Jamila Does Not Want a Bat in Her House

Jamila bat does not want a

in her house

Story by Phyllis Ring Illustrations by Leona Hosack

Bellwood Press Evanston, Illinois

Bellwood Press 401 Greenleaf Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091 Copyright © 2016 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States All rights reserved. Published 2016 Printed on acid-free paper ∞ 19 18 17 16 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ring, Phyllis Edgerly, author. | Hosack, Leona, 1953– illustrator.

Title: Jamila does not want a bat in her house / by Phyllis Ring ; illustrations by Leona Hosack.

Description: Wilmette : Bellwood Press, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016043553 | ISBN 9780877437185 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Bahai Faith—Juvenile literature. | Trust in God—Bahai Faith—Juvenile literature. | Families—Religious life—Juvenile literature. | Fasts and feasts—Bahai Faith—Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC BP366 .R56 2016 | DDC 297.9/3432—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016043553

Illustrations by Leona Hosack Book design by Patrick Falso

It’s not that Jamila minds the bat. It’s where the bat IS that bothers Jamila. She knows that bats do not belong inside.

She does not WANT a bat inside her house. And she is certain that bats do not belong inside anyone’s house for Nineteen-Day Feast.

1

“Bats fly in the sky when the sun goes down,” Jamila’s mother says.

“Bats eat lots of mosquitoes and bugs,” Jamila’s father says.

“Bats like to sleep in dark CAVES!” Jamila’s brother says in his spookiest voice.

But now, there’s a bat inside Jamila’s house, where the next Nineteen-Day Feast will be in just a few days.

2

3

9

14