Stellaluna: A Heartwarming Animal Adventure About Identity, Family, and Finding Where You Belong

I bought my first copy of Stellaluna before my daughter was born and it became one of our all-time favorite books to read together. (Verdi was probably a tie.) When I got a shower invitation from my niece lately asking people to bring a book instead of a card along with their gift, I grabbed three of our old childhood standbys: Stellaluna 25th Anniversary Edition , Verdi , and The Runaway Bunny: A 75th Anniversary Retrospective . It’s so hard to choose so few out of so many of our favorite books, but she may be inundated with more books as her son gets older. ;) I also ordered a new favorite, A Boy and a House , but I’m not sure it will get here in time for her shower. Stellaluna is a baby fruit bat whose mother drops her accidentally during an owl attack. Stellaluna manages to fly away uninjured and finds herself adopted by a family of birds. Being a flying creature that hangs upside down to sleep and doesn’t like bugs is hard when you’re in a family of birds who prefer to fly during the day, sleep upright in their nest, and who turn down their noses at fruit. But they still all love one another, and the baby birds actually try to act a bit more bat-like with some rather painful results. One of the most adorable scenes is Stellaluna trying to learn to alight on a branch like a bird lands, rather than a bat. But every picture is adorable right down to everyone’s facial expressions. The vibrant pictures by Janell Cannon are whimsical, beautifully colored, and simply mesmerizing, making the text almost superfluous.(But not quite.) Stellaluna is a story of what it means to be family, what it means to feel different and like an outsider, and what it means to accept and love people even when they act in a manner that seems strange to you. You don’t have to understand someone to know that they are a person worthy of your love. Lots of good conversations will start with reading this book, not to mention initiate countless hours poring over the intricate and delicately colored illustrations. This 25th anniversary edition of Stellaluna includes colored versions of the small previously black and whtie line-art drawings on the text pages and a code to download craft and activity kits. There are also two pages about bats at the back of the book, which were updated for this edition. Highly recommended for anyone who loves to share beautiful picture books, heartwarming stories, and inspiration to understand that being different isn’t a bad thing. Simply one of the best picture books for children.

The book, Stellaluna, is one of love, courage, persistence, resilience, and hope. This was my son's favorite book when he was little, he's now 32. I can't even tell you how many times I read this book to him. So, I thought it was only right to buy it for my grandson. Although Stellaluna lost his Mom when he was very young, he was determined to make his mark in the world. He found a new family. He taught them some of his ways and they taught him some of their ways. Stellaluna never gave up. He persisted until everything came together. The end will shock everyone. It will put a smile on the face of whomever you're reading it to. I would recommend this book to anyone who has children. This book would be great to not only read to your own children, but also to a class of children, a child in the hospital, during a sleepover with young kids, or even at a nursing home.

This is a beautiful book that I read when I was a four-year-old preschool teacher. I’ve missed reading it since then which was 10 years retired and I bought it for my grandchildren now because it truly is a beautiful story with very beautiful illustrations.. I would highly suggest purchasing it for a child three years or older.

This is a great book to have in your babies collection

If I HAD to answer the question: What is your favorite children's book?, I would have to pick "Stellaluna." There, this children's librarian committed, but I think my students would know that. It's one of their favorites, too!! What makes this book so special? E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!! The story line, the embedded lessons, and the sweet, sweet illustrations. I don't know how well you can see the young bat's face on the cover. If you can, notice that darling tongue sticking out, like a puppy's. Notice her struggle, expressed with joy, to hold on to the limb. And we have not even opened the book yet! This is the story of a young bat who is separated from her mother after an owl attacks them in flight. She falls into a tree, then into a bird's nest filled with three hungry babies who are already fully feathered. The mother bird adopts her but insists she eat bugs like her babies. Stellaluna is a fruit bat, but adopts the ways of birds, except for hanging by her feet to sleep. Her new siblings try it one day. Mother returns and expresses her dismay. The babies are hilariously portrayed with their bird feathers hanging down from their heads. When they learn to fly, poor Stellaluna is so clumsy trying to land upright on a limb with feet equipped for hanging, not perching. At night her bat radar comes into play and she goes weird on them flying by radar. Eventually, her bat mother finds her and Stella's world is restored. She discovers she eats mangoes, not bugs. She is delighted! And the second best part is that she remains friends with her bird friends. Embedded lessons: 1. Bats are what they are; birds are what they are. 2. We can accept each other's differences and be enriched by the experience. 3. It's good to walk in another's shoes just a short time. 4. There are some artists with stories sweet and heartwarming without being saccharine. 5. The author furnishes "Bat Notes" on the last two pages for further educational value. This book belongs in every child's personal library and on the shelf in every children's library. Highly recommended. Other favorite books by Janell Cannon: Pinduli Verdi

I bought this book for myself, but read it to all my friends children when they stayed overnight with me. They loved it!

This is the 25th anniversary of Stellaluna which says a lot about the longevity of the story. I first bought this for my children when they were elementary age and have bought it several times since, most recently for the 3 year old daughter of a friend. Stellaluna is a young bat who is separated from her mother on her first flight. She survives by falling in a birds nest and being fed by the bird mother. Of course, eventually she is reunited with her mother, but along the way learns that she is different and that one can make friends with those who are different and even live in their world, but that family is important. The pictures both colored pages and line drawings in between are delightful as one can easily tell by the cover and children find them irresistible. Three and four year olds will likely be most interested in the pictures and enjoy the book as a bedtime story. Older children will enjoy reading the story for themselves and talking about it with parents or grandparents.

I like to listen to children's books on YouTube before buying them. This one's a winner! Too many children's books promote questionable messages, like "sweets are great", "adults are dumb", "it's fun to cause trouble", etc. This is a good, wholesome book with great artwork.

Un beau classique jeunesse. De belles illustrations toutes douces.

A Wonderful story with beautiful illustrations . Great for children and adults .

Nettes Bich

Tenera storia di un pipistrellino che cade dalla mamma e finisce in un nido di uccellini...dove per sopravvivere deve dimenticare il suo modo di vivere: deve mangiare cavallette e vermi, dormire di giorno e a testa in su e atterrare sulle zampe! Finché un giorno ritrova la sua mamma e la sua identita da pipistrello eppure non dimentica i fratellini di nido con cui resta amico al di là della diversità... Consigliato!

quality good, satisfied with product