Poetry Friday's Picture Book

On Poetry Friday a bunch of the children's literature bloggers post favorite poems or links to poetry-related subjects. Sometimes the works are for adults and sometimes for children. This week I chose  a rhyming picture book, Brian Lies's Bats at the Beach.

The rising moon can grow no fatter
as sky lights up with gleeful chatter:
Quick, call out! Tell all you can reach—
the moon is just perfect for bats at the beach!

Gentle and funny, painted in dark but not scary hues, this one goes on my Top 5 Picture Books of the Year So Far list. Like Dav Pilkey's Moonglow Roll-O-Rama, Lies's work imagines what animals do while the rest of us are sleeping. Friendly bats on a seaside romp: who'd a thunk it? The bats carry umbrellas and beach blankets to the shore, they toast bug-mallows, slather on moon-tan lotion, and so on. Creative and lots of fun.

Comments

[MotherReader]

I almost did this one today. Isn't that weird? I love the idea of bats going to the beach. So cool.

[Susan]

Hey, MR. I love this book. That's funny that you almost did it, too.

[Brian Lies]

Hi-

I'm delighted to see that you like BATS AT THE BEACH! It was inspired by my daughter seeing a frost pattern in a window: "Look, Dad, it's a bat in sea foam!" That made me think about my family trips to the beach as a kid, and I started wondering what they would be like if I were a bat...

Batty best wishes!

Brian Lies

[Susan]

Brian, thanks so much for stopping by. My son and I loved your book!

[daniel]

pls dave pilkey pls can you write a poetry of all the books you have written pls then you I will be pleased

[Editor]

There's a link to Dav Pilkey's web site under the "Authors and Illustrators" sidebar on the right. Chicken Spaghetti is a blog about children's books. Although I have written about his books on occasion, Dav Pilkey does not have anything to do with this blog.