Bad Kitty (series)

Bad Kitty is a series of American children's books by Nick Bruel, about a housecat named Kitty, who often wreaks havoc about her owner's home. The first book, Bad Kitty,[2] was a picture book, published in 2005, and featured Kitty encountering foods and doing activities categorized by the alphabet. It was followed by Poor Puppy, which deals with Kitty's housemate, Puppy. Bruel also created chapter books including Bad Kitty Gets a Bath, Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty, Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray: The Uproar at the Front Door, Bad Kitty Meets the Baby and Bad Kitty for President. The chapter books feature tips on caring for cats. In late 2011, Bruel published A Bad Kitty Christmas as a picture book. The series won a Wyoming Buckaroo Book Award.[3]

This article is about the book series. For the comic book, see Bad Kitty (comics). For the novel, see Bad Kitty (novel).

Bad Kitty
AuthorNick Bruel
IllustratorNick Bruel
Cover artistNick Bruel
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreComedy[1]
PublisherMcmillan (Neal Porter books, Roaring Brook Press); Scholastic Corporation
Published2005
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)

Characters

Main
Nick Bruel draws Bad Kitty at Mazza Museum
  • Kitty – The title character of the series; she is a housecat who wreaks havoc around her owner's home when she is in a bad mood, hence the name. She has black fur and a white tuft of fur on her chest. According to Bruel, "Kitty is physically modeled after a cat named Zou-zou Nick Bruel had as a child who was all black except for a small tuft of white fur on her chest."[4]
  • Puppy – He is introduced in the series at the end of Bad Kitty and is the subject of the picture book Poor Puppy and the novel "Puppy's Big Day".
  • The owner – The narrator of the series. His face is not seen in the books.
  • Uncle Murray – Uncle Murray was only mentioned twice in the first book, Bad Kitty. In the chapter books, he is given sections called "Uncle Murray's Fun Facts". He is a major character in the book, Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray: The Uproar at the Front Door. Bruel wrote that he is named after his real life Uncle Murray.[4]

Kitty's Friends

The following is a list of cats that make their debuts in Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty.

  • Big Kitty – Big Kitty is a Maine Coon who is the biggest cat in the series.
  • The Twin Kitties – The Twin Kitties are calico American Shorthairs who love to play.
  • Stinky Kitty – Stinky Kitty is a Persian who is always getting dirty and smelly.
  • Chatty Kitty – Chatty Kitty is a Siamese who is the most talkative cat in the neighborhood. The translations of her speech are presented as footnotes.
  • Pretty Kitty – Pretty Kitty is a Turkish Angora who has won many cat shows and whom all of the male cats are in love with.
  • Strange Kitty – Strange Kitty is a Sphynx who is called strange for reading comic books instead of (like cats) chasing mice. Unlike the other cats, Strange Kitty can talk.

Minor characters
  • Power Mouse – Strange Kitty's buddy and sidekick. He is one of the only animal characters that can talk.
  • Old Lady – A senior woman that appeared in A Bad Kitty Christmas
  • Old Kitty - The former president of the Neighborhood Cat Club
  • Petunia - A bulldog and a student in "Bad Kitty: School Daze". She is one of the only animal characters that can talk.
  • Dr. Lagomorph - A rabbit and archenemy of Strange Kitty's alter ego, Captain Fantasticat. He is one of the only animal characters that can talk. Bruel mentioned that lagomorph is the biological name for the family of rabbits.[4]

Books
No.TitleDateFormatLength ISBN
1Bad KittyOctober 1, 2005[5]Picture book40ppISBN 978-1596430693
Kitty was a good kitty until her owners make her eat vegetables, listed from A to Z. Kitty is repulsed, and becomes a bad kitty. She does a bunch of activities from "Ate My Homework" to "Zeroed the Zinnias". The owners come back from the store and present Kitty with good food from an "Assortment of Anchovies" to "baked Zebra Ziti". Kitty is very happy, so she does some good activities from "Apologized to grandma" to "lulled the baby to sleep ZZZZ" The owners then reward Kitty with a new friend: Puppy!
2Poor Puppy
Poor Puppy and Bad Kitty		July 24, 2007[6]Picture book40ppISBN 978-1596432703
Puppy wants to play with Kitty, but Kitty refuses. Puppy ends up having to play by himself from "Airplane" to "Zoo Animals". He then naps and dreams of activities he can do with Kitty, from "Apple Bobbing in Antarctica" to "in Zimbabwe, they run Zig-Zags with a Zebra, a Zebu and a Zorilla". He wakes up and sees Kitty dangling a toy mouse in front of his face. He jumps up and chases Kitty.
3Bad Kitty Gets a BathAugust 19, 2008[7]Chapter book128ppISBN 978-1596433410
Kitty needs a bath, but does everything she can to avoid it.
4Happy Birthday, Bad KittySeptember 1, 2009[8]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1596433427
Kitty prepares for her birthday party. She hopes to get a fancy scratching post. Kitty's friends come and bring presents. Marks a cameo of Kitty's mother, Mama Kitty.
5Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray: The Uproar at the Front DoorAugust 31, 2010[9]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1596435964
Kitty's owners are leaving for a week, but they bring Uncle Murray as a pet sitter. Kitty thinks Murray is scary and hides from him, only to be surprised as Murray almost sits on her or uses her as a dish rag. Kitty gets hungry, thinking of minutes like days, and hours like weeks. Murray talks about his old dog, then almost sucks Kitty with a vacuum cleaner. Kitty's friends raid the house and Murray leaves, taking Puppy with him. He later returns, and promises to take care of them. Kitty's owners return and bring a surprise guest: a new baby!
6Bad Kitty Meets the BabyJune 7, 2011[10]Chapter book144ppISBN 978-1596435971
Bad Kitty is told she will get a surprise when her owners come home and she gets stuck with Puppy and Uncle Murray babysits her. He has to call the fire department several days in a row. When they come back they have a baby which Kitty has no clue what she is. The other cats come and decide she is another kitty. They have a special Pussycat Olympics, but the baby wins all of the events, even the ones that Kitty expects to win. Kitty throws a tantrum and kicks everyone out. Kitty's owner tries to settle her down and then informs her the baby is adopted and needs love just like her. Kitty sympathizes and cries. Kitty tries to help the baby but then when it is bath time, she picks the baby up and runs off.
7A Bad Kitty ChristmasSeptember 13, 2011[11]Picture book40ppISBN 978-1596436688
8Bad Kitty for PresidentJanuary 17, 2012[1]Chapter book144ppISBN 978-1596436695
Kitty runs against Big Kitty to be president of the Neighborhood Cat Club.
9Bad Kitty School DazeJanuary 8, 2013[12]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1596436701
Kitty and Puppy go to obedience school, where their classmates are a dog named Petunia and the insanely evil Dr. Lagomorph.
10Bad Kitty Drawn to TroubleJanuary 7, 2014[13]Chapter book128ppISBN 978-1596436718
11Puppy's Big DayJanuary 6, 2015[14]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1596439764
12Bad Kitty Goes to the VetJanuary 5, 2016[15]Chapter book144ppISBN 978-1596439771
When Bad Kitty is forced to visit the vet, she is put to sleep for surgery and has an odd dream in which she imagines that she is on the brink of death and must repent for her crimes against Puppy or be cast down into "Puppydog Paradise," which is kitty hell.
13Bad Kitty Takes the TestJanuary 3, 2017[16]Chapter book144ppISBN 978-1626725898
After her cat license was revoked, Kitty must take a class and pass a test to get it back.
14Bad Kitty Camp DazeJanuary 2, 2018[17]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1626728851
Kitty creeps out Puppy, sending him to Uncle Murray’s camp for stressed-out dogs... But kitty sneaks along.
15Bad Kitty Kitten TroubleDecember 31, 2018[18]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1250182081
Kitty's owners bring in a number of little kittens to foster.
16Bad Kitty Joins the TeamJanuary 7, 2020[19]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1250208071
Kitty exercises to get in shape.
17Bad Kitty Goes on VacationDecember 29, 2020[20]Chapter book160ppISBN 978-1250208088
Kitty goes on vacation to Love Love Angel Kitten world.

Reception

Lynn Beckwith at Bookpage.com describes Kitty as "a joyfully silly portrait of a picky eater with attitude", and that Bruel's illustrations are bold and humorous.[21]

References
  1. "Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  2. "'Zoopa,' 'Bad Kitty' and 'Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack'". The New York Times. January 25, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  3. "Bad Kitty at Macmillan". February 11, 2011.
  4. Bruel, Nick (January 9, 2014). "Ten Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Bad Kitty - A Guest Post by Nick Bruel". MacMillan Kids Books. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014.
  5. "Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel (First edition)". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  6. Bruel, Nick (July 24, 2007). Poor Puppy (Bad Kitty). ISBN 978-1596432703.
  7. "Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel (first edition)". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  8. "Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel (first edition)". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  9. "Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray by Nick Bruel (first edition)". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  10. "Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel (first edition)". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  11. "A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  12. "Bad Kitty School Daze". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  13. "Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble". Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  14. "PUPPY'S BIG DAY by Nick Bruel , Nick Bruel - Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  15. Bad Kitty Goes to the Vet: Nick Bruel: 9781596439771: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 1596439777.
  16. "BAD KITTY TAKES THE TEST by Nick Bruel , Nick Bruel - Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  17. "BAD KITTY CAMP DAZE by Nick Bruel , Nick Bruel - Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  18. "KITTEN TROUBLE by Nick Bruel". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  19. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bad-kitty-joins-the-team-nick-bruel/1130769041?ean=9781250208071
  20. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nick-bruel/bad-kitty-goes-on-vacation/
  21. Beckwith, Lynn (October 2005). "A picky eater with attitude". Bookpage.com. Pro Motion. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
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