Bailey the Bat

A refreshing take on the Lion and the Mouse fable, Bailey the Bat and the Tangled Moose by Grant Lawrence and Noémie Gionet Landry is a delightful story of kindness and community.

Bailey the Bat just can’t sleep during the day like other bats. There’s too much to do during the day. When one day he hears an awful cry in the forest, he just needs to find out what’s making all that noise. 

Bailey the Bat and the Tangled Moose reads like a picture book but the format suggests early reader. A small book with many pages, making it a book for older picture book readers and those who are just beginning to read independently. The story is told in short simple words and has all the excitement and suspense that engages young readers. Just like the Lion and the Mouse, an animal small in stature comes to the aid of a larger animal, in this case however, Bailey does not do everything on his own. He calls for help when he knows he needs it, even though he knows he will get in trouble for being out during the day. A great lesson in asking for help when you need it.

Noémie Gionet Landry’s illustrations are adorable and fill the pages with colour. I love when illustrators and designers choose to have full pages spreads where the colour hits every last inch, immersing the reader straight into the world of the story.