Bad Kitty

March 26, 2012
Bruel’s picture book—which is included with the audiobook—cycles through the alphabet four times, telling the story of an angry cat exacting revenge on her owners for feeding her vegetables. This audio version works well when paired with the print edition—without it, children might be confused why a word like “rhUbarb” is listed under U instead of under R. Included are three audio versions of the book: the first is narrated by Vanessa Williams; the second is essentially the same recording as the first, with children prompted to follow along and turn the page at the sound of a cat’s meow; and the third is a live recording of Bruel reading to a class of children. Williams proves to be an expressive, enthusiastic, and polished narrator, while Bruel’s reading is much livelier, but lacks the musical accompaniment, sound quality, and production values of the studio recording. It’s clear that Bruel enjoys reading to children as he occasionally breaks from the book to explain something they might not know: “Zinnias,” he says, “for all you city folks, is a type of flower.” Ages 4–8. A Square Fish paperback.

Starred review from October 17, 2005
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... Q
uarreled 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.

June 1, 2012

K-Gr 2-Bad Kitty doesn't necessarily want to be a nuisance, but she is left no choice when her owner offers her nothing to eat but boring healthy produce-from the fairly tame asparagus to the exotic-sounding xigua. After this abecedarian treatment of various fruits and vegetables (all of which Bad Kitty hates), she goes on to wreak havoc, from she "ate my homework" down the alphabet to she "zeroed in on the zinnias." When her owner brings her foods she likes (from "an assortment of anchovies" to "baked zebra ziti"), Bad Kitty shapes up and does an alphabet's worth of good deeds-apologized to Grandma, etc. To reward her exceptional behavior, her owner brings her a new playmate: a puppy who will-gasp!-share her food. Needless to say, this turn of events ensures that Bad Kitty will continue to live up to her name. Author/illustrator Nick Bruel's humorous comic book-style illustrations (Roaring Brook, 2005) are spot-on for his cantankerous yet lovable cat. Vanessa Williams's expressive, spirited narration is the perfect fit for Bad Kitty's naughty (yet relatively harmless) shenanigans. Page-turn signals are optional. This humorous alphabet book is a fun listen.-Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public Library, Evans Branch, NY

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