Bats Around the Clock

"The rhyming text rocks through a special 12-hour American Batstand, beginning with the shrug and the jitterbug and including the hokeypokey."--"Publisher's Weekly"Ages 5-7. The infectious energy of Sweet's pop-eyed, floppy-winged bats show no signs of abating in this third and wild rumpus, after "Bats Jamboree (1996) and "Bats On Parade (1999). Emceed by host Click Dark, a twelve-hour dance program take bats coast to coast through the Shrug, the Jitterbug, the Swim, the Twist, the Locomotion, and so on, capped by a set from the bat king himself, in blue suede shoes. An irresistible invitation to children (and adults of a certain age) to get up and dance in the aisles."--"BooklistLights, camera, action; it's American Batstand, a 12-hour marathon of nonstop shake, rattle, and roll hosted by the ageless Click Dark. Captivating cartoon critters decked out in their best disco duds shimmy, shrug, and swim to the beat that changes every hour on the hour. Rhyming text carries the reader through a musical repertoire from jitterbug to jive. "There was rockin' in the rafters--/ there was dancing in the street. / Then they did the locomotion / and they boogied to the beat." Or "They twisted left and twisted right / until the hour of seven. / There was shakin', there was shoutin' --it was rockin' rollin' heaven!" Some of this may fly right over the heads of the intended audience, but they will certainly enjoy the rythm of the poetry and the chance to dance the bop. And they might learn a little bit about telling time, too, since a mouse holds a clock on each page with a time change. This is the third bat book from this team and they seem to have the formula stirred just right. Boogie down.("Picture book." 4-6) --"Kirkus Reviews""This takeoff on "American Bandstand" adds a twist to learning-to-tell-time books. Click Dark, the bat-version host of "American Batstand," leads a 12-hour dance program. A rhyming verse teaches children how to tell time while dancing to the oldies. The enthusiastic bats jitterbug, do the swim, the locomotion, the twist with "Chubby Checkers, " the hootchi-coo, and the the bugaloo. At the bottom of each page, a mouse holds a clock that advances from 1:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight as the show progresses. In a satisfying conclusion, as the TV audience awaits the "final demonstration, " a solitary bat leaps out...in blue suede shoes. the rhymes are delightful and the narrative jives right along. Children will love them.--"School Library Journal"