SuitabookGood night, Bat!
Paul Meisel
- Reading
- Pause at the notes and invite your child to read each one alongside the characters’ expressions. Comparing words with pictures can make the misunderstandings—and their humour—easier to explore.
- Themes
- Miscommunication and friendship: Bat and Squirrel exchange notes while each is asleep during the other's waking hours. Squirrel's attempt to send Bat away is misunderstood; their friendship develops through the notes. The note exchanges make misunderstanding central to the story's humour and show how the characters' communication accompanies a growing friendship.
- Words and pictures: The story plays with simple words and phrases, including notes that can be misunderstood. Readers are also asked to interpret the characters' expressions and other illustrations. Language and images work together to create the misunderstandings, offering a reason to look closely and compare what is written with what is shown.
- Worth knowing
- Squirrel tries to oust Bat, and the story mentions unkind attitudes other animals have towards bats. These moments bring rejection and mistrust into an otherwise humorous friendship tale.