A Bat Garland

We're all decked out for Halloween with a fall mantle and paper bat garland! I love paper garlands. They're fun, easy to make, and cheap.

To create the garland, I folded a piece of black construction paper accordion style and traced a bat silhouette onto it. It took three pieces of paper to create enough bats for my ginormous fireplace. Then I simply stitched the papers together with my sewing machine. Yes! You can sew paper and it works surprisingly well. It's a great project to introduce your kids to sewing.

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Forget the belfry, these bats want to be at the Library! Three bats hang around bored one evening when it's discovered that someone left the library window open. Thrilled, the entire community of bats rushes to frolic and play in their favorite building. The younger bats wreak havoc around the place, until an impromptu storytime introduces them to the magic of a good tale. (These tales are clever, batty takes on traditional stories and fairytales.)

The illustrations are rich with detail and make me want to read the other titles in this series.  Check this one out as an nontraditional Halloween story!