DEER ISLE, Maine, Aug. 6, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- For two girls growing up in 1937 in the heart of the Depression, a close call with a startling bat in the attic prompts a scheme that sends these two best friends on nocturnal adventures that keep their summer interesting. Florence "Pete" Parker and Wilma "Willie" Singleton mimic the bats in the night, while grasping the concept of economic downturn and the harsh realities of real life in author Billie Hotaling's new book, Be Like the Bats: Secret Deeds of Pete and Willie (now available through 1stBooks).
In the third-floor hideout in the attic of Pete's Victorian-style home, the two girls hatch a plan that sends them out into the night, doing good deeds for good people and mischievous deeds for bad ones. They fix an abandoned pond for an elderly couple, exchanging a wealthy neighbor's beautiful golden carp for dime-store goldfish. They steal yard reflector balls and elf lawn ornaments from a mean old lady to give to an orphanage for children to enjoy. They spook themselves on one adventure meant to scare away the families moving in on their cherished abandoned golf course.
For Willie, this time in her life also prompts her to start asking questions. Why do adults whisper about the Depression around her? When she finds out what's really going on, she finds it's worse than she imagined, especially because Pete's family is affected by it.
Be Like the Bats, a true story about Hotaling and her friend growing up in Long Island, N.Y., is a novel about two girls trying to make an unfair world a little better for everyone. At the same time, they realize it takes more than a few good deeds in the night to change the world and that all must do their part.
After World War II, Hotaling worked with children in many different capacities: teaching, training educators, psychology and research. She and her husband have four children and eight grandchildren. They now live on the coast of Maine. Be Like the Bats is her second book. She also wrote Count the Stars Through the Cracks, about two children escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad.
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