Matt Carr
Scholastic
Age 5-7
Pat dreamt of being a bat with amazing powers, just like the superheroes in his favourite comics. He made himself a special outfit, now all he needed to do was convince everyone he was.. SUPERBAT! The trouble was the superpowers he claimed to have (super hearing, flying, finding his way in the dark) all the other bats had too. His eyes didn’t shoot laser beams and he wasn’t extra strong like the superheroes in his favourite comics. Maybe he wasn’t destined to be a ‘superbat’, maybe he just looked… silly. Then one day something happened, help was needed and Pat didn’t hesitate, he was a true SUPERBAT and bravery was his superpower.
An appealing, attractively illustrated story with interesting facts about bats to discover along the way.
Share the story
Watch a trailer
Read aloud
This story is fun to read aloud, you can emphasise the bits in bold capitals just like super hero comics. Children will enjoy looking at the pictures and may want to pause to talk about them with you.
Join in
When you return to the book children may like to join in with some of the words such as ‘POW’, ‘WHAM’ and ‘SUPERBAT’ and perhaps with Superbat’s conversations with his friends eg ‘I have super hearing,’ boasted Pat… ‘SO DO WE!’ his friends screeched.
Talk about the story
How does Pat the bat feel at different parts of the story? Look back at illustrations and words for clues. Can children look crestfallen like Pat or brave and proud as he does at different points in the story?
What did children find out about bats that was new or surprising?
Does the story remind children of any other books, comics or cartoon films they know?
Tell the story
Children could tell you the story perhaps using a finger puppet bat to help( see below). Maybe they could pretend to be Pat telling his version.
Things to make and do