After decompressing from a semester of MLS studies, I’m finally getting back to Mr. Blog. I’ve been reading a bit here and there, and have even been putting my VCR to good use.
Bad Kitty series by Nick Bruel
Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I discovered this delightful little series of picture books and illustrated children’s chapter books that center around the life of a very, very bad, bad kitty.
In the original picture book, Bad Kitty, the kitty is loathe to find out that he’s been temporarily restricted to a vegetable diet. Fortunately, his hazardous protests throughout the house won him back his omnivorous cat food. The book, and its sequel, Poor Puppy (in which the kitty is introduced to an over-friendly new housemate), incorporate the alphabet and counting, and are devilishly funny and random in their choice of vocabulary.
Additionally, Bruel wrote illustrated chapter books about specific aspects of the kitty’s life, including Bad Kitty Gets a Bath. In this hilarious volume, the kitty’s owner explains the dangers involved in attempting to clean a cat, including injury, death, and pants-wetting. The book even gives a detailed illustration and explanation of the escalating levels of cat anger as expressed through different hisses. Any cat-lover (or cat-hater, even) will recognize the high-strung attitude of kitty, something common to many of our feline friends. I highly recommend these books, to adults and childen. The picture books are a longer read than most, so keep that in mind when reading with those with shorter attention spans (adults and children included).
Here’s a link to Nick Bruel’s Bad Kitty series: click here.
Stop and Smell the Ink 