Standardized-test companies may want to hurl hairballs, but the loopy humor and silly kitty cast will have fans purring with...
How good is Bad Kitty at actually being a cat?
Bad Kitty loves birds, but when she climbs a tree to play with two of them, it ends in a disastrous fall from the treetops. She rethinks her opinion of birds. The incident triggers a letter from the Society of Cat Aptitude Management; her cat license is being revoked for a series of “shameful un-catlike embarrassments”—such as the time she “woke up suddenly and fell behind the sofa” or when she “tried to jump on the desk but landed in the plants.” Not to mention that time the dog sat on her head when she was asleep. According to SCAM, Kitty must take a special class and then pass a test to get her cat license back. Kitty is not amused. The next day, she joins Chatty Kitty, an odd-looking cat named Mittens (a chicken with fake cat ears), and Uncle Murray (who thinks he’s in class to renew his driver’s license) for a course taught by Strange Kitty. They watch a specious video created by the test makers, TestPro, full of oddball cat facts, before the first of many pretests begins. The final test (administered by a chicken) couldn’t be more surprising. Bruel’s obvious anti–standardized-test agenda doesn’t tarnish Bad Kitty’s appeal in her 10th chapter-book appearance.
Standardized-test companies may want to hurl hairballs, but the loopy humor and silly kitty cast will have fans purring with laughter. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-12)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-589-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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