Nightsong

My son, aged 3, looooves this book. He is very interested in bats, so our librarian recommended this gem in addition to some non-fiction titles. We checked it out so often that we ended buying a copy. I also adore this book. The language is stirring and evocative, and the illustrations are perfectly paired with the text. It's rare that a picture book is this lush and atmospheric without being creepy. It helps that the baby bat, Chiro, has a darling little pot belly.The premise/plot of the book, from which the title is derived, is this: Chiro (like chiro-ptera, get it?) is afraid to leave the cave on his own, because it's dark and he can't see well. His mother tells him to use his voice to "sing" out to the world, and the world will "sing" back. Sure enough, he is able to find his way by listening to the "songs" of the objects and animals in his flightpath, and he grows more confident. After finding all the bugs he can eat, he explores until night ends and it's time to return to the cave. The text never uses the term "echolocation", but the principle is clearly and beautifully described.This is a gorgeous book! My son and I discovered it shortly after he turned three, but I'd recommend it for any child who enjoys picture books. Also good for growing readers as there is a varied and moderately difficult vocabulary.

It’s Chiro’s first day out on his own, and to be honest, the little bat is a little afraid of the dark. When he tells his mother that it’s dark outside and that he can’t always see, his mother answers him back that “There are other ways to see, other ways to help you make your way in the world”.If you're not familiar with Ari Berk I can best describe him by calling him a Magician poet. His simple words have complex and deep meanings that both child and parent can benefit from. The drawings by Loren Long make what might be a frightening animal into a being that children will fall in love with. That there are no Chiro dolls for sale is a great wonder! Nightsong is a work of art that I suggest you buy two of: one for day to day use; the other to pass down in the family because that's what families do with their treasures.Joe Taylor, Yaroos.com

This is a cute little story about an adorable bat, Chiro, who's mother tells him it's time to go out by himself and find his own food. When Chiro expresses concern about being alone and not being able to see very well, his mother tells him, "Use your good sense... Sense is the song you sing out into the world, and the song the world sings back to you." I like this. As you might suspect, Chiro was frightened at first, but remembered his mother's words and everything went very well. The illustrations (mostly of Chiro) are absolutely enchanting.The part I take issue with is that Chiro's mother also told him to come home after eating breakfast and to not go past the pond "unless your song is sure." Well, after he gets full he sings his loudest and goes over the ocean for a bit and then decides to go home. My kids (5 and 4) were confused as to why he kept going past the pond when his mother told him to come home, and I had to explain about his "song being sure." That's fine... but there was no story development after that. The author has a very poetic style of writing and his description of the ocean song, so to speak, was lovely... but sort of anticlimactic. Chiro just wanted to explore, which is also just fine. Again, this spurred more questions from my kids, "Why didn't she want him to go past the pond? Is it dangerous out there?" Didn't seem to be. It was just his first time out by himself and she wanted him home soon. Kids are used to stories like "Peter Rabbit" where mothers have clear rules for clear reasons. But again... it's fine.It would be helpful for a child to have some understanding of bats and how they "see" prior to reading this story. National Geographic Kids has a great one about Bats. "Hello, Bumblebee Bat" by Darrin Lunde is also an excellent choice.

My son loves bats, and this is the sweetest book to help teach little ones not to be scared! My son has to sleep with the book next to him every night and sings himself to sleep like chiro! Wonderful book!

Daughter loves this story. Bought for her so she would return the book from the school library since she kept rechecking it out

The illustrations in this book were wonderful! The story was very sweet and I loved how it showed a glimpse of a bat's life while still being a cute, sweet story and not a text book reading. I found it a great starting place for learning about bats. After reading it, my children, 4 and 6, asked questions about bats which we went to the internet and found as much information as they wanted. All and all I would recommend this book as a wonderful collection to your childrens' library.

Super sweet book!! My son loves it overall, and I love bats, so it's great to read together. Great story about facing an unknown and getting through it by trusting yourself :)

This book is the sweetest, loviest, tale about finding your own way and being encouraged by those that love you. I gave this to some of our teachers for appreciation week. Quite a few sincerely tender sentences in this treasure of a book. Please read it to your people- they will love it.

Lovely illustrations;and tells the story from the bat's point of view.

I fell in love with the illustrations, and stayed for the story. A wonderful gift for the children in your life!

This is the book I already have and always loved it. I gifted it to another kid who turned 5. She absolutely loved it!

I wanted to like this book but found it long winded. My children always started getting restless before it was done and none of us fell in love with it. That being said, the idea was lovely.