Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) [Paperback]

Ann Earle (Author), Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2

Bats fly into the spotlight in this exploration of such basics as where the live, how mothers raise their pups, and how they hunt for food. Included as well is a simple plan for a building a backyard bat house.

1995 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)
Best Children's Science Books 1995 (Science Books and Films)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4?An easy-to-read, basic introduction to the behavior and characteristics of bats. Rather than concentrating on a single species as Barbara Bash does in Shadows of Night (Sierra Club, 1993), Earle provides a more general overview of these fascinating flying mammals. She stresses the ecological role they play in the reduction of harmful insects and tries to dispel negative myths about them. The attractive acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations clearly reinforce the material presented in the text. In addition, information is provided on how people can help these creatures, which species are endangered, and building bat houses to attract them.?Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 2^-3, younger for reading aloud. From the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series, this book aims to decrease children's fear of bats by increasing their knowledge and appreciation of the little brown bat, the most common in the U.S. The cogent text talks about bats' wing structure, claws, echolocation, grooming, hibernation, nursing, loss of habitat, and endangerment. Introducing bats as insect eaters, Earle puts their prodigious appetites in terms that children will understand: "Each night a bat chomps half its own weight in bugs. If you weigh 60 pounds, that's like eating 125 peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches every day." The book ends with fast facts on a few other bat species and simple plans for building bat houses. The artwork, combining acrylic paints and colored pencils, includes appealing full-page and double-page illustrations of bats as well as of children watching them. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Collins (March 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006445133X
• ISBN-13: 978-0064451338
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 9.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Mammals > Nonfiction

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent nonfiction, March 21, 2004

By 

ardnam "ardnam" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Paperback)

This is a very readable children's book about bats. It helps to dispel some of those nasty myths about our only flying mammal that seem to persist. I use this book as part of my unit on bats that I teach in my second grade classroom. A twin text that I also use is Stellaluna. Pairing fiction and nonfiction works very well with young children. Zipping... is very informative and a very good resource for exposing children to needed symbiosis of man and nature. I will be building a bat house with ny students as a follow up. Think about this book the next time you find yourself swatting at a pesky mosquito.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Book, April 25, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Paperback)

Have you ever wanted to learn about bats? Well, I did. So after reading Anne Earle's fabulous book, Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats, I learned that bats are innocuous, useful and interesting mammals. Let me tell you what I have assimilated.
Bats are considered nefarious by many people but they are actually very timid and friendly. Bats are also considered good luck in China. Many emperors like to have illustrations of bats on their possessions in order to bring them serendipity. Some kids in Midfield, Alabama even formed a club called B.A.T. which is an acronym for Bats Are Terrific. The purpose of the club is to inform people how harmless and useful bats are to people.
Speaking of usefulness, let me illustrate how bats are helpful to humans. Since bats are insectivores (eat only insects), they prey on bugs that bother humans like the menacing mosquito. Bats at Bracken Cave, near San Antonio, Texas, eat approximately 500,000 lbs. of insects a night! That is equal to 250 tons!! That is useful because those insects could have obliterated farmers' crops and people's plants. Also, bats help humans by pollinating flowers and allowing the fruit to grow.
Bats are interesting too! Most bats use echolocation. This is when the bat finds the location of an object or prey by sending out sound waves and listening for the echo. There is at least one bat that does not use echolocation. It is the California Leaf-nosed bat. This bat listens for the insect's footsteps or wing beats to find its meal. Another interesting detail about bats is that they are expert fliers. These mammals also use their wings to catch a scrumptious refection. The prey gets caught in the bat's wing membrane and the bat flips it onto its stomach and then gobbles it up. Next, bats hang upside down in caves, under viaducts, and some attics. They use their talons to get a grip of the ceiling. While hanging upside down, they may choose to sleep or groom themselves. Bats keep themselves as clean as cats by using their tongues to keep themselves immaculate. The last interesting detail that you may want to know is that some spelunkers accidentally kill bats by waking them during their hibernation. When the cave explores wake up the bats, the bats have to use a copious amount of fat to find a new resting spot. Now they won't have enough stored up food (or fat) to make it until spring.
Now that you have read my report about Anne Earle's fabulous book, Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats, I hope you have learned that bats are innocuous, useful and interesting.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, fun and educational, November 18, 2001

By 

"sweetinfidel" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Paperback)

I love this book and so do my 5 year old son and 7 year old daughter. It is filled with great pictures of bats and all kinds of bat facts. It lets you know that bats are nothing to fear and even shows you how to make a bat house in the back of the book. Did you know that bats are the only flying animals that nurse their young? Bat "pups" hang together in large groups called nurseries and each mother returns at least twice during the night to feed her little pup. Did you know that there is a bat in Australia that has a six foot wing span? I didn't until I read this book...don't worry they eat fruit! I liked bats before...now I like them even more.