Vlog Post with Elana K. Arnold ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Credit Melissa Hockenberger

ELANA K. ARNOLD completed her M.A. in Creative Writing/Fiction at the University of California, Davis. She grew up in Southern California, where she was lucky enough to have her own horse--a gorgeous mare named Rainbow--and a family who let her read as many books as she wanted. She lives in Huntington Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. She is represented by Rubin Pfeffer of Rubin Pfeffer Content.

Age Range: 6 - 10 years
Grade Level: 1 - 5
Series: A Boy Called Bat
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Walden Pond Press (March 14, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062445820
ISBN-13: 978-0062445827

Praise for A BOY CALLED BAT

“Delightful, endearing, and utterly relatable, Bat Tam is destined to be a dear and necessary friend for young readers. I adore him and his story.” ―Anne Ursu, author of The Real Boy

TEN QUOTES FROM A BOY CALLED BAT

1. Mom said they’d have to hand the kit over to the rescue center in a month. But Bat, holding the tiny animal in his arms, made a silent promise that he’d figure out a way to keep him.

2. “If anyone ever needs to cuddle,” Mr. Grayson said, “Babycakes is there for you.”

3. Bat considered telling Mr. Grayson about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, but the teacher was busy unlacing his orange high-tops and getting ready to lead the group in yoga. He decided he would talk about monarch butterflies with Mr. Grayson later.

4. Bat considered whether he should tell Mr. Grayson that his mustache looked a lot like a caterpillar.

5. As they turned the corner onto Plum Lane, Bat saw Janie up ahead on the sidewalk. He could tell it was her by the way her dark-brown ponytail swung from side to side. Her hair was thick and straight like a horse’s tail, which was why Bat liked it, even though he would never tell Janie.

6. Sometimes, Janie was annoying. Sometimes, she was a mean tease. But sometimes, Bat thought, she was brilliant.

7. Janie was wearing her favorite pajamas, the ones with all the unicorns. Each unicorn was doing something different; one rocked out with a guitar, another was reading a book, another wore a chef’s hat and was flipping eggs in a pan. The only thing they had in common was that they were all unicorns.

8. The air smelled like warm wet dog and strawberry shampoo.

9. Usually, Bat asked for extra math problems when he was done with his regular math problems, even though they were easy. Today, all Bat could think about was that time was passing very quickly, and that he still hadn’t heard from Dr. Jerry Dragoo, world skunk expert.

10. In the back of the room, Babycakes sat placidly licking a light-pink wheel of salt. Her ears flopped to the sides in relaxation. Bat wished he felt as calm as Babycakes looked.

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.

But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

You can purchase A Boy Called Bat at the following Retailers: