48 pages • 1 hour read
Elana K. Arnold, Illustr. Charles SantosoA Boy Called Bat
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 22-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 22 Summary: “Baseball and Braiding”
On Sunday night at Dad’s, Janie lets Bat braid her hair while Dad is watching a baseball game. Bat brushes Janie’s hair how she taught him to, and checks that the braids are neat and even. He likes braiding her hair because it feels good in his hands and makes him feel close to his sister. Janie compliments Bat’s work, while Dad, absorbed in his game, cheers. Bat realizes that “maybe Every-Other Weekends could be okay” (154).
Chapter 23 Summary: “Windows”
Bat wakes up at home. It is dark, and Janie and Valerie are still sleeping. Bat gets up, checks on Thor, and feeds him. Bat works in the dark instead of risking startling the baby skunk by turning on a lamp. When the sun comes up, Bat sees that Thor’s eyes have finally opened. He greets the kit, and the kit pauses for a moment while eating, and Bat takes this as a sign that Thor has heard and potentially understood him.
Valerie comes into the room, and Bat shows her Thor’s open eyes. Bat thinks Thor’s eyes are beautiful, and Valerie says this is the first time she has heard Bat talk about eyes. She asks Bat what color her eyes are, and he incorrectly says brown. She says they are hazel, and Bat notices they look like marbles.
Valerie thinks one can tell a lot about people by looking in their eyes, but Bat disagrees and says he asks people questions instead of looking in their eyes. However, at his mother’s request, he looks into Valerie’s eyes and tries to learn about her. He likes their color and says, “It’s like a rainbow of all the boring colors” (162). When Valerie looks into Bat’s eyes, she sees his “sweetness,” “thoughtful nature,” and “busy, busy mind” (162). Bat, uncomfortable, looks away.
Chapter 24 Summary: “A Reply”
Before class, Mr. Grayson tells Bat that Dr. Jerry Dragoo sent a response and that Bat can read the email during recess. Bat is excited and does not want to wait, but Mr. Grayson wants him to practice delayed gratification.
Israel tries to commiserate with Bat, but Bat misreads Israel’s friendliness and accuses Israel of mocking him. Mr. Grayson suggests Bat give Israel “the benefit of the doubt” (168). He also quietly tells Bat that he thinks Israel wants to be friends. Bat’s mind is now filled with thoughts of Dr. Jerry Dragoo’s email and the idea that Israel wants to be his friend. To help ease his anxiety, Bat puts on his earmuffs to dampen the sounds in the classroom.
The first part of the day moves slowly, but recess eventually comes. Israel does not go out with the rest of the class, as he wants to read Dr. Jerry Dragoo’s email, too. Mr. Grayson opens the message and joins the class outside.
Dr. Jerry Dragoo writes that skunks are challenging pets and that since he does not know Bat or Thor, he cannot give a solid answer as to whether or not Bat should keep the kit as a pet. Israel says it’s “too bad,” but Bat does not know what he means. Israel explains that the expert didn’t say keeping Thor was a good idea, but Bat focuses on the fact that Dr. Jerry Dragoo didn’t say it was a bad idea. Israel asks if he can come over and meet Thor, and Bat agrees.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Houseguests”
Bat asks his mother if Israel can come over, and she is excited that Bat might have a new friend. Janie thinks this is a “big deal,” and she and Bat both agree that they are friends and annoying siblings. Valerie plans to call Israel’s parents and set up a date and time for Israel to come over.
Bat admits that he wrote to Dr. Jerry Dragoo and that he emailed him back. He blurts out, “I love Thor. I think maybe he loves me, too. And I’m not ready to give him away” (179). Janie supports Bat because she thinks it took “guts” to work so hard to keep Thor. Valerie listens to her son, and says she has been watching him with Thor. She worries that Bat will get tired of taking care of Thor. When she shakes her head, Bat reads the gesture as her saying “no.” However, Valerie explains that they can keep the skunk instead of sending him to the rescue organization, at least until Thor is old enough to be released into the wild.
Chapter 26 Summary: “How to Know Someone”
Israel is scheduled to visit on Sunday. Valerie wants to prepare snacks, but Bat does not know much about Israel. She suggests things the boys might do together, like plant some seedlings in the garden.
Israel arrives, and his father leaves to run errands. Israel asks to meet and hold Thor. At first, Bat is hesitant. Israel has not held a baby skunk before, and Bat is worried that he might drop Thor. Bat tries his mother’s technique of looking into someone’s eyes to learn about them, but it doesn’t work. Then, he looks at Israel’s hands. He realizes that he gleans information from a person’s hands. Israel’s hands are illustrated as overlapped and cupped, and Bat knows Thor will be safe with Israel.
Bat passes Thor to Israel and talks about how he wants “to learn everything there is to know about caring for skunks” (189). Israel wants to learn about skunks, too. The two boys put Thor back in his enclosure, and then go to Bat’s room to research and watch videos about skunks. Before going into his room, Bat turns and sees his mother smiling at him, and he returns the smile.
Chapters 22-26 Analysis
Bat, who has been learning important social skills since Thor arrived in his life, becomes better equipped to cope with complex social situations. Since his parents’ divorce, he has not felt comfortable while at his father’s apartment. He feels disconnected from Dad and resentful of the split. But as Bat sits braiding Janie’s hair with Dad watching a sports game, his feelings change. Life at the apartment is not the same as it is at home, but he has grown used to it. He accepts his father for who he is, and realizes he can communicate with his sister in non-traditional ways, like braiding her hair instead of talking.
Mr. Grayson has noticed the changes in Bat’s behavior, and presents Bat with a new complex situation—delayed gratification. The wait between learning about Dr. Jerry Dragoo’s email and reading it is difficult for Bat, as he has an outburst when he misunderstands Israel. Mr. Grayson exacerbates the situation by suggesting that Israel wants to be friends, the thought proving too much for Bat to handle on his own. However, Bat is skilled at recognizing his triggers, and is prepared with coping mechanisms—in this case, his earmuffs. The earmuffs reduce his sensory input, which helps him cope with his anxious thoughts and impatience. His ability to cope with stress has grown tremendously, and as Mr. Grayson recognizes, he is ready to challenge himself with more difficult situations.
After they read Dr. Jerry Dragoo’s email, Israel and Bat demonstrate their different ways of viewing the world. Israel picks up on the implied meaning in the email. While the skunk expert does not explicitly state that Bat should not keep the skunk, he implies that keeping Thor as a pet is not a good idea, as skunks are difficult to care for. Bat does not perceive this message. What he understands is that the professional didn’t say that he couldn’t keep Thor. Although they have different readings of the letter, both Bat and Israel accept the perspective of the other. Bat’s acceptance of Israel’s opinion shows that he understands that each person has a unique and valuable perspective.
It takes Bat some time to process the idea that Israel is his friend. Throughout the story, Israel makes attempts to show kindness to Bat, but Bat misreads almost every situation. The idea that Israel genuinely wants to be friends does not cross his mind until Mr. Grayson suggests it. Then, the thought becomes consuming. Bat does not have experience with friends, so he does not know if Mr. Grayson is right, and he does not know how to act moving forward. This fear of the unknown causes him anxiety. However, Bat pushes through his anxiety and accepts Israel’s attempts to form a friendship by sharing the email with him and agreeing to him coming over to his house.
Bat is nervous for Israel’s visit, and Valerie offers suggestions for activities. When Israel arrives, he challenges Bat by asking to hold Thor. While contemplating the request, Bat realizes his ability to read intentions and personality traits by observing a person’s hands. He does not understand facial expressions, but does understand how people use their hands. This highlights the message that it is important to understand and appreciate neurodiversity. Each person has a unique way of viewing and interacting with the world. Bat’s inability to read facial expressions does not make him less aware or smart. He simply uses different methods than most people, as is to be expected of humans in all their diversity.
The book ends with Bat looking back at his mother and smiling. Valerie struggles with the fact that Bat cannot connect with her in the way she wants him to. She longs for Bat to look into her eyes and outwardly express his love and affection for her. They have different communication styles, which makes it difficult for them to relate to each other. Bat, with his developing social skills, has learned to step out of his comfort zone and try to connect with others on their level, rather than just his own. He looks back at his mother, and the two share eye contact and smiles. Valerie has experienced the connection she desperately wanted, and finds joy in the joy of her son. Bat, too, finds what he needed—loving relationships with his family and a like-minded friend.
