Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel, Nick Bruel (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

From the creator of The New York Times bestseller Boing! comes the riotous story of a cat gone berserk -- four times over an in alphabetical order each time. Kitty is not happy hen she's told that her favorite foods are all gone and all that's left are Asparagus, Beets, Cauliflower, Dill...and 22 other equally unappealing vegetables. So she: Ate my homework, Bit grandma, Clawed the curtains, Damaged the dishes, and so on, through Z. Only when tastier things arrive (An Assortment of Anchovies, Buffalo Burritos, Chicken Cheesecake...) does she Apologize to Grandma.

Publishers Weekly

With the alphabet as his jumping off point, Bruel (Boing!) recounts just how far things can go awry when cats go bad. After Kitty discovers that the only food in the house consists of 26 kinds of vegetables (asparagus, beets, cauliflower and on through zucchini), her mood turns blacker than her scraggly fur coat. She unleashes her own alphabet of woe that will have youngsters howling with laughter (and cat owners young and old will understand that many of these scenarios do not require a total suspension of disbelief). Bruel chronicles the misbehavior by dividing the spreads into eight strips, each containing a kind of visual one-liner devoted to a single letter. "She... Quarreled with our neighbors," the author writes, as Kitty watches through the mail slot while a human holds a note that reads, "Meow Hiss Hiss...!" The furry protagonist even "Sold my toys" (Kitty seems to have appropriated her unseen owner's lemonade stand for this purpose). But when the humans restock the larder with cat-friendly food (rhino ravioli, shark sushi, etc.), the feline turns over a new leaf-in alphabetical fashion, of course. Even readers who've mastered their ABCs will laugh at Bruel's gleefully composed litanies and the can-you-top-this spirit that animates every page. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-This four-part alphabet book will appeal to youngsters who like their stories more naughty than nice. The tale opens with Kitty learning that her owners have run out of cat food and that her only options are healthy and nutritious edibles that run the gamut from "Asparagus" to "Zucchini." She reacts by doing an A-to-Z list of mischievous things, like "claw[ing] the curtains" and "hurl[ing] hair balls at our heads." When her owners return with food that ranges from "An Assortment of Anchovies" to "Baked Zebra Ziti," Kitty realizes she must atone for her bad behavior with a final list of alphabetical deeds such as cleaning the cat box and washing the car. Some actions and items are a bit of a stretch, in particular "sQuashes" for "Q" and "rhUbarb" for "U." While the story is packed with colorful cartoon illustrations that introduce each object, it is Kitty who steals the show with her slyly drawn feline expressions. Intended for slightly older alphabet-book fans, this offering will attract readers with a taste for the ridiculous.-Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

She may be a "bad bad BAD Kitty," but she's the star of an alphabet book that should be in every collection. This poor, black kitty only became bad when her family ran out of kitty-appropriate food. She was going to be forced to eat an alphabet of healthy foods, asparagus to zucchini. So she perpetrates an alphabet of badness, from "Ate my homework" to "Zeroing the zinnias." Then her loving family returns from the grocery with an alphabet of great kitty food, anchovies to zebra ziti-some of it silly, but she's excited enough to reform and perform an alphabet of gracious actions, from apologizing to a nipped grandma to lulling a baby into a "zzz"-ful sleep. Kitty gets a present too, her just deserts (a puppy to play with). Bruel's little black star is perhaps the hammiest, most expressive feline ever captured in watercolors. The quarter-page illustrations for all the letters in all four alphabets are littered with little (and big) laughs. Even the alphabet-experienced will love this bad, bad kitty! (Picture book. 3-9)

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