Stellaluna

I bought my first copy of Stellaluna before my daughter was born and it became one of our all-time favorite books to read together. (Verdi was probably a tie.) When I got a shower invitation from my niece lately asking people to bring a book instead of a card along with their gift, I grabbed three of our old childhood standbys: Stellaluna 25th Anniversary Edition , Verdi , and The Runaway Bunny: A 75th Anniversary Retrospective . It’s so hard to choose so few out of so many of our favorite books, but she may be inundated with more books as her son gets older. ;) I also ordered a new favorite, A Boy and a House , but I’m not sure it will get here in time for her shower. Stellaluna is a baby fruit bat whose mother drops her accidentally during an owl attack. Stellaluna manages to fly away uninjured and finds herself adopted by a family of birds. Being a flying creature that hangs upside down to sleep and doesn’t like bugs is hard when you’re in a family of birds who prefer to fly during the day, sleep upright in their nest, and who turn down their noses at fruit. But they still all love one another, and the baby birds actually try to act a bit more bat-like with some rather painful results. One of the most adorable scenes is Stellaluna trying to learn to alight on a branch like a bird lands, rather than a bat. But every picture is adorable right down to everyone’s facial expressions. The vibrant pictures by Janell Cannon are whimsical, beautifully colored, and simply mesmerizing, making the text almost superfluous.(But not quite.) Stellaluna is a story of what it means to be family, what it means to feel different and like an outsider, and what it means to accept and love people even when they act in a manner that seems strange to you. You don’t have to understand someone to know that they are a person worthy of your love. Lots of good conversations will start with reading this book, not to mention initiate countless hours poring over the intricate and delicately colored illustrations. This 25th anniversary edition of Stellaluna includes colored versions of the small previously black and whtie line-art drawings on the text pages and a code to download craft and activity kits. There are also two pages about bats at the back of the book, which were updated for this edition. Highly recommended for anyone who loves to share beautiful picture books, heartwarming stories, and inspiration to understand that being different isn’t a bad thing. Simply one of the best picture books for children.

I like to listen to children's books on YouTube before buying them. This one's a winner! Too many children's books promote questionable messages, like "sweets are great", "adults are dumb", "it's fun to cause trouble", etc. This is a good, wholesome book with great artwork.

I love this book. Read it to my children . Now buying it for my nieces and nephews.

The book, Stellaluna, is one of love, courage, persistence, resilience, and hope. This was my son's favorite book when he was little, he's now 32. I can't even tell you how many times I read this book to him. So, I thought it was only right to buy it for my grandson. Although Stellaluna lost his Mom when he was very young, he was determined to make his mark in the world. He found a new family. He taught them some of his ways and they taught him some of their ways. Stellaluna never gave up. He persisted until everything came together. The end will shock everyone. It will put a smile on the face of whomever you're reading it to. I would recommend this book to anyone who has children. This book would be great to not only read to your own children, but also to a class of children, a child in the hospital, during a sleepover with young kids, or even at a nursing home.

Great story! Nicely illustrated.

Heartwarming story of a lost little bat that finds a home among birds. While she eventually finds her way back to her bat family, she also ultimately brings together both parts of her life. This story is not only meaningful and heartfelt, but also gorgeously illustrated with the kind of subtle touches that make a book feel magical to read over and over.

Beautiful story and captivating illustrations. Incredible use of figurative language for a children’s book. My son is three and he loves the pictures. Highly recommend if your child loves animals.

I bought this book for myself, but read it to all my friends children when they stayed overnight with me. They loved it!