Wednesday 20 May 2020

Bat and the Waiting Game - Elana K. Arnold and Charles Santoso - Bat Book 2

Bat and the Waiting Game
A Boy Called Bat Book 2
Elana K. Arnold
Charles Santoso (Illustrator)
Walden Pond Press an imprint of
Harper Collins
ISBN 9780062445865

eISBN 9780062445872
ASIN B072HLS8TT


Last year my youngest child came home from school raving about the first book in this series, A Boy Called Bat. They had read it in the last week of school in grade 3, and it was an instant favorite. When she found out it was the first of a series, she was ecstatic, and wanted us to add it to our summer reading list. Last year we read book 1 and now we have finished book 2 and started book three. 

Bat, Bixby Alexander Tam is a little different than many other kinds. In fact, he goes to a different school than his sister, in order to have some extra help. In the first volume Bat’s mom came home with a baby skunk kit that was just born that day, Bat knows that they belong together. In that first volume Bat negotiated keeping the Kit until it was ready to be released. In that story he makes a close friend, Israel. 

In this story. Bat is getting more and more anxious. As the time is drawing near to having to say good-bye to Thor the skunk. After conflict with both Israel and his sister, Bat sneaks Thor into opening night of his sisters play. It was a big mistake. Soon Bat realized that he needs to make thinks up to both Israel and to his sister. But to pull it off he is going to need a lot of help. And he is just learning to ask for help when he needs it.

Bat continues to struggle; he sees the world in a very literal way. His interactions with others, even his family are often difficult and often overly blunt. But because of his interactions with the Kit, Bat’s edges had been softening a bit. 

This was another fun read. It helped my children understand a few of their classmates more. It does a great job representing the struggle some people have. And The illustrations are fun. All three of us give it a big thumbs up!

Our Ratings:
9 year old – 5/5 Stars
12 year old 4/5 Stars
50 year old 5/5 Stars

And we are looking forward to reading the next book in the series. And we hope that there will be more books to come!

Note: there are German editions of the book, translated by Sylke Hachmeister and illustrated by Maja Bohn.

Books by Elana K. Arnold:
Damsel
What Girls Are made of
Burning
Infandous
The Question of Miracles
Far from Fair
Red Hood
What Riley Wore
An Ordinary Day
The House That Wasn’t There
Starla Jean and Opal Egg


A Boy Called Bat Series:
A Boy Called Bat
Bat and the Waiting Game
Bat and the End of Everything


Sacred Series:
Sacred
Splendor







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