CHAPTER BOOK: Bad Kitty School Daze by Nick Bruel

Poor Kitty and Puppy! Kitty's bad attitude and Puppy's perpetual drooling lead to fighting and fussing that upsets Baby and forces the family to send them to school. Obedience school. Kitty is as grumpy as ever and is in danger of not graduating if she doesn't find a way to make the best of her schooling.

This was funny and cute! My favorite character is the dog who is convinced Kitty is a cow (which is good because she HATES cats). It's a sweet story, showing Kitty's nice qualities that sometimes get lost in her grouchy, catty normal behavior. My son devoured this book in an afternoon. It will be an immediate hit with my students as well. Great for kids looking for a funny story or for fans of animal stories in general or Bad Kitty's stories in particular.

3 out of 5 stars
AR Reading level of 3.3

BOOK FAIR preview -- Travel Sized Pups AND Bad Kitty for President

Highlights several small dog breeds, telling where they're from and even how to pronounce their names! Fun book for dog lovers. I think my students will love this one!


4 out of 5 stars
No AR rating at this time

Bad Kitty has decided to run for President of the neighborhood kitty group because she is annoyed by the stray cats in the area. Uncle Murray tries to teach Kitty about politics and election rules, but she has to learn some lessons the hard way.


This is a well-timed release with the presidential election coming up later this year. The election information may be better geared to third or even fourth graders and older. This will likely disappoint Bad Kitty's younger fans. There are also at least two incidents where the author includes a group of symbols to replace a curse word. Kids will ask what those symbols are supposed to mean (and some adults may ask themselves why the author didn't choose some other way to express those particular thoughts).


4 out of 5 stars
AR level of 4.5

Waiting on WEDNESDAY: New Releases, part 2

More new books coming in January:




Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel (releases 1/17)
Never Say Genius by Dan Gutman (Genius Files #2 -- releases 1/24)
File M for Murder by Miranda James (Cat in the Stacks series -- releases 1/31)

MONDAY: A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel

Summary
A holiday alphabet book, starring Bad Kitty. Bad Kitty trashes the family's Christmas from "crushed cards" to "ousted ornaments." And Kitty wanted more - an ape, a bear, a gecko, a  horse, etc. In a temper, Kitty hops out of the car while on the way to Uncle Murray's, and she runs away. A old woman takes Kitty in where she learns to be content with what she has, and she misses her family. Puppy finds Bad Kitty and helps her find her way home.


Review
I have GOT to stop buying picture books without reading them in the store. More than once I have gotten the book home and discovered a part of it that will keep me from sharing it at school. Bad Kitty's Christmas story is such a story. 


The story is sweet, with three different alphabetical sections, and a great lesson about holiday spirit and thinking of others. The final alphabet section occurs when the old woman tells Kitty about her family including a cousin, Nan, with a "partner" named Pam.


4 out of 5 stars
AR level of 3.0


Recommended for: Bad Kitty fans, folks looking for fresh holiday stories, readers looking for books that recognize a variety of family types.


Cautions: Some families and settings may wish to skip this holiday story because of the reference to Nan and Pam's relationship. 

Waiting on WEDNESDAY

My To Be Read pile (or TBR) is really a To Be Read bookcase - five bowing shelves of books that I want to read but just haven't gotten to yet. Here are a few titles from my shelves.

Also, there are a few more new releases coming out this month that I didn't mention last week:

NERDS: Book Three: The Cheerleaders of Doom

A Bad Kitty Christmas 

Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco

Squish #2: Brave New Pond

These fun books for kids should be a hit - all from great series.

Happy reading!

Waiting on WEDNESDAY: June new releases, part 1

Looking forward to both of these new releases for kids!

 

MONDAY: Happy Birthday Bad Kitty

Summary

My son got this book and we zoomed through it over two nights of bedtime reading. 

You get a little of Bad Kitty's back story in this book - she wasn't always a bad kitty. When she was a little kitty, she was very good and sweet. She was born in a shelter and was very helpful and she loved her mama. When she was old enough to be adopted, Bad Kitty didn't want to go (this choked me up a little) and after that she was bad, bad, bad.


For Bad Kitty's birthday, she wants one particular gift - a special scratching post. A $600 scratching post. Kitty's friends come to the party and bring her all sorts of gifts, but no scratching post. Kitty does not handle her disappointment well. Maybe a special birthday guest will redeem the birthday disaster.


Review

The writing here is pretty simple, making it a great book to read out loud with kids. The illustrations are great and the descriptions of Kitty's friends are a hoot. Once we finished this one, we were ready to read the rest in the series.



4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: early chapter book readers, kids who like animals, parents looking for things to read out loud with their kids


Cautions: Extra sensitive kids might be sad that Kitty had to leave her mama.





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