Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty

September 7, 2009
In the second early chapter book starring this perennial sourpuss, Bad Kitty's day starts off with a special alphabetical “Birthday Breakfast” that includes Aardvark Bagels, Clam Doughnuts and Eel Fritters. Each chapter focuses on a different part of the day's festivities (Bad Kitty is excited about the prospect of presents, but less so about looking through an old photo album and decorating the house). Eventually, some aptly named guests such as Strange Kitty, Chatty Kitty and Stinky Kitty arrive, and the story becomes a whodunit when Bad Kitty's presents vanish and the prime suspect ends up being the lovable slow-wit, Puppy. The appearance of Bad Kitty's Mama, who sports a pearl necklace and a vacuous expression, offers—briefly—a softer side of the feline. Bruel has fun with the format, using footnotes, different font sizes, comedic/informative interludes about cat behavior (“Uncle Murray's Fun Facts”) and lengthy side stories that take place in corner panels to add to the story's freewheeling atmosphere. But as usual, it's Bad Kitty's unapologetic, curmudgeon nature that delivers the laugh-out-loud funny. Ages 7–10.

November 1, 2009
Gr 1-3-Bad Kitty is back for another adventure, and children who have met this cantankerous feline in her previous outings know that a typical birthday celebration just won't do. Kitty "helps" with the decorations, "welcomes" the guests, and gets the best gift of all in a surprise visitor at the disastrous party's end. Bruel's fast-paced humor is just right for the beginning chapter book set, and the interplay of the text with the comic black-and-white illustrations ratchets up the zaniness level. "Uncle Murray's Fun Facts" sections sprinkled throughout offer facts about why cats sleep, scratch, and engage in odd behaviors, and an appendix tells more about each of the breeds represented by Bad Kitty's party guests. A frenzied fusion of fiction and nonfiction with plenty of appeal for young readers."Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
It's Bad Kitty's birthday. All her friends come bearing gifts (though not the World's Greatest Cat-Scratcher she'd been hoping for). As the party progresses, the gifts disappear. It's a mystery until Puppy unveils his present: a cat-scratcher cobbled together from the other gifts. Spirited black-and-white illustrations display the hijinks. Brief descriptions of breeds of cats included in the story are appended.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)