Stellaluna
Encyclopedia
Stellaluna is a fictional female fruit bat
in a children's book of the same name by author Janell Cannon, written in 1993. In fact, this book aired on the PBS
series Reading Rainbow
in 1994. On that episode, Anne Jackson
narrated the story. It is featured in the 2001 movie I am Sam
and is a very influential factor. In addition, MGM
and Scholastic Productions released a 2002 animated
version of Stellaluna on DVD.
In 2005 the author received a Bat Conservation Award from the Organization for Bat Conservation.
loves her baby called Stellaluna very much and would never let anything happen to her. When the two are attacked by an owl
, the predator knocks Stellaluna out of her mother's safe embrace. Soon the baby bat ends up in a bird's nest filled with three baby birds named Pip, Flitter and Flap. The mother bird
will let Stellaluna be part of the family only if she eats bugs, does not hang by her feet and sleeps at night.
When all the baby animals grow, they learn to fly. When Stellaluna and the birds are out playing, it gets dark and the birds go home without her because they will not be able to see in the dark. Stellaluna keeps flying, but when Stellaluna's wings hurt, she stops to rest. When she does, she hangs by her thumbs. Soon another bat comes to ask why Stellaluna is hanging by her thumbs. She tells the bat the story of what had happened after she and her mother were attacked by the owl. Another bat interrupts the story. That bat is Stellaluna's mother. Stellaluna and her mother are happily reunited and Stellaluna finally understands why she is so different.
Excited about learning how to be a bat, Stellaluna returns to Pip, Flitter, and Flap in order to share her new experiences. They agree to join Stellaluna and the bats at night, but find they are unsuited to flying at night and nearly crash. Stellaluna rescues them and the four of them decide that while they may be very different, they are still family.
. However, this version was panned by some fans of the original book as "truly unfaithful" and received mixed to negative reviews.
performed Stellaluna adapted by the Tears of Joy Theatre
from Portland, Oregon
. Stellaluna
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
in a children's book of the same name by author Janell Cannon, written in 1993. In fact, this book aired on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow is an American children's television series aired by PBS from June 6, 1983 until November 10, 2006 that encouraged reading among children. The award-winning public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including scores of Emmy Awards, many for "Outstanding Children's...
in 1994. On that episode, Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson is an American actress of television, stage, and screen.-Life and career:Jackson, the youngest of three sisters, was born in Millvale, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Stella Germaine and John Ivan Jackson, a barber who ran a beauty parlor...
narrated the story. It is featured in the 2001 movie I am Sam
I Am Sam
I Am Sam is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with a developmental disability, Dakota Fanning as his inquisitive seven-year-old daughter, and Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer...
and is a very influential factor. In addition, MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and Scholastic Productions released a 2002 animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
version of Stellaluna on DVD.
In 2005 the author received a Bat Conservation Award from the Organization for Bat Conservation.
Plot
A mother fruit batFruit Bat
Fruit Bat can refer to:* Megabats, a species of bat which eats fruit* Les "Fruitbat" Carter, guitarist of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine* Fruit Bats , an American band...
loves her baby called Stellaluna very much and would never let anything happen to her. When the two are attacked by an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, the predator knocks Stellaluna out of her mother's safe embrace. Soon the baby bat ends up in a bird's nest filled with three baby birds named Pip, Flitter and Flap. The mother bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
will let Stellaluna be part of the family only if she eats bugs, does not hang by her feet and sleeps at night.
When all the baby animals grow, they learn to fly. When Stellaluna and the birds are out playing, it gets dark and the birds go home without her because they will not be able to see in the dark. Stellaluna keeps flying, but when Stellaluna's wings hurt, she stops to rest. When she does, she hangs by her thumbs. Soon another bat comes to ask why Stellaluna is hanging by her thumbs. She tells the bat the story of what had happened after she and her mother were attacked by the owl. Another bat interrupts the story. That bat is Stellaluna's mother. Stellaluna and her mother are happily reunited and Stellaluna finally understands why she is so different.
Excited about learning how to be a bat, Stellaluna returns to Pip, Flitter, and Flap in order to share her new experiences. They agree to join Stellaluna and the bats at night, but find they are unsuited to flying at night and nearly crash. Stellaluna rescues them and the four of them decide that while they may be very different, they are still family.
Animated version
In 2002, an animated version of Stellaluna was produced by Scholastic Productions and released on DVD by Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. However, this version was panned by some fans of the original book as "truly unfaithful" and received mixed to negative reviews.
Film vs. book
- At the beginning of the DVD version, there are a group of bats flying along with Mother Bat and Stellaluna, but in the book, Mother Bat and Stellaluna flew by themselves.
- When Stellaluna was caught by her feet on a tree branch after falling from Mother Bat in the DVD version, she did not shout out for her like in the book.
- In the DVD version, the baby birds were more rebellious and Mama Bird was nicer, but they were not in the book.
- Three new characters were added in the DVD version: A trustworthy and deluded TarzanTarzanTarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
-like superhero jumping spiderJumping spiderThe jumping spider family contains more than 500 described genera and about 5,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among invertebrates and use it in courtship, hunting and navigation...
, and a fashionable toucan and parrot duo. - The DVD version also added two new songs: "Upside Down," in which a sad Stellaluna sings about her newly adapted bird motives, and "Make It Over," sung by Stellaluna and the bird duo about getting a makeover.
- In the DVD version, Stellaluna was discovered in a bat cave by a group of bats and reunited with Mother Bat, but in the book, the bats discover her hanging on the branch by her thumbs and Mother Bat finally found her baby.
- In the book, Stellaluna took a flight with the bats in search for a mango on a tree, but in the DVD version, they battle the owl that attacked Mother Bat.
- Stellaluna doesn't teach Pip, Flitter and Flap how to act like a bat and fly at night in the DVD version.
- Flitter Does not Talk in the movie. but she does in the end
Stage version
In 2009 the Center for Puppetry ArtsCenter for Puppetry Arts
The Center for Puppetry Arts, located in Atlanta, is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry. The Center focuses on three areas: performance, education and museum. It is one of the only puppet museums in the world. The Center is located in Midtown, the city's arts...
performed Stellaluna adapted by the Tears of Joy Theatre
Tears of Joy Theatre
Tears of Joy Theatre is a puppet theatre company located in the Portland, Oregon metro area. It was founded in 1971 by Janet and Reg Bradley. The company tours three shows a year to schools in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana and Nevada, and puts on four mainstage shows yearly in...
from Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Stellaluna