The Bat Scientists

Gr 5—8—This series entry takes readers along with Merlin Tuttle and a crew of BCI (Bat Conservation International) into bat caves and bridges, trees and houses to study these agile flitterers. Carson's readable, informative text dispels the ugly myths that have haunted these nocturnal hunter/gatherers, detailing bats' usefulness to humankind from gobbling up mosquitoes to scarfing down corn earworm moths to pollinating a multitude of plants throughout the rain forest. Replete with superb close-ups of big ears, hairless pups, furrowed faces, and fragile wings, the text describes the damage done by humans to bat environments and the ravages of white-nose syndrome, and tells of efforts to restore and protect hibernating sites and maternity colonies. Readers not ready for this richness of detail should enjoy Laurence Pringle's Handsome Bats (Boyds Mills, 2000), while those wanting more can plunge into Sandra Markle's elegant Inside and Outside Bats (S & S/Atheneum, 1997). Readers in the "more, more, more" contingent can investigate Karen Taschek's more challenging Hanging with Bats (Univ. of Mexico Press, 2008). A strong scientific look at a unique and often unloved mammal and the scientists who happily investigate them.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY