Wednesday, April 9, 2014

[BOOK REVIEW] Stellaluna by Janell Cannon





Title:  Stellaluna

Author:  Janell Cannon

Genre: Animals / Family / Separation

Year Published: 1993

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:
HMH Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Child Separation)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 


I first saw this book on an episode of “Reading Rainbow” (my favorite TV series when I was little!) and I instantly fell in love with this book!  “Stellaluna” is a gorgeous picture book by Janell Cannon and it is about how a baby bat named Stellaluna learns how to live with the birds after she is separated by her mother during an owl attack.  “Stellaluna” is truly one of the best books for bat lovers everywhere!

Once there lived a mother fruit bat that gave birth to a baby bat named Stellaluna and one night, Mother Bat was carrying Stellaluna while searching for some ripe fruit to eat.  Suddenly, an owl spots the bats and tries to catch them and Stellaluna ended up falling out of her mother’s pouch and ended up falling on a tree branch and then eventually falls into a bird’s nest.  For awhile, Stellaluna had been living with the birds and learning their ways and started acting like a true bird, even learning how to fly!


Excellent!  This book is simply truly excellent!  Janell Cannon has certainly done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book.  Janell Cannon makes the story extremely exciting and heartwarming as it details the adventures that Stellaluna embarks on after she is separated from her mother and lives with the birds.  I loved the way that Stellaluna maintains a strong relationship with the birds even though she is a bat, which proves that no matter how different you are, you are still a special person on the inside.  I also thought that it was really cute to see Stellaluna acting like a bird as she provides so much humor for the book by trying to act like a bird in a bat body.  Janell Cannon also did a great job at providing tension in this book, especially when Stellaluna is separated from her mother and many children will definitely feel afraid for Stellaluna as the idea of losing one’s parent is frightening to a child.  Janell Cannon’s illustrations are simply gorgeous and realistic, especially of the images of Stellaluna herself as she has huge brown eyes and has golden fur all over her body which makes her look beautiful and cute at the same time!  I also loved the images of Stellaluna flying through the sky as she is the one character who stands out during the night sky as she seems to glow in the blue night sky while she is flying in the air.


All in all, “Stellaluna” is an instant treat of a baby bat’s amazing tale that you just cannot resist to read to your children!  For anyone who love reading books about bats and the importance of a true family, this is definitely a book that I would highly recommend to children ages four and up.



1994 American Booksellers Book of the Year Award for Children

  


      

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