BATS AROUND THE CLOCK

Lights, camera, action; it’s American Batstand, a 12-hour marathon of nonstop shake, rattle, and roll hosted by the ageless Click Dark. Captivating cartoon critters decked out in their best disco duds shimmy, shrug, and swim to a beat that changes every hour on the hour. Rhyming text carries the reader through a musical repertoire from jitterbug to jive. “There was rockin’ in the rafters— / there was dancin’ in the street. / Then they did the locomotion / and they boogied to the beat.” Or “They twisted left and twisted right / until the hour of seven. / There was shakin’, there was shoutin’—it was rockin’ rollin’ heaven!” Some of this may fly right over the heads of the intended audience, but they will certainly enjoy the rhythm of the poetry and the chance to dance the bop. And they might learn a little bit about telling time, too, since a mouse holds a small clock on each page with a time change. This is the third bat math book from this team and they seem to have the formula stirred just right. Boogie down. (Picture book. 4-6)