Customer Reviews

Stellaluna Book and Puppet

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

My boys love this book! They loved it so much I bought the CD-ROM book as well. And the plush bat! They enjoy hanging Stellaluna upside down while reading the story.

The story itself is a little scary when the owl appears and Stellaluna is separated from her mother in the dark forest. But the mother bird and her babies are quick to accept and help Stellaluna. The story emphasizes that differences should be celebrated and accepted, and it's always best to just be yourself. It also shines a positive spotlight on an animal that gets a bad rap--the bat. I'd rate this book better than Cannon's other book, which is about snakes, "Verdi."

The artwork is beautiful; I love simply looking at the pages. And the "Bat Notes" section at the end is informative; I know because my pre-reading child wanted me to read it out loud several times!

Lovers of nature, superb artwork, and literature will not be disappointed reading this story to their little ones.

If I HAD to answer the question: What is your favorite children's book?, I would have to pick "Stellaluna." There, this children's librarian committed, but I think my students would know that. It's one of their favorites, too!!

What makes this book so special? E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!! The story line, the embedded lessons, and the sweet, sweet illustrations. I don't know how well you can see the young bat's face on the cover. If you can, notice that darling tongue sticking out, like a puppy's. Notice her struggle, expressed with joy, to hold on to the limb. And we have not even opened the book yet!

This is the story of a young bat who is separated from her mother after an owl attacks them in flight. She falls into a tree, then into a bird's nest filled with three hungry babies who are already fully feathered. The mother bird adopts her but insists she eat bugs like her babies. Stellaluna is a fruit bat, but adopts the ways of birds, except for hanging by her feet to sleep. Her new siblings try it one day. Mother returns and expresses her dismay. The babies are hilariously portrayed with their bird feathers hanging down from their heads.

When they learn to fly, poor Stellaluna is so clumsy trying to land upright on a limb with feet equipped for hanging, not perching. At night her bat radar comes into play and she goes weird on them flying by radar. Eventually, her bat mother finds her and Stella's world is restored. She discovers she eats mangoes, not bugs. She is delighted!

And the second best part is that she remains friends with her bird friends.

Embedded lessons:
1. Bats are what they are; birds are what they are.
2. We can accept each other's differences and be enriched by the experience.
3. It's good to walk in another's shoes just a short time.
4. There are some artists with stories sweet and heartwarming without being saccharine.
5. The author furnishes "Bat Notes" on the last two pages for further educational value.

This book belongs in every child's personal library and on the shelf in every children's library. Highly recommended.

Other favorite books by Janell Cannon:
Pinduli
Verdi

This book is about Stellaluna, a baby bat who finds itselflost, hungry, alone, and accidentally in a nest full of baby birds. The little bat is accepted by the birds, but somehow never feels at home, especially after a good scolding from the mother bird about hanging upside down -- hillarious.

The artwork is outstanding, the story is entertaining, and children and adults love this book. I have even picked it up and read it a time or two after the children went to bed.

This is an award winning book, and for good reason. There are strong underlying messages in it about place, acceptance, home and family.

Definitely 5+ stars...

I am a teacher in Scottsdale, Arizona. This book is such a powerful tool in teaching children about accepting people for who they are, especially our friends. This simple story of a bat is one children can enjoy and understand.

Stellaluna is about bats and birds. Stellaluna is a bat who behaves like a bird. Bats can see in the dark and birds cant. Yes I did like Stellaluna. It's funny when the birds hang upside down. The pictures are cute and funny.

This book is about Stellaluna, a baby bat who finds itself lost, hungry, alone, and accidentally in a nest full of baby birds. The little bat is accepted by the birds, but somehow never feels at home, especially after a good scolding from the mother bird about hanging upside down -- hillarious.

The artwork is outstanding, the story is entertaining, and children and adults love this book. I have even picked it up and read it a time or two after the children went to bed.

This is an award winning book, and for good reason. There are strong underlying messages in it about place, acceptance, home and family.

Definitely 5+ stars.

"Stellaluna" is the creation of Janell Cannon, who has for years helped educate children on animals, and dispel myths about animals that are not as cute and cuddly as pets. Stellaluna is a baby fruit bat who is knocked from her mother's grasp in a fight with an owl; she finds herself in the nest of an accommodating bird and is raised with three of her chicks. The book deals with recognizing and appreciating differences in others, respecting rules of the house, and concepts of love and friendship.

The book is well written and gorgeously illustrated: kids will love it, and adults will be stunned by the quality of the artwork. Throughout it all, the messages of the importance of respect and friendship are paramount. The book deals especially well with the need to "fit in" felt by most children at some point, and pointedly deals with clumsiness and physical differences. The last two pages of the book are devoted to scientific facts on bats, and are both interesting and informative. I thought it was great that Cannon taught young readers about Stellaluna (she's a fruit bat, or megachiroptera, and as such is a relatively large bat,) which makes reading the book not only a fun experience with important life lessons, but also a factual source of information for young inquiring minds.

"Stellaluna" is everything you could want in a children's book, and I recommend it to parents, teachers, and (of course) children everywhere.

My first reaction to the book when the owl swooped down on the bats was "Oh, no, another Bambi, mother-abandonment story." It was a good thing it all ended happily. The story had nice, heartwarming elements, from little Stellaluna anxious to please the mother bird, and the baby birds trying "bat tricks" to the final reunion of the bat and the birds, and all of them still getting along.

I read this to my two-year old, and she loved it and she learned things from it. I would recommend it for an audience younger than 4.

I judge a book as well-written if the parent can read it over and over again on request and still find the book appealing. This book passed the test.

In my opinion "Stellaluna" (a children's story book published for children between 4-7) is an extremly well written children's story book.
When a mother fruit bat is attacked by an owl, her baby bat
falls. Between branches and trees, twigs, thorns and vines; falls the dear Stellaluna.
This book is about survival of the battiest. Cannon describes with great detail and emotion. When I first read this book, I didn't think there was a moral. I was to engrossed in the book to bother for menial tasks as paying attention. But, I have finally figured it out. The moral of this story is, "No matter what happens in life, those who you can depend upon the most is your family and friends".
When you read this book I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Stellaluna is both well-written and lavishly illustrated -- a delight for the young child to view and the older child (as well as the parent) to read -- a rarity among picture books. . My three-year-old has had this book since birth, and has loved it since day one, asking for it to be read over and over.

The story: We follow the young fruit-bat, Stellaluna, through her ordeal of becoming lost and her subsequent upbringing by a family of birds. The resultant bat-bird behavior confuses Stellaluna, but will delight your child with its absurdity. The story contains good conflict resolution, as Stellaluna regains her bat identity and her family, something sure to comfort and teach your child.

For further entertainment, I highly recommend Ms. Cannon's book, VERDI ( a similar tale about a green python; wonderfully written and well-illustrated), as well as the CD-ROM edition of STELLALUNA produced by Living Books (one of the few really GOOD CD-ROMs for children).