Stellaluna

 

Title: Stellaluna

Author/Illustrator: Janell Cannon

Age:11-14

 

It begins with a mother bat and her baby bat, Stellaluna, searching for food. Mother Bat gets attacked by an owl and Stellaluna falls from her mother's breast. Stellaluna falls onto a branch then falls into a birds nest. The birds embrace Stellaluna and she begins eating and acting like the birds. Stellaluna also teaches the birds how to hang upside down like bats, but the mother bird gets upset with Stellaluna and says that that is not safe. One day Stellaluna invites the birds to fly at night, but the birds don't want to get lost in the dark so they leave Stellaluna alone. Another bat finds Stellaluna and it turns out to be her mother who survived the owl attack. Stellaluna went back to eating fruit, not bugs like the birds and flying at night. Then Stellaluna invites the birds to come meet her bat family in the dark. The birds cannot see and they almost crash into a tree, but Stellaluna saves them. At the end of the story, Stellaluna and the birds realize that they are different, yet alike. No matter what, they're friends.

The illustrations are beautiful. The media used looks like paint mixed with colored pencils. The pictures are realistic, as far as the shape and parts of the bats and birds. You can see the texture on the birds and on the nest.
This story has great examples of narrative fiction and the images are vivid and detailed. It makes the reader/listener think about meaningful, real-life things. Even though this story is about bats and birds, it can translate to people.