Readers, get ready for the awesome that is Megabat and his friend Daniel! A new children’s series from author Anna Humphrey and illustrator Kass Reich that I had the pleasure of receiving from partner Tundra Books/Penguin Random House Canada, Megabat is an endearing and laugh-out-loud funny story. Read on for my thoughts on the book as well as giveaway information for Canadian readers who would like to win a copy of this book!

Review: Megabat by Anna Humphrey, illustrated by Kass Reich
Source: Hardcopy courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books. Thank you!
Publication: August 7, 2018 by Tundra Books
Book Description:

A sweet and hilarious chapter book about a boy and a bat, two unlikely friends who bond over loneliness, jellyrolls and Darth Vader.

Daniel Misumi has just moved to a new house. It’s big and old and far away from his friends and his life before. AND it’s haunted . . . or is it?

Megabat was just napping on a papaya one day when he was stuffed in a box and shipped halfway across the world. Now he’s living in an old house far from home, feeling sorry for himself and accidentally scaring the people who live there.

Daniel realizes it’s not a ghost in his new house. It’s a bat. And he can talk. And he’s actually kind of cute. Megabat realizes that not every hum an wants to whack him with a broom. This one shares his smooshfruit. Add some buttermelon, juice boxes, a lightsaber and a common enemy and you’ve got a new friendship in the making!

This charming, funny story is brought to life by Kass Reich’s warm and adorable illustrations. There’s never been a bat this cute — readers will be rooting for Megabat and Daniel from page one!

“Buttermelons? Nope? None?”
The voice was small and quivering, and if he hadn’t been so terrified, Daniel might have noticed how filled with sadness it was.

Canadian author Anna Humphrey (Clara Humble series) and Canadian illustrator Kass Reich (Hamsters on the Go, art for Carson Crosses Canada) have teamed up for Megabat, a wonderfully sweet and funny children’s chapter book featuring a young boy named Daniel and what happens when Daniel meets a tiny and lost watermelon-loving bat.

As Megabat opens, readers learn that Daniel Misumi hates “his new house”, “the creaky floors and weird wallpaper…his new attic bedroom” and the fact that a “ghostly creature” is leaving “mysterious puddles” on the floor. Daniel has moved with his mom and dad from Toronto- leaving his best friends, school and soccer team behind. Sad and feeling uncertain about school and making new friends, Daniel has just about had it with his strange, new, possibly haunted home, when he discovers the peculiar puddles on the floor are actually coming from a tiny bat…a crying, heartbroken bat! Once Daniel discovers this little talking bat lost and far away from their own home, Daniel makes it his mission to try and help Megabat out.

One of the joys in the novel is in Megabat’s dialogue and his conversations with Daniel. For example, Megabat (the name he is given by Daniel) loves “buttermelon” (watermelon), comes from the land of “Papaya Premium” (a crate in which poor Megabat got stuck in and shipped across the world), and describes his crying as “dripping…from mine eyes”. Not only that, but Daniel also introduces Megabat to the Star Wars universe; Megabat quickly becomes a fan of the series and especially of lightsaber yielding Luke Skywalker! In the midst of Daniel’s newfound friendship with Megabat and his attempts to get Megabat back to his home, Daniel also meets his neighbors while Megabat meets an adoring pigeon. One of the neighbors, named Talia, becomes an ally to Daniel in his fight to help protect Megabat, while her young brother becomes a bit of an exasperating young villain. The focal point of the story is indeed in the relationship between Daniel and Megabat and in how they help each other ride the painful course of homesickness, though the side journeys into exploring Daniel’s adventures at his new school and his new friendship with Talia are also nicely done, if a bit truncated. As there are plans for more Megabat stories to come (Megabat and the Fancy Cat, coming in 2019!), it would be great to have Daniel and the secondary characters fleshed out just a bit more, on top of exploring more wonderfully buttermelon-y adventures with Megabat!

Overall, what terrific fun! A delightful blend of sweetness, quirk and laugh-out-loud joy. During my reading of Megabat, I was in stitches more than a few times, and I even paused to read certain Star Wars-related funny passages to my husband. The combination of Anna Humphrey’s engaging, giggle-inducing and fluid storytelling along with Kass Reich’s beyond adorable artwork (that so marvelously captures this world!) makes for an all-around winning read. Extras: Here is a link to an interview on Shelf Awareness with Anna Humphrey and Kass Reich!

Giveaway Information:

Due to generous publisher extras, I have an extra copy of this wonderfully funny and sweet book that I would like to offer to one reader in Canada! The giveaway will be open from October 11, 2018 to October 25, 2018 to Canadian residents and the winning entry will be randomly drawn via Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to get in touch with me via email, Twitter, or Facebook confirming their Canadian mailing address, or another entry will be drawn. Good luck!

Click here to enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter!

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own. Giveaway fufilled by Fab Book Reviews.