LITTLE BROWN BAT

Kids repelled by bats or by their bad reputation are the target of this little life story--not much of a story really but a potential ameliorant in that Earl Thollander manages to make Brownie look like a pixie without distorting his curious physiognomy. How he learns to fly (try and try again), teaches himself to catch insects and benefits from echolocation (not named) form the substance of the first half; then there's a questionable hairbreadth rescue from an owl by his mother, winter hibernation and, come spring, a very elusive mating (""For a few nights, he flew with a soft-furred young female""). The author errs only in alluding to his short life span: the bat is notably long-lived for his size. For straight information this is no match for Lauber's Bats (1968, p. 1119, J-417) but it is simple, personalized and not unappealing.