Stellaluna/ by Janell Cannon

I must admit STELLALUNA by Janell Cannon is not a book I would have chosen to read.  The bat exhibit is one  thing I always skip when I visit the zoo.  They creep me out!  But having been given the assignment, I passed the "cute" illustration on the cover and proceeded to read the story of a young fruit bat who is separated from her mother after an owl attacks them in flight. She falls into a tree, then head first into a bird's nest of three baby birds named Pip, Flitter and Flap.  The baby birds adopt some of Stellaluna's ways much to the dismay of their mother.  She takes Stellaluna under her wing but insists she eat bugs like her babies. So, as much s she possibly can she adopts the ways of birds. She sleeps at night and when they learn to fly Stellaluna flies gracefully but trying to land upright on a limb with feet equipped for hanging, not perching she is about as clumsy as can be.  Eventually, her bat mother finds her and Stellaluna's world is restored. She was enriched by experiencing life with the birds (it's good to walk in another's shoes) but she was delighted to eat mangoes instead of bugs!

I enjoyed reading the author's "Bat Notes" on the last two pages.  Maybe I'll stop in to see the bats the next time I go to the zoo.
Bonnie R

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