A BAT IN THE ATTIC

A 14-year-old author and illustrator describes an unscary encounter with bats in a picture book for emerging readers.  

A South Asian girl stands at the foot of a tall set of stairs without handrails in a room with cobwebs. “Should I climb it?” she wonders. “Yes,” she decides, and marches up barefoot: “Squeak. Squeak.” Faced with a door, she opens it: “Creak, Creak.” In a shadowy room with purple walls, a rattan ladder leads to still more mysteries: an attic lined with cinderblocks and filled with dusty pottery—and some living animals hanging upside down from the rafters. The reveal of the titular bats is comedically undramatic: “Skreech. Skreech.” Fleeing, she tells her sari-wearing grandmother, who is unimpressed: “Yes, I know dear.” A final page pulls back to show the reader that the character is a drawing in a sketchbook. Puranik wrote this short book when she was 8, and her art shows architectural details and cooking implements that suggest a South Asian setting.  Uncomplicated watercolor paintings in muted tones evoke vintage children’s picture books and help to make this a safe yet exciting tale for emerging readers. Refrains and a simple vocabulary make this an appropriate choice for phonics development and may inspire young creators to write their own works.

An impressive, readable debut by a juvenile creator.