There's so much to see inside Bats at the Library -visual jokes to make us chuckle, the glorious lure of being in a daytime public place by night, the charm of the faux-medieval hanging chandeliers and the soft stuccoed walls setting off the joyful bat invasion of this oh-so-human haunt, all set forth in amazing art. Some hang upside down beneath heavy wooden tables, while one 'toddler' bat, wearing a pair of 'air wings,' leans back in his mother's lap as he becomes lost inside the stories.īut now we have to leave our books half done.īut there's always hope for the book-loving bats. It's story time for the batling newbies, and the little ones experience the classics of children's literature anew, visualizing the stories in their own terms- Make Way for Batlings, Pippi Longwingling, Goodnight, Sun, Winnie the Bat, Alice and the Cheshire Bat, and Chitty Chitty Bat Bat. The young ones, new to the library experience, zip about, printing their images in the copier, splashing in a drinking fountain turned into a baby bat water park and pool, and making shadow figures on the wall with a handily placed overhead projector.īut soon the young ones follow the example of the veterans and settle down to the pure enjoyment of literature. In Lies' amazing chiaroscuro paintings, bats swoop through a crack in a casement window and exult in the chance to enjoy all the wonders of a darkened library, a library with stately dark wood vaulted ceilings and oaken shelving bulging with volumes, all lit with the glow of a single table-top lamp.

Follow the instructions to fold the paper to throw the bat and see how far it can fly.Bats and libraries seem an unusual combination, but in the hands of talented illustrator-author Brian Lies, creator of the earlier New York Times best-seller, Bats at the Beach, it's a natural. The younger mammals make images of themselves at the copier, frolic in the fountain, play at the computer, and explore the gingerbread castle in a pop-up book.Īn impromptu story time brings everyone together, however, and after the pint-size protagonist is literally drawn into the featured book, two spreads reveal a montage of scenes from classic stories, with bats in the starring roles.īe sure to make the Bat Paper Airplane by Brian Lies. Some peruse “guides to fancy foods” (insect books) and form literary discussion groups. The golden glow from spotlights on the side of the building and an Arts and Crafts-style reading lamp illuminate the nocturnal adventures in this handsome, traditional space.

The bats are bored, but an antidote is announced: someone left a window open in the library. Bats at the Library pays homage to the pleasures to be found within libraries and books.

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies