Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover ©2016 | -- |
Publisher's Hardcover ©2016 | -- |
Bats. Juvenile fiction.
Squirrels. Juvenile fiction.
Friendship. Juvenile fiction.
Bats. Fiction.
Squirrels. Fiction.
Friendship. Fiction.
Struggling to find a new place to live, Bat eventually chooses a leafy squirrel home in a tree. He doesn't want to disturb sleeping Squirrel to ask permission, so Bat grabs onto a twig and dozes off. When Squirrel finds Bat in the morning, she's not pleased. She can't wake him, but she leaves a note: "Dear Bat, Bug off! Sincerely, Squirrel." Mistaking her meaning, he writes an apology for leaving bugs on her bed. On different sleeping schedules, they continue to communicate solely through notes. After misinterpreting her words "Leave my house," he spends hours adding leaves to the home. The comedy of errors concludes when they become friends. Digitally colored, the charcoal-and-litho-crayon illustrations portray settings and characters with rounded lines and earthy hues. Both pictures and text have an accessible, childlike tone, and the misunderstanding-based humor will resonate with kids who find the written word challenging to decode. A possible read-aloud for classroom units on animal homes as well as the nocturnal-diurnal concept.
Kirkus ReviewsHomeless Bat moves in, unannounced, with Squirrel. Can this odd couple live together in peace?When Bat loses his home, he first tries an attic full of bats, who are too crowded to accept him. The fox, the skunk, and a nest of birds all turn him down as well. And he can't quite fit under a large mushroom. Then Bat notices a bunch of leaves lodged in a tree, with a small opening. Inside, he finds a cozy place to sleep. (He doesn't even notice Squirrel sleeping soundly nearby.) When Squirrel wakes up, she's startled to see a sleeping bat hanging from her ceiling, so fast asleep he can't be woken. Squirrel leaves a polite note, drawn in pencil on a big brown leaf, before she sets off to hide acorns. Bat's written answer is equally polite. But, given the nature of their respective sleep cycles, the two don't see each other for days. More notes follow; when Squirrel writes a note telling Bat to leave, Bat responds by adding more "leaves" to the cozy home. It takes a while, but Squirrel finally realizes she wants a friend, and Bat's happy to be that. Meisel's plot moves in appealing increments, stressing the importance not only of friendship, but also of courtesy; the epistolary relationship is an added bonus. His rich palette and expressively drawn animals add warmth to an important message. Odd-couple stories are far from an endangered species, but this one's worth making room for. (Picture book. 3-6)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Tone can be a tricky thing in written communication, as anyone who has sent an email a little too hastily knows. The same is apparently true of notes written on leaves and mushroom caps, something that Squirrel discovers as she tries to get her unexpected new housemate, Bat, to vacate her tree nest. -Dear Bat,
PreS-Gr 2 Bat has lost his home. He politely states his dilemma while asking different animals if he can live with themwithout success. That is, until he finally finds a perfect place in Squirrel's leafy houseunbeknownst to his host, who is still asleep when Bat arrives. When Squirrel wakes to find her unwelcome houseguest sleeping on a twig, she is not pleased. She asks him to leave in no uncertain terms. But as Bat is fast asleep, she decides to leave him a note "to be on the safe side." Squirrel's angry note orders the interloper to "bug off!," which Bat misinterprets to mean that Squirrel doesn't like bugs on her bed. Bat happily complies and piles his bugs in a corner, off Squirrel's bed, even leaving Squirrel a polite reply: "Sorry about the bugs! See you later! Bat." When Squirrel returns home to find her unwanted guest is still there, she is enraged and writes an even angrier note to Bat. A slew of hilarious mishaps and misunderstandings ensue. Readers will delight in guessing how sweet, clueless Bat will misread Squirrel's grumpy missives. However, the very last note will leave readers saying "Awww." The illustrations perfectly convey the feelings of Bat and Squirrel and reflect and enhance the overall tone of the story. This is an uplifting, giggle-inducing, winning read-aloud, ideal for any storytime. VERDICT A fresh, funny, sweet offering in which friendship triumphs despite obvious outward differences. A must-have for any library. Megan Kilgallen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, NY
ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)
In this fresh and funny picture book from Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator Paul Meisel, a lonely bat thinks he has found a perfect home—until he discovers that it's already inhabited by a persnickety squirrel.
Bat's excited -- he thinks he's found a perfect new home. Except Squirrel already lives there! Since each is asleep during the other's waking hours, the two begin exchanging notes. With these notes, Squirrel does her best to oust her unwelcome guest, but Bat misunderstands and thinks Squirrel is happy to have a new friend. This is a sweet opposites-attract friendship story that gently shows young readers how to find common ground despite outward differences.