Megabat

Take a story about a bat. Add in pictures of the adorable bat with chubby cheeks and bright eyes. Make the bat talk in silly almost-English. And voila! You have a book that both my six-year-old girl and eleven-year-old boy demand to hear at every spare moment!

Daniel just moved into a home that he hates. He is far from his friends, and his room is in the attic. The first night in the new home, he slips on a mysterious puddle at the top of the stairs in his room. Then he is woken up by a strange voice calling for “buttermelons.” He is sure the house is haunted.

The next day, Daniel discovers the source of the water and the voice. It is a small, furry, brown bat, who is crying because he’s lost and far from home. The bat comes out of hiding when Daniel takes a jelly roll up to his attic room—the bat exclaims, “yours gots red smoosh-fruit!” He eats the jelly, burps loudly, then excuses himself: “Scu-zzi.”

The bat is a fruit bat—which Daniel learns are sometimes known as megabats, and dubs the bat with the new name. Megabat comes from the land of “Papaya Premium” and desperately wants to return. So Daniel teams up with the girl next door to send Megabat back to his home.

My kids loved every minute of this book! They often repeated Megabat’s words, which they considered hilarious. My son tried to anticipate Daniel’s next steps throughout the book, and was pleased if he was right.

The characters were perfect for young readers to embrace. Daniel partners with his next-door neighbor, Talia, to find ways to send Megabat home. Daniel and Talia make a great team and work well together as they search for solutions. Talia has a brother, Jamie, who is unlikable right to the end. Daniel and Talia have to avoid Jamie as they help Megabat.

Author Anna Humphrey is also the author of the Clara Humble series, as well as other books for middle grade and young adult readers. You can find more about her at her website. Megabat is a great early middle grade or long chapter book!

I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Have you read any great books lately?