The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Arnold, Elana K. A Boy Called Bat. Walden Pond Press, March 13, 2018. Kindle.

In the novel A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, Bixby Alexander Tam, known as Bat, did not like loud noises, changes in patterns, or working in groups. He did like the baby skunk that he and his mother, a veterinarian, had been raising. He wanted to find a way to convince his mother that he would be an excellent caretaker for a skunk. Bat demonstrated his intelligence and courage when he reached out to a skunk expert for advice, prompting his mother to agree to his plan.

Bat was having a bad afternoon as he discovered that his older sister, Janie, had eaten the last vanilla yogurt. She teased Bat when he asked her to make him a snack. Bat’s frustration level almost reached its limit when his mother came home late with no vanilla yogurt. She told Bat she had a good reason for being late and showed him the newborn skunk she had delivered that day at her veterinarian office. The skunk’s mother had died. She told Bat he could help her nurse the skunk for a month, until it was old enough to go to a wild animal sanctuary. Bat made a promise to himself that he would find some way to convince his mother to let him keep the skunk.

That weekend, Bat had to spend the weekend with his father. He did not like spending every other weekend with his father because it broke his routine. This weekend was particularly bad because Bat did not want to be away from the skunk, for whom his sister had come up with the name Thor. Bat secretly decided his sister was brilliant even though she was sometimes mean to him.

In school, Bat unintentionally embarrassed Lucca, a girl in his class, when he tried to explain that Israel was only being nice when he said he would trade anything for the type of sandwich she had. Mr. Grayson, the teacher, tried to help Bat understand his mistake, but conversations were hard for Bat. He had trouble interpreting facial expressions and understanding what people meant during a conversation. Later that day, Bat frustrated the members of his group as they were supposed to be working on a project together. Because Bat did not trust any of his group members, he wanted to do all the work himself.

Bat read about skunks in his animal encyclopedia. Part of the entry was dedicated to Dr. Jerry Dragoo, a skunk expert who said that even though skunks were not necessarily good pets, a good pet was determined by a good caretaker. With Mr. Grayson’s help, Bat sent an email to Dr. Dragoo asking the doctor to help Bat convince his mother to let him keep Bat. Meanwhile, Israel became more and more interested in Bat’s skunk. One morning, Mr. Grayson told Bat he had received an answer from Dr. Dragoo and could read it at recess, Israel commented to Bat that it was too bad Mr. Grayson would not let him go ahead and read it. Bat misunderstood Israel’s intent and complained that Israel was making fun of him. Israel insisted he was not making fun of Bat. Mr. Grayson suggested that Bat give Israel a chance, that he believed Israel wanted to be Bat’s friend. At recess, Bat allowed Israel to read the email from Dr. Dragoo. He agreed to ask his mother if Israel could visit to meet the skunk.

At dinner, Bat told his mother Israel wanted to come to visit on Saturday. Both Bat’s mother and his sister were impressed because Bat had never had a friend over before. Bat next told his mother that he had contacted a skunk expert about keeping Thor. Janie was so impressed with Bat’s courage that she argued in favor of keeping the skunk. Their mother agreed to allow Bat to care for the skunk until it was old enough to be turned loose in the wild.

Before Israel’s visit, Bat debated what he would do if Israel asked to hold Thor. His mother had told him that looking in a person’s eyes could help him know their intentions, but Bat was not able to see what she saw. Instead, when Israel asked to hold Thor, Bat looked at Israel’s hands, which were cupped and overlapped so the skunk would not fall out. Bat knew from looking at his hands that he could trust Israel.