Tag Archives: nick bruel

Bad Kitty School Daze By Nick Bruel AND A GIVEAWAY!!!

4 Feb

Let’s start off February a little bad…BAD KITTY that is!

The newest Bad Kitty book is out and I can’t wait to tell you about it! Plus, Mr. Bruel gave me a signed copy of Bad Kitty School Daze to giveaway to one lucky reader! Read on to learn more!

badkittyschooldazeBad Kitty School Daze

By Nick Bruel

160 pages – ages 7+

Published by Roaring Brook Press on January 8, 2013

Bad Kitty and Puppy have crossed the line! With Kitty’s grumpiness and Puppy’s drooling problem, (and their constant fighting) it’s no surprise that they are sent to Diabla Von Gloom’s School for Wayward Pets. There, the dueling duo meet Miss Dee, a very kind teacher, Petunia, a very tough bull-dog who HATES!!! cats, and DR. LAGOMORPH, a diabolical mutant supervillian bunny whose arch-enemies are Captain Fantasticat and Power Mouse (A.K.A. Weird Kitty and the little mouse). Kitty and Puppy go through events at school, like Arts & Crafts and Story time. Puppy seems to be trying his best but Kitty is not cooperating (plus she is really scared Petunia will figure out she’s really a cat and not a cow ;) ). Miss Dee likes Kitty and tries to help her be good, but Kitty is not sure she wants to be friends with the other pets in obedience school.

First I have to say I am a HUGE fan of Mr. Bruel’s books. I have met Mr. Bruel a couple of times at book signings I went to and he is a very nice person and is always very kind and takes time to talk to me. My favorite Bad Kitty adventure so far is “Bad Kitty Vs. Uncle Murray” and I have to say – this one is my new favorite! I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I love the humor! Mr Bruel seemed to have packed even more humor into this Bad Kitty adventure. I love the pictures and Uncle Murray’s fun facts (Uncle Murray is the school bus driver)!  I love the awesome characters of Dr. Lagomorph and Petunia, they are hysterical! I think Dr. Lagomorph is the best character in the book (besides Bad Kitty and Puppy), and probably the funniest! Like all the other Bad Kitty books, this one has a nice message in it. Bad Kitty really ends up helping all the other pets in school and is kind to them. I love how Mr. Bruel always has a good message in his books.

I give “Bad Kitty: School Daze” 100 out of 5 bookworms! … ERR… What? my rating only goes to five?  *sigh* Well, it still gets the highest rating! :D fivebooks

NOW for the giveaway!!! Mr. Nick Bruel has generously sent me a signed copy of this book to giveaway! Along with the signature there is also a hand-drawn illustration of … DR. LAGOMORPH!!!!! (MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (that felt good! I haven’t used my evil laugh in a while!)) Please comment on this post from now until Sunday the 10th to get an entry! I will announce the winner on Monday the 11! Josie will pick the names from “The Hat”! :) Good luck!

To learn more about Mr. Bruel and his awesome books, please visit his website by clicking HERE.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel AND A Giveaway!

7 Dec

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because it is a Bad Kitty book AND a Christmas book! Great combo at this time of year!

baddkittyxmasA Bad Kitty Christmas

By Nick Bruel

40 pages – ages 4+

Published by Roaring Brook Press on September 13, 2011

Theme/Topic – Christmas Spirit/Being Grateful/Alphabet/Rhyming

-

-

-

Opening and Synopsis – 

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
and all through the city
Not a creature was stirring …
BLAM CRASH KABOOM!
… Except for Bad Kitty.

Kitty has ruined the presents for Christmas. She’s being GREEDY and a bad, BAD Kitty and she doesn’t seem to care. As Kitty and her family are driving to Uncle Murray’s house for a visit, Kitty jumped out the window because she was still mad she got yelled at! Kitty soon regrets what she did. She is cold, lost miserable and surrounded by rats! She hid in an alley and was found by a poor, but kindly, old lady. The lady brings her to her apartment and teaches her the true spirit of Christmas. Kitty then realizes what she did and gets homesick. Will anyone come to find her?

Why I liked this book – First off, Bad Kitty + Christmas + Rhyme + Alphabet = a very funny, book about the true spirit of Christmas and a (very) naughty cat. Need I say more? Well the long version is; I really liked this version of Bad Kitty and Mr. Bruel REALLY made funny rhymes (and alphabet sets – yes! There are FIVE alphabet sets in this book and they all rhyme!) to go with the book. He is one creative guy! What is even better is that along with all those alphabet sets, there is an awesome story about family and what Christmas is really about.  I really like how this book teaches the true meaning of Christmas in a funny, Bad Kitty way! I think kids and adults will really enjoy this book. It is also great for a read aloud, especially for Christmas!

AND – As a Christmas gift to one lucky reader, I picked up a copy of this (wonderful) book at the Lititz Book festival, asked Mr. Bruel to sign it (which he did) and brought it back for a giveaway for Christmas! Read on to see how to enter to win!

Activities and Resources –

You can visit Mr. Bruel’s website HERE to learn more about him and Bad Kitty.

You can read a great PPBF review of the first Bad Kitty book by Ms. Barbara from Grade ONEderful HERE!

A great activity for this time of year is to talk to your child about the Christmas Spirit and helping someone in need by donating to a charity! HERE is a great post from Kirsten Larson of the Creating Curious Kids blog about giving to charities and getting kids involved!

I’ve heard Mr. Bruel talk at a couple of events and I like how he says that Bad Kitty belongs to everyone, not just him. One great activity to do with your kid is to write your own Bad Kitty adventure. I wrote a couple on my own and in fact, I hosted a kid-writing contest last year where I had 46 kids enter the contest! You can see the winners HERE.

Here is an entry that won a prize and it is good for this time of year -

isabellbadkitty

It was submitted by Isabell age 6. She wrote “Bad Kitty jumped in a pile of tartar sauce and got tartar sauce all over the tree” – Christmas tree that is! It is cool to see how creative you can be with a Bad Kitty adventure!

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

Now for what (some of) you have been waiting for, the giveaway!

  1. The Prize: A signed copy of A Bad Kitty Christmas!
  2. The Requirements: You comment on this post. That’s all. NEXT!
  3. The Ending: Thursday, December 13, 2012. Josie will pick a random winner on Friday the 14th and I will announce it in next week’s PPBF post.

Good luck and Thanks For Reading! :D

Tags: , , , , , ,

The Lititz Kid-Lit Book Festival 2012

13 Nov

I usually don’t post on Tuesdays, but I wanted to tell you about the Lititz Kid-Lit Book Festival that was held this past weekend in Lititz, PA. This is the second year I went to the festival and I already can’t wait for next year! The festival is put on by Aaron’s Books, an AWESOME independent book store in Lititz (click HERE to go to their website). Sam of Aaron’s Books told me that the event was a big success and that they are already making plans for next year!

There was a bunch of authors there and it was really great to meet them! I really enjoyed hearing Nick Bruel talk about his book, “Bad Kitty”. He was totally funny! I like how he reads. Did you know that some of the foods Kitty gets from the supermarket in the book are real (like Chicken Cheesecake and Buffalo Burritos!)? Isn’t that cool?

I also took a kid writing class with author Jessica Spotswood (author of “Born Wicked”)! She talked about writing arguments in novels and about writing conversations.

We then got a chance to write our own arguments (we had ten minutes to write it and then we read them out-loud to the class). Here’s the argument I wrote in the class -

Angela twirled around and faced Jamie, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Are you saying that you want me to turn my back on my family, even Evan, to join a cause to stop some “Lord Darkness” from taking over, when I have NO IDEA what’s going on?!” She was at the verge of tears.

“Yes, Angela. They want us to help them. I agree that you shouldn’t walk away from everything you know, but this is important.” Jamie was calm as he spoke. ”You don’t want to be ruled by some maniac who thrives on shadows, do you?” Angela hated how calm he could be at times when she felt out of control. Jamie continued to speak.

“Why you…” She suddenly struck him. Jamie brought his hand up to his nose which was bleeding, his face scrunched in pain.

Angela gasped, “Sorry Jamie! I didn’t mean to! Please forgive me! I’ll go get Sarah. She’ll stop the bleeding.”

“It’s fine. Lets get you up to date.” Jamie replied, his voice pleasant and smooth.

I heard the author of the Library Mouse books, Daniel Kirk, read his books, play his guitar, and have a sing-along! He was nice!

I also joined in a drawing class with authors Brian Biggs (Everything Goes) and Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers). In the class, I drew a cover for a possible comic book titled “The Cow Who Loves Steak” ;) ! I liked the tips they gave us for drawing comics! They both made us laugh! :)

I got to meet Froggy of…well…Froggy fame :) Who doesn’t LOVE the Froggy books?!?

I also got to go to a great seminar by kid mystery writer Michael Biel (The Red Blazer Girls books) who talked about writing mysteries and what it takes to be a good detective. He also told us where he got his idea for his newest book, “Summer at Forsaken Lake”. It came from a movie called “The Seaweed Strangler” he made with his brother when he was 12! He showed us the movie too ;) It was very funny!

I also got to talk to A.S. King, Courtney Sheinmel, and Alison Formento, who were all awesomely nice!

Best of all I got some great books to read! :)

I got (going down):

“Stella Batts Book 1: Needs a New Name” by Courtney Sheinmel

“Elf Realm Book 1: The Low Road” by Daniel Kirk

“The Popularity Papers Book 4: The Rocky Road Trip of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang” by Amy Ignatow

“The Summer at Forsaken Lake” by Michael Beil

“These Bees Count!” by Alison Formento

“A Bad Kitty Christmas” by Nick Bruel

“Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk

“Everything Goes: In The Air” by Brian Biggs

After the festival, my parents took us to Chocolate World in Hershey PA.

Authors + Books + Chocolate = AWESOME time!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Book Review, Bad Kitty for President – by Nick Bruel

12 Mar

Forget about books today…It’s time to talk POLITICS!

I am guessing you all are wondering who Erik, This Kid Reviews Books will be voting for. Never mind that I am too young to vote! I am here to throw my support behind BAD KITTY FOR PRESIDENT (of the neighborhood cat club)!!!!

Bad Kitty for President

By Nick Bruel

 144 pages – ages 7+

Published by Roaring Brook Press on January 17, 2012

Bad Kitty is running against Big Kitty for President  of the Neighborhood Cat Club and I am here to tell you that Bad Kitty loves babies, is nice to neighbors and gives out free fish and hugs. I also want you to know that I learned from this book that Big Kitty “is really a dog and dogs smell like moldy corn chips and only a weirdo would vote for corn chips.” You can follow the whole hysterical political campaign in the book. In the surprise ending, one cat wins by a whisker!

I am a big fan of the Bad Kitty Series! In fact I had a whole Bad Kitty creative writing contest a little while ago. I also went to a book signing a while ago and met Mr. Bruel (you can read about it HERE). I really like Mr. Bruel’s writing style because he always has a great message inside a super-funny story. I really like how he also uses illustrations to help tell the story. I think “Bad Kitty for President” is a great book especially for this year seeing as how the USA presidential election is this year. Uncle Murray (my favorite character from the Bad Kitty series) has little parts in the book too. He is ”helping” Bad Kitty, but he explains to us what all the different parts of an election are. He explains things like primaries, fund-raising, Caucasus and registering to vote. There is also a glossary in the back of the book that has all sorts of election terms and their definitions. I think this book is a great way for parents and teachers to help explain to kids how elections work in a very funny way!

FIVE out of FIVE bookworms for “Bad Kitty for President”

To learn more about Bad Kitty, please visit her website HERE. There is also activities to help kids learn about elections on the Bad Kitty website.To learn more about Mr. Bruel, please visit his website HERE.

ALSO check out this awesome book trailer!!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

And The Bad Kitty Contest Winners Are…

10 Dec

I am SO excited to announce the winners! But, first, I want to thank the 46 kids that entered the contest! I never had that many people enter one of my contests before! I LOVE talking to people about reading and writing and with this contest I even got to go into a first grade class at a local elementary school and talk about the contest and creative writing! I would like to thank the Wonderful Judges who read all the entries and picked their favorites. The judges are

Stephanie Brockway, author of the totally awesome “Mystic Phyles” series. Check out my review of “Mystic Phyles – Beasts” HERE. Visit the Mystic Phyles facebook page HERE and learn more about this totally awesome series (I can’t wait for book 2)! Ms. Brockway also offered a personalized signed copy of the “Mystic Phyles -Beasts” to the first place winner (I LOVE that book check out the inside)!

Timothy Davis, author of the exciting adventure stories – “Chronicles of Nathaniel Childe.” Check out my review of Book 1 of the series “Sea Cutter” HERE. Visit Mr. Davis’ website HERE. PLUS you can get ebook versions of Mr. Davis’ two adventure novels FREE until January 15th! Visit his site for the coupon code HERE.

Michelle Isenhoff, author of some of the best historical fiction books I’ve read! Her new adventure novel is  “The Quill Pen”. I reviewed Ms. Isenhoff’s book “Broken Ladders HERE and I will be reviewing “The Quill Pen” soon so check back! You can visit Ms. Isenhoff’s website HERE AND you can get an ebook (and Kindle) version of “The Quill Pen” FREE until The New Year! Her book “The Color of Freedom” was nominated for the Maine Student Book Award this year!

Shelly Plumb, owner of Harleysville Books. I go to all sorts of AWESOME events at Harleysville Books. You can visit their website HERE. Mrs. Plumb helped out as a judge and also donated some books for prizes. ALSO remember to support your local bookstore!

I know all the judges told me that it was hard to pick a winner and it was fun to read all the entries -there are many kids with creative ideas out there!! Thank you again to everyone who entered!

And now what you all have been waiting for…The Bad Kitty Contest Winners are…

ME – just kidding

——————————————————————

First Place – Abby

   

–The comment of one of the judges about this entry said it all – “I love the personality of the mouse in the refrigerator. That is one sassy little mouse to be bossing Bad Kitty around and hogging all the food. And I think Bad Kitty’s solution to the problem was a very clever one. But what really sealed the deal for me on this entry were the illustrations. This author/illustrator really went the extra mile to give even more personality to Bad Kitty and the Stubborn Mouse.”

Second Place – Will

Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation

Bad Kitty’s owners think kitty should see the world. Bad Kitty gets motion sick while they are traveling. She is looking for something to do on the plane and she gets trapped with all the dogs in a pet carrier. When she finally gets out she finds that she has been transported to a sumo wrestling match and ends up in the ring. She sees many more things and gets into much trouble!

Bad Kitty in a sumo wrestling match! I’D LOVE TO SEE THAT ONE IN A BOOK!

Third Place – Nick

The judges like the Bad Kitty detective part of the story idea (and the naughty rabbit).

Erik’s Pick – Emma

“Bad Kitty is fed-UP! She’s had one too many baths, the vacuum is getting on her last nerve, and Puppy gives lousy birthday presents, so she packs up her “kit” bag and heads out into the “wild” determined to be rid of all the annoyances of domesticated life.

There’s just one problem…She runs into some kitties even “badder” than she is. Instead of chocolate cake, she’s offered a dead mouse and some scraps from the dumpster, instead of a cozy soft bed to sleep in, she has to fight (and lose) over a cardboard box in the back of an alley. And if she thought the Twin Kitties and Chatty Kitty were annoying, that’s only because she hadn’t yet met Razor Tooth and Cyclops!

Let’s just say Bad Kitty quickly discovers “there’s no place like home,” even if the first thing she gets after racing back the next morning smelling like she slept in the dumpster, because she did, is a BATH! (We close with a picture of Bad Kitty smiling in the tub, for REAL this time).”

I really liked the two new characters that Emma made for her idea and the fact that they were actually WORSE than Bad Kitty!

The little kid winners from the judges are…

Emma (a different Emma)

Selfish Bad Kitty! Turning the alarm clock off just to watch TV!! That’s just diabolical!

Isabel

My mom was so happy when this one was picked by a judge because (HA HA) Bad Kitty in tartar sauce jumping on the Christmas tree (hee hee)! Now that’s just funny!

Alivia

I was happy when a judge picked this one! OH NO NOT MY TOOTHBRUSH!! HA HA!!

Erik’s pick (OK it’s Erik and Josie’s picks because my little sister wanted to pick a winner too ;) )

Hailey

Josie picked this one because she thought the artwork was the greatest!

Michael

I just think it’s funny that Bad Kitty didn’t wreck the TV or anything he just turned it off and the guy looks so mad and I love the look on Bad Kitty’s face!

Thanks again to everyone who entered and the judges! I’ll be sending out prizes next week!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

LAST DAY TO ENTER! Bad Kitty Story Idea Contest – WIN FABULOUS PRIZES!!

29 Nov

The Contest is closed! Please check back becasue I am always having other contests and give-aways! Thanks for reading my blog!

A Bad Kitty Story Idea Contest!

In my post on November 4th about the Nick Bruel book signing I went to at Harleysville Books, I told you that the kids in the audience were saying all sorts of Bad Kitty story ideas to Mr. Bruel and he said that what is great about Bad Kitty is that she belongs to all of us and we should try writing our own ideas down. When he asked me if I was going to try it, I said “I don’t know”. I said that because I am not really a good writer and it’s hard for me to write ideas out. When we got home my mom said to me “But that’s why Mr. Bruel said that. You have to try to write to become a better writer.” So I decided to write my ideas down. Then I thought it would make a cool contest because I would really like to read all of your ideas and maybe it would help get other kids (and adults you’re welcome too ) to write their ideas down and help get EVERYBODY writing more! So here are the rules –

1. Write your idea down in 400 words or less. It doesn’t have to be a whole story, just an idea. Even if you aren’t familiar with the Bad Kitty books (well…you should be ;) ) just think of a cranky cat and come up with a story idea about it!

2. You can leave your idea in the comment section or email it to me at Erik@thiskidreviewsbooks.com . You can include drawings (you’ll have to email them because you can’t leave them in the comment section) but make sure the files are .doc , .docx , .jpg, .gif or .pdf.

3.If you’re a kid write what your age is.  MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN EMAIL YOU BACK IF YOU WON!!

4. The contest is open for 3 weeks (BUT TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!!!!) after that the judges have a week to pick their favorite ideas from all of them. The awesome people that agreed to be judges are

  • Stephanie Brockway, author of the totally awesome “Mystic Phyles” series. Check out my review of “Mystic Phyles – Beasts” HERE. Visit the Mystic Phyles facebook page HERE and learn more about this totally awesome series (I can’t wait for book 2)!

  • Timothy Davis, author of the exciting adventure stories – “Chronicles of Nathaniel Childe.” Check out my review of Book 1 of the series “Sea Cutter” HERE. Visit Mr. Davis’ website HERE. PLUS you can get ebook versions of Mr. Davis’ two adventure novels FREE until December 15th!

  • Michelle Isenhoff, author of some of the best historical fiction books I’ve read! Her new adventure novel is  “The Quill Pen”. I reviewed Ms. Isenhoff’s book “Broken Ladders HERE and I will be reviewing “The Quill Pen” soon so check back! You can visit Ms. Isenhoff’s website HERE AND you can get an ebook version of “The Quill Pen” FREE until Thanksgiving!

5. Each judge picks their favorite from all the entries. From the three chosen Mrs. Shelly Plumb, owner of Harleysville Books and another awesome person (visit Harleysville Books HERE), will rank the entries and first, second and third places will be given and prizes will be awarded for each (see below for prizes). If two (or more) of the judges pick the same entry, an alternate judge (my parents) will pick an additional entry for the final selection.   Winners will be notified 10 days after the contest ends.

6. A NOTE FROM MY PARENTS  – This contest is not endorsed or supported by Nick Bruel or any of his agents (It’s just the idea of a nine year old). If you are under 18 you have to ask permission from your parents to enter. By entering the contest you agree that the winning entries can be published and shared by This Kid Reviews Books and its’ sponsors. No identifying information (only first names) will be published. Emails will only be used to contact winners.

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF!!! –PRIZES

First (1st) prize is a stupendous prize pack! It Includes a signed copy of “A Bad Kitty Christmas”, a signed Copy of “Bad Kitty Meets the Baby”, A PERSONALIZED signed copy of “Mystic Phyles –Beasts” (GENEROUSLY donated by Stephanie Brockway), a copy of “The Lost Hero” by Rick Riordan (GENEROUSLY donated by Harleysville Books) and a This Kid Reviews Books T-shirt!!

Second (2nd) Prize is another totally cool prize pack! It includes a signed copy of “A Bad Kitty Christmas”, a copy of “The Dragon’s Tooth” by N.D. Wilson (GENEROUSLY donated by Harleysville Books) and a This Kid Reviews Books t-shirt!!

Third (3rd) place is another great prize pack! It includes a signed copy of “A Bad Kitty Christmas” and a This Kid Reviews Books t-shirt!

 NEW PRIZE JUST ADDED!!!

Erik’s pick - (After seeing some of the AWESOME entries, I wanted to get into the action and pick MY favorite)

The winner of Erik’s pick will get a copy of “Bad Kitty Christmas” AND a small Bad Kitty stuffed animal :)

————————————

To give you an example of an entry, I came up with this idea…

“Bad Kitty versus Cute Kitten” by Erik age 9

Bad Kitty’s owners bring home a house guest, Cute Kitten. Cute Kitten’s owners are away on vacation and Bad Kitty’s owners are pet sitting her. Cute Kitten is the cutest, sweetest, most adorable kitten you ever saw. Even Bad Kitty is on her best behavior (mostly, at least it’s a kitten,  not a dog) while Cute Kitten is there. Bad Kitty’s owners think that Bad Kitty is having horrible behavior while Cute Kitten “gets use to the house.” What Cute Kitten is really doing is wrecking the house and blaming Bad Kitty by looking at Bad Kitty’s owners with her adorable eyes. Bad Kitty does not know how to convince her parents it’s not her doing the bad things but it is EVIL CUTE KITTEN!! Will Truth and Justice (Bad Kitty) finally win? Or will Evil and Lying (Cute Kitten) take over?!

Cute Kitten

Not Cute Kitten!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creative Writning Contest – 6 More Days to Enter! Win Prizes!

23 Nov

You have until November 29th to get your entries in for the Bad Kitty Story Idea Contest. You can win books and other great prizes! Click on Bad Kitty to Learn how to enter.

Here are some of the AWESOME entries I have gotten. These are some from a first grade class (my first grade teacher had her ENTIRE class enter :) ) that entered! Keep those ideas coming in! YOU COULD WIN!!

I am so Glad Bad Kitty Missed!

 Yikes! Not the neighbor’s house!

 Bad, BAD KITTY!

 

 Now where will we sit?!?

NOT THE DISHES TOO! You ARE a Bad Kitty!

Bad Kitty chased birds and now DOGS!?!?

Hope you like reading them as much as I do!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Nine more Days to Enter the Bad Kitty Creative Writing Contest! Enter to Win Prizes!

20 Nov

You have until November 29th to get your entries in for the Bad Kitty Story Idea Contest. You can win books and other great prizes! Click on Bad Kitty to Learn how to enter.

Here are some of the AWESOME entries I have gotten. Here are some from a first grade class that entered!

There seems to be a theme for Bad Kitty wrecking television sets -

Cool! Bad Kitty also seems to have a problem with sheds…

and Making Mothers Mad…

Keep those AWESOME entries coming in!!

Tags: , , , ,

Keep those Bad Kitty Ideas Coming in for the Contest! You Could Win Cool Prizes!

17 Nov

I am getting some AWESOME entries for the Bad Kitty Story Idea contest! I even had an ENTIRE first grade class from a local school enter! Keep those ideas coming for your chance at winning FABULOUS prizes! Click on Bad Kitty to Learn how to enter!

I also wanted to share with you some of the great entries that have been sent to me. I picked out a few at random -

This one is from Nick (age 9). I like the Bad Kitty Detective idea!

This next one is from Danielle, a first grade student. The picture of the family with the “OH NO” faces around Bad Kitty on the Bed is awesome!

This one is from Emma (age 8). Bad Kitty runs away and find some not so nice cats! I wouldn’t want run run into Cyclops and Razor Tooth! I like how Cyclops is a girl (yeesh)!

Bad Kitty is fed-UP! She’s had one too many baths, the vacuum is getting on her last nerve, and Puppy gives lousy birthday presents, so she packs up her “kit” bag and heads out into the “wild” determined to be rid of all the annoyances of domesticated life.

There’s just one problem…She runs into some kitties even “badder” than she is. Instead of chocolate cake, she’s offered a dead mouse and some scraps from the dumpster, instead of a cozy soft bed to sleep in, she has to fight (and lose) over a cardboard box in the back of an alley. And if she thought the Twin Kitties and Chatty Kitty were annoying, that’s only because she hadn’t yet met Razor Tooth and Cyclops!

Let’s just say Bad Kitty quickly discovers “there’s no place like home,” even if the first thing she gets after racing back the next morning smelling like she slept in the dumpster, because she did, is a BATH! (We close with a picture of Bad Kitty smiling in the tub, for REAL this time).

This next one is from, Aidan,  another first grader.  I really like this creative idea (Bad Kitty Messed up my math…hee hee)!

I’ll post more randomly picked entries soon! I hope you like reading them as much as I  do!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

An AWESOME Book Signing With Nick Bruel and two Bad Kitty Reviews!!

4 Nov

…………………………..

 

 It was ANOTHER GREAT EVENT at Harleysville Books! Mrs. Shelly Plumb, the owner of the book store said that Author/Illustrator Nick Bruel read a blog post of hers where she said she was VERY excited about his up-coming (and now here) Bad Kitty books and he then offered to come to the store! So last Tuesday I got to meet Mr. Bruel and get my Bad Kitty books signed!

There were a lot of kids at the event. Mr. Bruel’s books are meant for all ages. Bad Kitty picture books are great for read alouds or for beginning readers and he also has written Bad Kitty chapter books meant for older kids. After Mrs. Plumb introduced Mr. Bruel, he told us a little about the Bad Kitty series and how after each Bad Kitty picture book he wrote, he didn’t feel like writing ANOTHER alphabet into a story, but his publisher kept telling him to “go home and think about it”…and then he’d do it :) . If you aren’t familiar with the Bad Kitty picture books there actually alphabet books with a story wrapped around them. Sometimes he even puts multiple alphabets in the books (seriously how many “X” words can you come up with?). He said that in his newest picture book  ”A Bad Kitty Christmas” he decided to really torture himself and include multiple alphabets and make the story rhyme too! Mr. Bruel then read “A Bad Kitty Christmas” to us.  I have to say there is nothing better than to hear an author read his or her own book!

He then answered questions from all us kids there. I think there were the most questions from a bunch of kids then I have seen at any book signing I’ve been to! We learned that “Bad Kitty” was made to look like Mr. Bruel’s pet from when he was a kid, a black cat with a tuft of white hair on his chest named Zu-Zu. We also learned that Uncle Murray (one of my favorite characters) was made after Mr. Bruel’s own Uncle Murray who happened to know Abbot and Costello (a very famous old-time comedy team). Mr. Bruel also suggested that we see Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (I say you also have to see the “Who’s on First” video VERY FUNNY)!!! 

Mr Bruel worked at a book store before becoming an author. He said that he always wanted to be a cartoonist but he now thinks writing children’s books is an even better job. He likes writing as much as drawing but he usually writes the story before drawing the illustrations (If you see his books look like they are part comic and part regular book). Mr. Bruel said that he practiced drawing a lot and really admires other illustrators for their abilities, especially Barbara McClintock  (you can visit her website by clicking her name). I thought it was interesting when he told us that he started making picture books and normally picture books for young kids get made into board books for REALLY young kids but he wanted to make his picture books into chapter books for older kids. Some day he wants to write a young adult book (not about Bad Kitty). He said the best part of his job is meeting and talking to kids. He said he really enjoys answering questions and listening to his fans :) . Mr. Bruel made sure each person had a chance to talk with him as he was signing the books we brought. I could tell he really does like his job!

THANK YOU MR. BRUEL!

One really AWESOME thing Mr. Bruel told us is that Bad Kitty belongs not just to him but to all of us and we kids (and adults) should try to make up our own Bad Kitty stories. He said that writing is something we should all try. SO, I am going to have a “Bad Kitty Story Contest” that I will post about tomorrow. A contest where YOU send in your best Bad Kitty material for a chance at fabulous prizes (which I haven’t come up with yet, but they will be FABULOUS)! So check back to find out all the rules!

Mr. Bruel’s latest picture book is “A Bad Kitty Christmas (released September 13, 2011) and his newest chapter book is “Bad Kitty Meets the Baby” (released June 7, 2011) SEE MY REVIEWS BELOW! The next Bad Kitty book, “Bad Kitty  for President” will be released on January 17, 2012. To learn more about Mr. Bruel and his books, please visit his website by clicking HERE.

NOW – READ ON FOR MY REVIEWS!!!

A Bad Kitty Christmas
By Nick Bruel
40 pages – ages 4 +
Published by Roaring Brook Press on September 13, 2011

Bad Kitty is back with a new adventure! Bad Kitty runs away after she gets in trouble for tearing all the presents, ruining the decorations and flinging the fruitcake. What makes matter worse is that Puppy also ran away to try to find Bad Kitty. Bad Kitty soon finds out that running away wasn’t such a good idea. Will Bad Kitty ruin Christmas or will she learn what Christmas is really about?

This large hard cover picture book is a great read aloud book for families. Yes Bad Kitty is being bad once again in this book but the ending is very nice and it teaches the reader what really is important about Christmas. The book is hysterical and I really like how the story is told in a rhyme. The color illustrations are amazing and I am also a fan of how Mr. Bruel formats his books to look kind of like comics. You don’t have to be a fan of Bad Kitty to enjoy this story!

I give A Bad Kitty Christmas five out of five book worms! 

Bad Kitty Meets the Baby
By Nick Bruel
144 pages – ages 8 +
Published by Roaring Brook Press on June 7, 2011

Bad Kitty had it really good until Puppy came along. It took quite a while for Bad Kitty to get used to having Puppy around. Everything was almost back to normal when A BABY SHOWS UP!!! Bad Kitty isn’t sure what this new thing is! She thinks maybe it’s a kind of dog. Bad Kitty’s cat friends come over and she thinks that they will certainly help get rid of this new dog but her friends think the baby is a cat and enter the baby in the Pussycat Olympics! Will the baby be a better cat than Bad Kitty? Will Bad Kitty succeed in trying to get rid of the baby? WILL the baby EVER get her bath?  Read the book to find out!

 The Bad Kitty chapter books aren’t complicated stories but there is always a nice message in each. Mr. Bruel’s latest Bad Kitty chapter book that puts Bad Kitty versus a new baby has a really great message about adoption and family at the end. The book is an easy read and the characters are great. I enjoyed reading it a lot. I like how the owners of Bad Kitty add narration throughout the book even thought you never really see them. I think it is an excellent book for kids 8+ and even younger advanced readers. The book would be great for kids who have trouble reading through an entire book because, in this book, the illustrations help tell the story and this may keep some kids interest. I went back a couple of times through the book to look at the illustrations again and again because they add so much to the story.  

I give Bad Kitty Meets The Baby five out of five book worms!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,231 other followers

%d bloggers like this: