This is a lovely little book, beautifully illustrated and with surprising depth. The little bat of the title, struck by the beauty of the mockingbird's songs, wants to write poems of his own. Once he has a poem or two, he wants to say it to someone - but finding an appreciative audience proves more difficult than he had thought, as does writing new poems. Some subjects work, some don't; and, to the bat's surprise, the reactions of his audience don't always match what he'd expected when he wrote the poems to begin with. [There's a nice bit where the mockingbird compliments the bat on switching from iambic pentameter to iambic trimeter to produce an effect - the bat, taken aback by all the terminology, explains "I just made it like holding your breath"...]

Released on Monday, February 03, 2003 at Starbuck's, 266 DW Highway in Nashua, New Hampshire USA.

Coffee shop -> coffeehouse -> beat poet -> bat poet? OK, well, it's a bit of a stretch, theme-wise, but perhaps this lovely little book will find a new home.

Had a latte to celebrate above-freezing temperatures and a bright sunny day. Left the book on one of the couches at around noon.