REVIEWS FOR BATS AT THE BEACH

Bats at the Beach debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in the #2 spot, and spent 14 weeks on the list, Summer 2006.

Daniel Pinkwater, “Weekend Edition Saturday,” June 24, 2006:
“Brilliant, brilliant paintings . . . just a whiz-bang summer book, anytime book. Everybody should look at this.” 

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2006

Gathering up “our buckets, trowels, / banjoes, blankets, books, and towels,” a family of bats flits out to the beach for a moonlit picnic of “yummy treats”- “Beetles, ants, and milkweed bugs, / crickets, moths, and pickled slugs. / Damselflies, or salted ’skeeters- / no room here for picky eaters!” Aside from the deliciously macabre menu, it’s not too different from a human outing; in Lies’s lambent, exactly detailed paintings, bats with an appealingly mouse-like look cavort happily through the waves, play volleyball and other games or snuggle into comfy laps around a glowing campfire as the grownups chat amiably. As a purpling sky to the east signals that it's time to clean up, they “flutter homeward, drained and weary,” as “small bats doze off, tired and teary.” Perfect for sharing with younglings of the wingless sort, when it’s time for them to do the same. 
(Picture book. 5-7)

School Library Journal, June, 2006

LIES, Brian. Bats at the Beach. illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Houghton.
June 2006. RTE $16. ISBN 0-618-55744-X. LC 2005010757.
PreS-Gr 3–This is the quintessential book about going to the beach complete
with overflowing picnic baskets, kite flying, singing around the campfire,
and scratchy sand in places “where no sand should be.” Kids will certainly
identify with the exuberant and familiar fun, but what will get them
howling is the fact that the characters are bats that are visiting the
beach in the moonlight. The rhyming text is grounded in reality with many
inventive twists to keep the imagination rolling. There is moon-tan lotion,
salted ’skeeters, and bat kites. Where the book truly soars is in the dark
yet luminescent art where bat wings glow in the light of the full moon and
the sky is a steely blue. The faces on the bats are furry and friendly.
These creatures use cocktail umbrellas for beach umbrellas; they hold
wing-boat races in red-and-white checked food containers; and when it’s
time for a late-night snack, they enter the ice-cream shack where a lit
light bulb attracts a multitude of succulent bugs. Readers may not be
tempted to try marshmallows with bug legs and gossamer wings but that won’t
keep them from reveling in this grand adventure.–Martha Topol, Traverse
Area

Book Sense, May, 2006 (Bats at the Beach was named a 2006 Summer Pick)

BATS AT THE BEACH, by Brian Lies (Houghton, $16, 061855744X) “There is something just weird enough about this book that I find it immensely appealing. Brian Lies makes his bats cuter than they are creepy, and more fun than funky. This is definitely a fun family read for the beach or vacation cabin.” —Lorna Ruby, Wellesley Booksmith, Wellesley, MA

Midwest Book Review (www.midwestbookreview.com) June, 2006

Brian Lies’ Bats At The Beach (0618557-44X, $16.00) blends lovely verse with gorgeous art to inspire insights into a world of moonlight and bat antics. A top pick for its blend of enchanting drawings and different plot.