Bitsy Bat, Team Star by Kaz Windness

Bitsy Bat loves school, but is a little worried when new kid Enzo Owl threatens to take the Fastest Flier title away from her. Concerned that her friends will no longer think she’s special, she hyperfocuses on proving that she’s the best. But when race day comes and one of her classmates winds up in trouble, will she be able to sacrifice her ego and remember the importance of being a good friend?

Fairly standard description of any kids’ book trying to teach its readers the importance of being a good team player. What makes Bitsy Bat, Team Star stand out, however, is the fact that both Bitsy and Enzo are neurodivergent in ways that present differently, with classmates who may also have different learning challenges. I never really realized until reading this how few kids’ books feature multiple children with special needs. At best, you can find just one such child navigating everyday life, but that’s definitely not the case in the real world. I’m not even the most involved parent when it comes to my kids’ school life, but I do know that there are entire classes of sweet, hard-working kids who just need some extra support in getting through the school day.

So it’s super refreshing to read this picture book and find such excellent representation of autistic kids and kids with disabilities. The challenges they face are pretty universal — in this case, fighting insecurity, jealousy and selfishness — but with care taken to show how neurodivergency makes it harder for some kids to self-regulate their involuntary responses. More importantly, it models the sensible way to help kids learn how to cope with their big feelings, so that they can grow up to be better adjusted friends and adults.

Kaz Windness’ art throughout is charming, from the textured and kinetic cuteness of the main illustrations, to the cleaner and even more adorable pictograms of Enzo’s speech tablet. The emotions are also really well-evoked: I can feel everything Bitsy feels, especially since some of her reactions are a very close mirror to how my youngest responds to stress. Most of all, I love so much how this book encourages readers to lead with kindness and compassion, and to remember most of all that while winning is nice, being a person of good character is more important.

I also appreciated the inclusion of a glossary of terms at the end, tho I do have a quibble with the way that the concept of hyperfocus is presented. Bitsy hyperfocusing on her training and telling her friends she can’t help them is a statement of opinion and not, actually, a statement of capacity. Yes, breaking hyperfocus can stress out anyone with autism or ADHD, but learning to manage stress is a key skill for autistic people. Hyperfocus is not an excuse for selfishness, in much the same way that being autistic is not an excuse for being an asshole. I’m sure that the people behind this book didn’t intend to have the glossary seem like it was excusing selfishness instead of explaining why autistic people can have difficulty switching focus, but it still didn’t hit quite right — in stark contrast to the excellence of the narrative itself! Bitsy might need a few extra steps to learn an important life skill that everyone needs, but she absolutely still learns it, and we’re all the better for seeing that modeled.

Bitsy Bat, Team Star by Kaz Windness was published February 4 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers and is available from all good booksellers, including