Customer Reviews

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although I truly loathe the idea of reviewing my own book, I just want it to be perfectly clear to anyone before they purchase this book that "BAD KITTY GETS A BATH" is NOT a picture book like the original "Bad Kitty" or "Poor Puppy," but is a CHAPTER book.

For reasons unknown to me, the Amazon product description above does not clearly spell this out, so I thought I would do it myself. I really don't want anyone purchasing this book thinking that they'll be getting something that it is not.

Mind you, I think you can treat this book as if it were a long picture book. Even though the book is 128 pages of pure Kitty induced mayhem, I also loaded the book with over 120 illustrations to tell this story of how to give this cat a bath.

This was my reasoning for this book...

I worked for over 7 years in a children's bookstore in Manhattan called "Books of Wonder." During that time, I always found it bewildering when publishers would awkwardly adapt a popular children's book character into a board book format for babies and toddlers. It always made more sense to me to adapt a picture book character into the CHAPTER book format to give kids who are familiar with the character the chance to grow with her and challenge their reading level. To my knowledge, the only character to have done this to mixed success was Mary Hoffman's Grace.

And now I'm trying this with Bad Kitty.

My publisher Roaring Brook and I are treating "BAD KITTY GETS A BATH" as a bridge book for kids who are ready to move from the picture book format to the chapter book (and graphic novel) format.

That's why as a chapter book, I tried to keep the language relatively simple while still loading the book with moments of true non-fiction and lots of humor, keeping in mind that reluctant readers as old as 12 or 13 might pick this one up as well.

Kirkus Reviews got it. In its Starred review of this book, they set the age range at a nice, wide 5-12 years old.

I hope this helps.

I can't say enough about how much our family loves this and all of Mr. Bruel's books. The illustrations are fantastic and convey such wonderful emotions and humor. As for the story, it is simply hilarious. It appeals to both children and adults; in fact, anyone who has ever tried to bathe a cat or simply owned a cat and/or dog will really get a kick out of it. With "Uncle Murray's Fun Facts" sprinkled throughout, children--and adults, for that matter--will also learn a few tidbits they may not have known.

"Bad Kitty" is certainly my favorite children's book character and "Bad Kitty Gets a Bath" definitely does not disappoint. Overall a great book and one I very, very highly recommend!!

My daughter has been reading chapter books for about a year now. She has her favorite characters but chose to buy "Bad Kitty Takes A Bath." She was totally unfamiliar with the character but after the completion of the book, a short read at 128 pages (i believe), declared the book as "the best evah!" I will use her words to describe the book:

"It was a good book because he told me facts about cats and how to deal with them. It was also good because cats don't like baths so the story gets really funny when they try to make kitty take a bath. When i read it i wanted to keep reading just to find out how was kitty going to take a bath. I finished it really fast and i read it again just because i liked it so much!"

It is a good read, with insightful facts, and some real laughs. It is also the kind of book you can read to your child and show them the illustrations and it will have the same impact as if they read it themselves. I think my daughter has found her new favorite character and i highly recommend it.

The author Nick is right about the older age group targeted for this book. My son was a big fan of the Bad Kitty picture books and now at age 8 can read this chapter book to me. We both fell out of our chairs laughing. Great stuff!!

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel is the funniest book I have read probably since Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. I could not put the book down until I finished it and I then gave it to anyone and everyone I could. Bruel's humor is appropriate for children but there is also tongue in cheek humor for adults. The wonderful surprise is you also get illustrations! You know exactly what Kitty is feeling on every page. While I find it extremely difficult to select a favorite part of the book, I would have to say Chapter Four: Getting Kitty into the Water may be the funniest. "Now that you've regained consciousness, you probably remember what happened when... you took her to the vet. You made her brush her teeth. You made her take her medicine. You clipped her nails. You made her finish her vegetables." I especially love the illustrations and text that can't be viewed because the publisher is afraid of scaring the reader. While all this fun ensues, you actually learn about cats. What a concept, teach and lesson and have fun. Bad Kitty Gets a Bath has a permanent place on my desk and anytime I am having a bad day I pick it up, randomly open it, read it and without fail I am laughing. Pick up a copy of Bad Kitty Gets a Bath for everyone you know. They will thank you for it.

These books are amazing. My son has had a difficult time in school because his reading skills weren't were they needed to be. I ordered the Bad Kitty books hoping to get him interesting (he absolutely loves cats) in reading. He comes home from school and reads out loud for 20 minutes every day. Before the Bad Kitty books, he would close the book as soon as the timer went off, even if he was in mid-sentence. Now, when the timer goes off, he keeps reading. He can't stop talking about the story when he's done reading. He started with Bad Kitty gets a bath. Listening to him giggle as he was reading was so wonderful. He finished his second Bad Kitty book today. He was so excited. I'm so excited. Because of these books, my son is reading at the level he should be, and he's not just reading the words, he's comprehending the story. He laughs in all the right places and can re-tell the story. My only complaint is that there aren't more books. Nick Bruel is amazing and I am so thrilled I found him.

Our 7-year old read this book cover to cover tonight (we also just bought it today). She thought it was a riot. She's hesitant about chapter books and still is more at ease with picture books, but this book was perfect for her. It has a great balance of both types of books. She can read chapter books easily, but sometimes all the words, everything that is happening on one page, is overwhelming and tiring. With this, she can read, then have some fun as she muses over the hilarious illustrations. I would read Bad Kitty Gets a Bath if she only would put it down.

I really enjoyed this book although I believe it's for an older crowd than his previous books about Bad Kitty....the humor is more mature...really funny !

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath is just what we have been waiting for! My eight year old has loved Bad Kitty for quite some time now so when we heard that a new book was out, we ordered it right away. We were not disappointed! From the pictures (my son was amazed that chapter books can have cool pictures) to the text, we were laughing and enjoying every minute of Bad Kitty!

I was surprised to see that Amazon has Bad Kitty Gets a Bath for younger readers because, although younger readers will enjoy the story, older readers will LOVE this book and will be thrilled to share this book with you!

We recently traveled to Grandma's house and due to space issues we told our son something had to be left behind. His solution was to unpack the Nintendo DS and leave Bad Kitty Gets a Bath right where it was, mixed with all his other 'treasures' to show Grandma. That is the best recommendation that a child can give! Two thumbs way up for Bad Kitty Gets a Bath!

Written by the author of the "Bad Kitty" children's books, Bad Kitty Gets a Bath is a storybook about the trials and tribulations of giving a dirty black kitty a bath! Expressive black-and-white illustrations on almost every page are sure to bring a smile to the faces of cat lovers young and old. Beyond the humorous insights into the near-futility of getting a cat to do anything it doesn't want to do, Bad Kitty Gets a Bath also offers gentle, practical advice for bathing a cat: "Try not to pour water directly onto Kitty's head. Instead, use a soft, moist towel and gently wipe her face and head." Though over one hundred and twenty pages in length, Bad Kitty Gets a Bath is more of a visual storybook than a text novel, and is well suited to young picturebook readers who are just about ready to start reading slightly more complex fare. Bad Kitty Gets a Bath is also a wonderful giftbook for cat owners of all ages!