The Bat-Poet

The Bat-Poet is about a small bat who stays awake while the others sleep. He listens, watches, and begins to make poems about what he notices — the animals, the world, even himself. The other bats don’t really understand why he does this, and he sometimes feels unsure. But little by little, he finds a way to be part of the world through words.

The story was written by Randall Jarrell, with drawings by Maurice Sendak. The two together created a quiet book about what it means to look closely, to feel different, and to find your own voice.