diff --git a/adafruit_display_text/bitmap_label.py b/adafruit_display_text/bitmap_label.py
index 5df2286..d25b3fd 100755
--- a/adafruit_display_text/bitmap_label.py
+++ b/adafruit_display_text/bitmap_label.py
@@ -27,9 +27,14 @@
 __repo__ = "https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPython_Display_Text.git"
 
 import displayio
-import bitmaptools
 from adafruit_display_text import LabelBase
 
+try:
+    import bitmaptools
+except ImportError:
+    # We have a slower fallback for bitmaptools
+    pass
+
 try:
     from typing import Optional, Tuple
     from fontio import FontProtocol