The Bat-Poet [Paperback]

Randall Jarrell (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: October 25, 1996 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 660L (What's this?)

There was once a little brown bat who couldn't sleep days-he kept waking up and looking at the world. Before long he began to see things differently from the other bats, who from dawn to sunset never opened their eyes. The Bat-Poet is the story of how he tried to make the other bats see the world his way.

Here in The Bat-Poet are the bat's own poems and the bat's own world: the owl who almost eats him; the mockingbird whose irritable genius almost overpowers him; the chipmunk who loves his poems, and the bats who can't make beads or tails of them; the cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, and sparrows who fly in and out of Randall Jarrell's funny, lovable, truthful fable.

Best Illustrated Children's Books 1964 (NYT)
Year's Best Juveniles 1964 (NYT)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Randall Jarrell's The Bat-Poet is the story of an artist. Although the bat-poet may look like a furry mouse with wings, he swells with an artistic sensibility. One day, he discovers how amazing it is to stay awake during daylight hours, exploring things mostly unseen by standard, nocturnal bats. But when he tries to get his bat friends to stay awake with him, they say, "Day's to sleep in." And so the sensitive bat-poet is left alone to embrace the wonders of the day, including the fascinating activities of the possums, squirrels, chipmunks, and especially the mockingbird. The bat-poet attempts to sing a song like the mockingbird's, "But when he tried, his high notes were all high and the notes in between were all high," so he imitates the mockingbird's words instead, and concocts poetry about how the sun "shines like a million moons" and other daytime marvels. Children will identify with the bat-poet's struggle to be understood, and adults will revel in Jarrell's artful prose and gentle wisdom. Maurice Sendak decorates more than illustrates the book with delicate, endearing pen-and-ink sketches of woodland scenes--the perfect complement to Jarrell's lyrical, philosophical, exquisitely spun fable. School Library Journal writes, "The totality charms by turns the eye, the ear, and the imagination, and as true poetry must, it satisfies the heart." (All ages) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Randall Jarrell (1914-1965) received the National Book Award for his book of poems The Woman at the Washington Zoo. His children's book The Animal Family was named a Newbery Honor Book, and his translation of The Three Sisters was produced by The Actors Studio Theatre.

In addition to Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak's books include Kenny's Window, Very Far Away, The Sign on Rosie's Door, Nutshell Library (consisting of Chicken Soup with Rice, Alligators All Around, One Was Johnny, and Pierre), Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life, In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy, and Bumble-Ardy.

He received the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are; the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration; the 1983 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, given by the American Library Association in recognition of his entire body of work; and a 1996 National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America. In 2003, he received the first Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an international prize for children's literature established by the Swedish government.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006205905X
• ISBN-13: 978-0062059055
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bat-Poet and me. April 20, 2001

By "jonathan990"

Format:Hardcover

This my favorite children's book. It is as good-- perhaps not as accessible-- as Charlotte's Web. It teaches real lessons about poetry and about loneliness. It asks questions that it can't answer: why do we like to read about things that frighten us? And it conveys the distinction between writing a poem that is praised and writing a poem that evokes real feelings.

That The Bat-Poet is so little known has always been a mystery to me. Then again, considering the state of publishing in this country, maybe it's not such a mystery. And maybe it's just as well that word-of-mouth is what brings new readers to the Bat-Poet.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Present From A Teacher March 17, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I am thirty-seven now and a teacher; I probably chose this profession because of Mr. Erick Burkett, who taught me and my chums when we were in sixth grade. He was patient and funny. He held us spellbound when he read L'Engle's "Wrinkle in Time". The next year he got married and moved away, but he saw some promise in me (I was constantly writing stories in sixth grade and showing them to him for his approval) and he wrote some very fatherly and wonderful letters to me until I was a senior in high school. When I was a senior he sent me "The Bat Poet" and encouraged me in my writing. Of course I wrote reams of poems after reading it. This is a very special book, especially for timid young students with dreams of being published.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A WONDERFUL LITTLE BOOK. April 28, 2007

By D. Blankenship HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Randall Jarrell has given us a beautiful little story here of a bat and Maurice Sendak has given us some wonderful illustrations in the form of black and white drawings. There is not much to not like about this work. The children love it, and the adult reading it to the children will find it just as interesting and hypnotic as the child, if not more so, but on a different level. The text is wonderfully simple and a pure joy to read. I recommened this one highly.