Bad Kitty Scaredy-Cat

Starred review from August 1, 2016
Bruel’s Bad Kitty is no shrinking violet, but Halloween has left her on edge: an alphabetical parade of frightening trick-or-treaters includes “an intimidating invisible man, a jarring jack-o-lantern, a killer kraken, a loathsome lion.” In a series of manic panels that will be familiar to readers of the previous books, Bruel sends Bad Kitty through the alphabet four times in this outing—a new record?—including a play-by-play of Bad Kitty terrorizing the terrorizers (“She... injured the invisible man, jostled the jack-o-lantern, kicked the kraken, lambasted the lion”). Bruel continues to draw big laughs out of Bad Kitty’s unrepentantly bad behavior while boosting readers’ vocabularies—at least where Halloween costumes, candy, and violent revenge are concerned. Fans will also appreciate the return of Bad Kitty’s sweet-natured foil, Puppy, who still has a knack for catching the ferocious feline off guard. Ages 5–8.

A look back at the Halloween that transformed a brave, daring, and energetic kitty into a scaredy-cat and then into the Bad Kitty readers know.As with her other adventures, readers are in for several trips through the alphabet. The first lists the cat's attributes before she became a scaredy-cat. The second lists the things she saw that scared her: Evil Ectoplasm, a Killer Kracken, a Putrid Pirate, a Toxic Tarantula. Each (except for Uncle Murray, who just needs to borrow some candy) is a costumed child with trick-or-treat bag or bucket in hand, though on the first run-through, they look all too real and menacing, sending poor Kitty to cower under the couch. Until, that is, one of them drops the candy. Huge eyes reveal how excited Kitty is at the haul, Apples to Zoo animal crackers, and at that moment, she decides to become a bad Kitty, besting and revealing each costumed child and stealing the candy: she Flattened Frankenstein, Mauled the Mummy, and Nullified the Neanderthal. Bruel's illustrations, heavy on the blacks, purples, and oranges, do double duty, helping youngsters with the challenging vocabulary, though not all the pictures really show the actions (Harassing the Hag looks like either tickling or scratching, and both Gnawing on the Goblin and Injuring the Invisible Man involve biting). An origin story--and alphabet practice and vocabulary stretcher--for Bad Kitty's fans. (Picture book. 5-8) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Bad Kitty, the character who reinvented cattitude, is back in time for Halloween. Bright pumpkin-orange endpapers frame the alphabet-focused tale of how Kitty became a scaredy-cat and how she recovers her courage with the help of 26 kinds of Halloween treats. We're first introduced to the formerly Angry, Brave, Clumsy, Daring, Energetic, Fearless cat who was transformed one All Hallows' Eve. Who can resist language like "one dark and foggy night, something terrible happened. Out of the darkness and into her doorway appeared the most horrible and frightening creatures Kitty had ever seen." (The dramatic language is entertainingly offset by illustrations of Kitty sprawling on top of a cheery, drooling Puppy.) And who were these creatures? A Monstrous Mummy, Noisy Neanderthal, Odious Ogre, Putrid Pirate-oh, they're so convincingly weird and wicked that Kitty has to hide her eyes and duck under the couch. But the reviving powers of apples, bubble gum, candy corn, dried fruit, and English toffee, all dropped by the aforementioned monsters, bring back the BAD in Bad Kitty, and readers can only feel sorry for the bemused trick-or-treaters whom she disrobes, if not dismembers. VERDICT Perfect for storytime or one-on-one sharing, this is a must-have addition for most holiday collections.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

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