Stellaluna

"Wait! Wait! Let me look at this child." A bat pushed through the crowd...sniffing Stellaluna's fur, she whispered, "You are Stellaluna. You are my baby." My favorite moment from Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.

Although this book is too lengthy for us to enjoy in our whole group setting, I'm glad to see that the little ones are enjoying picture-walking through Stellaluna. Such great illustrations of the beautiful animal that is the fruit bat!

Thanks to the Tervoorts for sharing this photo from storytime.

Mothers and Pups

A mother bat carries her pup until it is too heavy to cling to her. Then she must leave it to roost in the "nursery colony" while she flies at night to find food.

"She places her baby in a cluster of other young bats, where it stays until she returns several hours later. When the mother comes back to the cave, she calls out to her youngster. Each bat has its own distinctive sound, and a mother bat is able to recognize her baby's cry even when there are hundreds of other bats nearby. When the mother bat gets close to her baby, she smells it carefully to make sure that it is hers. After letting her pup nurse, she cleans and grooms it."
-- From BAT by Caroline Arnold

This month we use our counting song as a way of exploring different places the bat pup would be roosting while mama is away.

One little, two little, three little bat pups...
roosting in a CAVE.
roosting in a BARN.
roosting in an ATTIC.

We also sing this song to Frere Jacques while pretending to be a zookeeper holding a bat (remember to emphasize to NEVER, EVER touch a real bat, that a zookeeper is specially trained for this!)...

Bats are sleeping.
Bats are sleeping,
Upside down.
Upside down.
Sleeping in the daytime.
Sleeping in the daytime.
Waiting for the nighttime.
Waiting for the nighttime.
To Fly Around.
To Fly Around.

As the world's ONLY flying mammal, bats are truly amazing, beautiful creatures!

Photo courtesy of David Wilbanks. Thanks, David!

NIGHT Fliers

Now she unhooks her toes and drops into black space.
With a sound like a tiny umbrella opening,she flaps her wings.
Bat is flying.
- Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies

Then the owl pumped its great wings
and lifted off the branch like a shadow
without sound.
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

They're both nocturnal. One perches, while the other hangs. Both can fly, but only one has feathers. This month we celebrate these amazing creatures of the night!

We'll sing to I'm a Little Tea Pot...

I'm a little owl up in a tree.
Here are my big, round eyes that help me see.

I can turn my head like this and that.
I like to fly at night like a bat.

So,when the sky turns dark and the moon comes out,
I'll lift my wings and fly about.

Then, like owls with their special, scalloped wings, we'll try to mimic silent flight.