The Art Of Being Yourself

During the tenure of your career thousands of children will walk into your classroom, the school library.  If you are fortunate you will be able to offer opportunities to students in grades kindergarten through graduation from high school.  You will learn all their names.  You will learn to support all their learning needs with access to materials inside and outside the walls of your facility.  You will give the right book to the right reader at the right time. And just like snowflakes no two of them will be alike but you will be stunned by the beauty each one reveals to you.

This past week a boy, similar but not exactly like any previous students, walked into my life through the pages of a book.  As soon as I met him, he had my heart.  I cheered for him from page one until page one hundred, ninety-two.  A Boy Called Bat (Walden Pond Press, March 14, 2017) written by Elana K. Arnold with pictures by Charles Santoso will find a place in your heart too.

Bixby Alexander Tam stared into the refrigerator, trying to decide what to eat.  He knew that the longer he took, the more energy he was wasting, and Bixby Alexander Tam did not like to waste energy.  But he also didn't like to eat leftovers, or cheese that had to be sliced, or any of the yogurt flavors in the fridge.

Very early in this title we are aware of the characteristics making Bixby Alexander Tam (Bat) wonderfully unique.  Vanilla yogurt, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with no crusts, specifically organized dresser drawers and an animal encyclopedia are a few of his favorite things.  Trying not to panic when five o'clock comes and goes without his mother, a veterinarian, arriving home, Bat urges his older sister Janie to call the police.  In the next moment his mother comes home but she has no vanilla yogurt.  Bat can feel his anger rising but his mother calms him and reveals the reason for her tardiness.

His mother has a baby animal.  It's an orphaned baby skunk!  They will keep him for about four weeks.  The kit will be passed to the wild animal rescue center who will keep him for about five months until he can be released back into the natural world.  Bat can hardly contain his excitement.  When he first holds and feeds the baby, he knows with every fiber of his being the kit needs to stay with them.

Days at Saw Whet School, a private school, are full of support and challenges for Bat.  His teacher, Mr. Grayson understands Bat and the other students in his classroom, even providing a white angora bunny, Babycakes, for students to hold when they need her comfort.  Working in groups is difficult for Bat; he knows he can work faster and better alone but he's learning.

Balancing between what he feels and what he has to do is tricky for Bat at home with his sister and at his father's apartment every other Friday for the weekend.  It is obvious they all love each other but they are three different individuals.  It's Bat's mother who anchors his life.  They share a kinship in their care and understanding of animals.

A particular paragraph on skunks in his cherished book gives Bat an idea which he puts into action with the help of Mr. Grayson.  Time is running out for Bat and Thor (the name Janie give the skunk kit).  Will Bat lose this animal he has grown to love?  What will Bat gain as the final page is turned?


I do believe with the first sentence author Elana K. Arnold connects with many readers. As she continues her narrative sentence by sentence, conversation by conversation, we feel our compassion for Bat, his family, his educational mentors and his classmates growing.  Each individual is navigating their way through relationships.  Each one is trying to connect with the signature personality of the marvelous boy named Bixby Alexander Tam.  Through the use of very specific details in day to day situations we form a clear and genuine picture of who this child is.  Here are some sample passages.

The skunk's little pink tongue lapped at the formula.  Droplets gathered at the corners of his mouth, and some ran down his chin onto the towel, but most of it made it into the baby skunk.
"I'm doing it," Bat whispered.  "I'm feeding him." 
"You sure are," Mom said.
Bat knew he was doing a messier job of it than Mom had done, but the baby skunk didn't seem to mind.
"I love him," Bat said.  He hadn't meant to say it out loud.
Mom laughed.  "Careful, or you might make me jealous," she said.
"But it's true," Bat said.  "I love him."
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.


Bat loved braiding Janie's hair, even though he usually wasn't very good at hand things.  He liked the feeling of the damp, heavy hair; he liked organizing it into a series of smaller, neatly contained braids; he liked feeling close to Janie like this, by helping her and touching her, without having to have a big conversation that might turn into a fight.
Getting along with people was hard for Bat.  Figuring out what they meant when they said something, or when they made certain faces at him...People were complicated.  But braiding was easy.


The image on the front of the dust jacket of Bat and the skunk kit, Thor, accomplishes several things at first glance.  That frozen moment between a boy and a skunk is one of total trust.  We can already see the affection Bat has for Thor.  And we are wondering how this boy comes to be holding a skunk.

The black and white illustrations by Charles Santoso are like snapshots of intimate moments in the life of Bat, his family, teacher and classmates.  Most of them bring us close to the people.  Each one radiates warmth.

One of my many favorite pictures is of Janie standing on the corner waiting for Bat and his father to pick her up on one of the Every-Other Fridays weekends.  It's raining outside.  She is standing in a small puddle wearing a rain slicker and carrying her backpack on top of it.  This is the accompanying text:

She was standing near the corner, wearing her bright-yellow rain slicker.  Bat admired the way she looked, like a shiny yellow sun.


As I read through most of this story a second time, I kept thinking about using A Boy Called Bat written by Elana K. Arnold with pictures by Charles Santoso as a read aloud either as a parent with children or a teacher with students.  It's a charming story about all of us being our best selves and connecting with others by choosing kindness.  I recommend you place this on your professional and personal bookshelves.

To learn more about Elana K. Arnold and Charles Santoso and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Elana K. Arnold has a blog here.  Charles Santoso maintains a Tumblr and Instagram account.  At the publisher's website you can read or listen to a sample of the book.  At the Nerdy Book Club the cover was revealed and Elana K. Arnold wrote another guest post about this title.  A Boy Called Bat Educator's Resource is located here.

A Boy Called Bat
by Elana K. Arnold
illustrated by Charles Santoso

On Sale: 03/14/2017

ISBN: 9780062445827
ISBN 10: 0062445820

From acclaimed author Elana K. Arnold and with illustrations by Charles Santoso, A Boy Called Bat is the first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.

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.

Critical Praise

“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

“Written in third person, this engaging and insightful story makes readers intimately aware of what Bat is thinking and how he perceives the events and people in his life. With empathy and humor, Arnold delves into Bat’s relationships with his divorced parents, older sister, teachers, and classmates.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Comfortably familiar and quietly groundbreaking, this introduction to Bat should charm readers, who will likely look forward to more opportunities to explore life from Bat’s particular point of view.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Brimming with quietly tender moments, subtle humor, and authentically rendered family dynamics, Arnold’s story, the first in a new series, offers a nonprescriptive and deeply heartfelt glimpse into the life of a boy on the autism spectrum.” — Booklist

About Elana K. Arnold

Elana K. Arnold grew up in Southern California, where she was lucky enough to have her own perfect pet—a gorgeous mare named Rainbow—and a family who let her read as many books as she wanted. She is the author of picture books, middle grade novels, and books for teens. She lives in Huntington Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. You can find her online at www.elanakarnold.com.

March 1-Read, Write, Reflect

March 2-A Foodie Bibliophile In Wanderlust

March 3-Bluestocking Thinking

March 6-The Official Tumblr of Walden Media

March 7-For Those About To Mock

March 8-Maria's Melange

March 9-Novel Novice

March 10-Unleashing Readers

March 13-The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

March 14-All The Wonders

March 15-Teach Mentor Texts

March 19-Nerdy Book Club

March 20-LibLaura5

March 22-The Book Monsters

March 27-Librarian's Quest

March 29-Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers