Laurence Pringle takes a fascinating look at earth's only flying mammal in this fun and informative Parents' Choice Award book. Readers will learn how bats can pluck insects from the air, and even fish from the water. They will discover how bats help giant trees and other tropical plants to reproduce, and gobble up pesky mosquitoes. They will find out, too, how you can help to protect bats and their homes. Dozens of bats swoop through Meryl Henderson's striking illustrations. The colorful art and clear, concise text together demonstrate that bats may be strange, but that they are wonderful too, and well worth saving.

Laurence Pringle is the recipient of three major awards for his body of work--the Eva L. Gordon Award for Children's Science Literature, the Washington Post--Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He lives in West Nyack, New York.

Meryl Henderson has illustrated most of the books in the Strange and Wonderful series. She lives in upstate New York.