturday's Scott Simon and children's writer Daniel Pinkwater read Bats at the Beach aloud on the show, and Pinkwater said, "Brilliant, brilliant paintings. . . just a whiz-bang summer book, anytime book. Everybody should look at this." The exposure vaulted Bats at the Beach to #2 in all books on Amazon.com. The book would go on to spend 14 weeks on the NY Times bestseller list.
BAT HYMN—When the board book version of BATS AT THE BEACH came out, we created a bat song, printed on the inside back cover. You can hear it here: