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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Stellaluna_9389.jpg]]
2''Stellaluna'' is a short [[ChildrensLiterature children's book]] published by author/illustrator Creator/JanellCannon in 1993.
3
4The story begins when a fruit bat pup named Stellaluna is separated from her mother in an owl attack. After a long fall, she lands in a songbird's nest. The mother bird reluctantly [[InterspeciesAdoption takes Stellaluna]] under her wing on the condition that Stellaluna behaves like a proper bird (sleeping at night, eating insects, etc), in order to keep her from being a bad influence on the mother bird's actual offspring. When Stellaluna grows up, she begins to notice the differences between herself and her adoptive siblings and realises that she is a fruit bat. The book ends on the note that [[AnAesop even though their adoptive family may be outwardly different, they're family, regardless, and still very much the same at heart]].
5
6The story was later made into a DirectToVideo animated movie in 2004 (with the titular character voiced by Creator/ChiaraZanni), which received a [[FanonDiscontinuity mixed]] [[SoOkayItsAverage critical response]], as well as a ''VideoGame/LivingBooks'' interactive CD-ROM and a puppet show in Oregon. Another [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv1hEanPuX8 puppet show adaptation]] was performed at "Speeltheater Holland" in the Netherlands in 2008.
7----
8!! This book provides examples of:
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10* AnAesop: Be true to yourself, and your family will love you anyway. Or alternatively: Adoptive families can be just as loving as biological ones, because deep down, people have more in common than they think.
11* AnimalTalk: The birds can talk to the bats despite being different species.
12* BatOutOfHell: Thoroughly averted. The protagonist is a cute little fruit bat struggling to fit in.
13* BlackSheep: Considering the fact that Stellaluna is a fruit bat in a family of songbirds, it would be nearly impossible for her ''not'' to be one.
14* CentralTheme: According to Jannell Cannon, the book focuses primarily on the universality of feeling like "a bat in a bird's world."
15* CoolBigSis: Pip, Flitter, and Flap treat Stellaluna as a cool big sister that they'd like to emulate. When Mama Bird catches them all dangling from the nest by their feet, she is ''not'' happy.
16* CuteClumsyGirl: Stellaluna's inability to land on branches like her siblings makes her come across as one of these.
17* {{Deconstruction}}: The book picks at the idea of "problem children" through Stellaluna's relationship with her bird family. The mother bird sees Stellaluna's behavior as a bad influence on Pip, Flitter, and Flap, and thus tries to force her into acting more like a "real" bird. However, the book makes it abundantly clear that Stellaluna's simply a different kind of being expressing different needs in different ways; once she reunites with her bat family, she's able to thrive thanks to them understanding and meeting her needs as a bat.
18* ForeignQueasine: Naturally, the prospect of eating bugs doesn't appeal to a frugivore like Stellaluna.
19* GoodParents: When Stellaluna is reunited with her birth mother, she's happy to finally have someone who understands and knows how to care for her.
20* HappilyAdopted: Stellaluna may not have the best relationship with her adoptive mother, but she truly does love and care for her siblings, and they for her.
21* IJustWantToBeNormal: Initially, Stellaluna wishes that she could be more like her bird siblings. She can't land or perch right-side up like they can, she doesn't like the same food, and she doesn't want to sleep the same hours or even in the same position.
22* InterspeciesAdoption: A fruit bat is adopted (though temporarily) by a family of birds.
23* MeaningfulName: Stellaluna -- "Star Moon."
24* MissingMom: Subverted with Mother Bat. At first, she's believed to be killed by the owl after Stellaluna falls down from her. Later on, it turns out [[spoiler:she has escaped the owl.]] Most editions of the book have small black-and-white pictures alongside the large color ones [[spoiler: showing the mother bat's escape and subsequent search for Stellaluna.]]
25* ObliviousAdoption: After a while, Stellaluna seems to forget that she's a bat and appears to be genuinely surprised that fruits are delicious and that she can see in the dark.
26* OneWordTitle: OnlyOneName-type ProtagonistTitle.
27* PuppyDogEyes: When Mother Bird scolds Stellaluna to act like a bird, the bat has a rather [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oWgPl2CTcK0/maxresdefault.jpg pitiable expression]].
28* ShownTheirWork: While it was, admittedly, a rather short book, Janell Cannon managed to portray fruit bats accurately and never once fell victim to common stereotypes and misconceptions about bats.
29* StellarName: "Stella" means "star" and "Luna" means "moon".
30* SuperSenses: Pip, Flitter and Flap can hardly see anything at night, and they don't have much of a [[TheNoseKnows sense of smell]]. Compared to them, Stellaluna practically has SuperSenses.
31* TwoLinesNoWaiting: After being separated from her mother, the book simultaneously depicts Stellaluna's life with the bird family (depicted in pencil & paint illustrations and text) and her mother's search for her (depicted in ink drawings above the text). The two storylines eventually converge once Stellaluna and her mother reunite.
32* TooDesperateToBePicky: Stellaluna only eats the bugs Mother Bird brings when she's really hungry. When she reunites with her bat mother and learns to eat fruit, she says to herself she'll never eat another bug as long as she lives.
33* TheUnfavourite: Stellaluna. Mother Bird accuses her of encouraging her chicks to do dangerous things when they imitate her habit of hanging by her feet.
34* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, it was rare at the time for bats to be the stars of children's books. On the other hand, the author deliberately chose one of the cuter bat species as the protagonist.
35* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: A lot of the tension between Stellaluna and her adoptive mother stems from the fact that Mama Bird wants Stellaluna to behave more like a bird.
36----
37!! The animated movie provides examples of:
38
39* AdaptationExpansion: Added a wise-cracking superhero jumping spider named "Askari" as a sidekick, and a fashion bird duo to the story. They also made the Owl a [[BigBad bigger threat]].
40* AdaptationalJerkass: The baby birds in the original book were much more accepting of their adopted sibling. Here, they are turned into {{Jerkass}}es who constantly boss Stellaluna around, even calling her "the worst bird in the world" at one point.
41* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Mama Bird is much more accepting of the titular character in this version.
42* AnimatedAdaptation: With the exception of the Living Books version, this is the only fully-animated adaptation of the original story.
43* AnthropomorphicShift: The bodies and general designs of the main characters are about the same as in the book, but they've been given somewhat more human-like faces so they can be more expressive.
44* AscendedExtra: The owl becomes the main BigBad, serving as a threat to not only Stellaluna, but also to the sparrow family and the rest of the forest as well.
45* CanonForeigner: Askari, Horatio, and Kasuku.
46* CutShort / PoorlyDisguisedPilot: The movie finishes with a seemingly clear plan for a TV series adaptation of the original book, but one never got made.
47* TheDreaded: Everyone in the jungle knows who the owl is, and sees him as a threat.
48* FamilyThemeNaming: Stellaluna and her mother, Estrella, both have {{Stellar Name}}s.
49* HakunaMatata: "Best In You".
50* IWantSong: "(My Whole World's Turned) Upside Down".
51* InterspeciesRomance: Horatio and Kasuku behave like a married couple despite one being a hornbill and the other being a parrot.
52* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Horatio and Kasuku have this relationship. They constantly bicker and argue, but clearly love each other in the end.
53* MeaningfulName: Mother Bat's name, Estrella, means "star" in Spanish.
54* NamedByTheAdaptation: Though their names are only confirmed in the closing credits, Mother Bat is given the name Estrella and Mama Bird is named Nestra.
55* OminousOwl: The owl from the book is the main antagonist. Stellaluna and the baby birds constantly run into him, but they always manage to escape. At the climax, [[spoiler: he kidnaps Momma Bird and plans to eat her, but Stellaluna leads the other bats to attack the owl. He flies away in terror, never to bother anyone again.]]
56* ShortFilm: The movie's only about 40 minutes long.
57* SmallNameBigEgo: Askari is constantly gloating over what a great hero he is, despite not doing much.
58* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Horatio and Kasuku are never seen or mentioned again after their appearance.

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