ALA Booklist (Mon May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

The infectious energy of Sweet's pop-eyed, floppy-winged bats shows no signs of abating in this third wild rumpus, after Bat Jamboree (1996) and Bats on Parade (1999). Emceed by host Click Dark, a twelve-hour dance program takes bats coast to coast through the Shrug, the Jitterbug, the Swim, the Twist, the Locomotion, and so on, capped by a set from the bat king himself, in blue suede shoes. Though it's all supposed to be an exercise in telling time, and a small clock face in the corner marks off each hour, the irregularly rhymed text's heavy beat and the multitude of boogie-mad bats are going to crowd the pedagogic intent out of the front seat for most young readers and listeners. No matter; though this can't touch Dan Harper's Telling Time with Big Mama Cat (1998) as a teaching tool, it's an irresistible invitation to children (and adults of a certain age) to get up and dance in the aisles. (Reviewed May 1, 2000)

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

Click Dark hosts American Batstand, a twelve-hour dance marathon, and every hour brings a new move--the jitterbug, twist, or bugaloo. The rhymes are often spotty in Appelt's verse ("pony" / "hokeypokey"?), and a recurring clock face, introduced to reinforce the sketchy time concept, doesn't account for a shift between Pacific and Eastern Standard Time. Endearing but oddly static illustrations show similar-looking dances.

Kirkus Reviews

Lights, camera, action; it's American Batstand, a 12-hour marathon of nonstop shake, rattle, and roll hosted by the ageless Click Dark. Captivating cartoon critters decked out in their best disco duds shimmy, shrug, and swim to a beat that changes every hour on the hour. Rhyming text carries the reader through a musical repertoire from jitterbug to jive. "There was rockin' in the rafters— / there was dancin' in the street. / Then they did the locomotion / and they boogied to the beat." Or "They twisted left and twisted right / until the hour of seven. / There was shakin', there was shoutin'—it was rockin' rollin' heaven!" Some of this may fly right over the heads of the intended audience, but they will certainly enjoy the rhythm of the poetry and the chance to dance the bop. And they might learn a little bit about telling time, too, since a mouse holds a small clock on each page with a time change. This is the third bat math book from this team and they seem to have the formula stirred just right. Boogie down. (Picture book. 4-6)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-This takeoff on American Bandstand adds a twist to learning-to-tell-time books. Click Dark, the bat-version host of American Batstand, leads the 12-hour dance program. A rhyming verse teaches children how to tell time while dancing to the oldies. The enthusiastic bats jitterbug, do the swim, the locomotion, the twist with "Chubby Checkers," the hootchi-coo, and the bugaloo. At the bottom of each page, a mouse holds a clock that advances from 1:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight as the show progresses. In a satisfying conclusion, as the TV audience awaits the "final demonstration," a solitary bat leaps out-in blue suede shoes. The rhymes are delightful and the narrative jives right along. Children will love them.-Wendy S. Carroll, Montclair Cooperative School, NJ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.