★Nominated for the National Book Art Contest Award "Golden Apple Tree"2017
★Age 8-12
★English samples are available!

The publishing house Petergailis is proud to announce the release of The Bat, an eco-detective story for teenagers.
The events of this long story are based on Marta's diary, where she documents her younger brother Sylvester's adventures in their country house during the summer holidays. Excitement is never lacking-from chasing down the grafhiti artist, to trying to capture the mysterious outlaw Bat, the two siblings stay true to their inner call to protect nature, animals and the people they love.
The Bat builds upon the same motives that are evident in Maris Rungulis other books. Just like the protagonists in Freida Fries(2000), The Frog's Croak(2004)and Naughty Alfred(2012), the main heroes of this book act and behave in a way that defies the norms of society. They are not afraid look silly, if it means protecting their littlest brothers'-the animals. Attimes they do resort to some rather drastic measures in their attempts to reduce pollution and rescue nature.
Nonetheless, the author is on the side of these ‘eco-warriors’ since their motivesare always disarmingly genuine and noble. This may just be the key to the acclaim that Rungulis stories receive among the young readers. He is beloved among children and teenagers alike, and hisbooks have been nominated for the most prestigious awards, receiving various ac-claims. Just this year, both ungulis and Braslina received Janis Baltilks'prize for their outstanding efforts in enriching Latvian children's literature with an array of enticing and likeable characters.