''Bad Kitty'' is a series of American

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

Nick Bruel Nicholas Tung Ming Bruel is an American author and illustrator of children’s books, most notably the ''Bad Kitty'' series. The first book in the series, ''Bad Kitty'', is an alphabet-themed picture book, and expanded series includes both pic ...

, about a

housecat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the do ...

named Kitty, who often wreaks havoc about her owner's home. The first book, ''Bad Kitty'', was a picture book, published in 2005, and featured Kitty encountering foods and doing activities categorized by the alphabet. It was followed by ''Poor Puppy'', which deals with Kitty's housemate, Puppy. Bruel also created

chapter books A chapter book is a Narrative, story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture books for beginning readers, a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose rather than pictures. Unlike books for advance ...

including ''Bad Kitty Gets a Bath'', ''Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty'', ''Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray: The Uproar at the Front Door'', ''Bad Kitty Meets the Baby'' and ''Bad Kitty for President''. The chapter books feature tips on caring for cats. In late 2011, Bruel published ''A Bad Kitty Christmas'' as a picture book. The series has spawned three boxed sets. A TV series based on the book series is currently in development.

Characters

Main

Nick Bruel drawing Bad Kitty at Mazza Museum

* Kitty – The

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

of the series; she is a

who wreaks havoc around her owner's home when she is in a bad mood, hence the name. She has black fur and a white tuft of fur on her chest. According to Bruel, Kitty is physically modeled after a cat named Zou-zou he had as a child who was all black except for a small tuft of white fur on her chest. * Puppy – He is introduced in the series at the end of ''Bad Kitty'' and is the subject of the picture book ''Poor Puppy'' and the novel ''Puppy's Big Day''. * The owner – The narrator of the series. His face is not seen in the books. * Uncle Murray – The owner's uncle, who is somewhat forgetful and lazy, but still kind and good with animals. Uncle Murray was only mentioned twice in the first book, ''Bad Kitty''. In the chapter books, he is given sections called "Uncle Murray's Fun Facts". He is a major character in the book, ''Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray: The Uproar at the Front Door''. His wife is named Jeannie. Bruel wrote that Murray is named after his real life Uncle Murray. * Baby – A baby who causes a lot of trouble, who is introduced at the end of ''Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray''. Her name is not known.

Kitty's friends

The following is a list of cats that make their debuts in ''Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty''. * Big Kitty – Big Kitty is a

Maine Coon The Maine Coon is a large Domestication, domesticated breeds of cats, cat breed. One of the oldest natural breeds in North America, the breed originated in the U.S. state of Maine, where it is the official List of U.S. state mammals, state cat ...

who is the biggest cat in the series. * The Twin Kitties – The Twin Kitties are a pair of twin calico

American Shorthair The American Shorthair (ASH) is a breed of domestic cat believed to be descended from European cats brought to North America by early settlers to protect valuable cargo from mice and rats. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), it w ...

s who love to play. * Stinky Kitty – Stinky Kitty is a gray

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

who is always getting dirty and smelly. * Chatty Kitty – Chatty Kitty is a

Siamese cat The Siamese cat (; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam; แมววิเชียรมาศ, Maeo Wichien Maat) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. It derives from the Wichianmat landrace. The Siamese cat is one ...

who is the most talkative cat in the neighborhood. The translations of her speech are presented as footnotes. * Pretty Kitty – Pretty Kitty is a

Turkish Angora The Turkish Angora (, 'Ankara cat') is a breed of domestic cat. Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, natural breeds of cat, having originated in central Anatolia ( Ankara Province in modern-day Turkey). The breed has been documented as ear ...

who has won many cat shows and whom all of the male cats are in love with. * Strange Kitty – Strange Kitty is a

Sphynx The Sphynx cat (pronounced , ) also known as the Canadian Sphynx, is a List of cat breeds, breed of cat known for its lack of fur. Hairlessness in cats is a naturally occurring genetic mutation, and the Sphynx was developed through selective bre ...

who is called strange for reading comic books instead of (like cats) chasing mice. Unlike the other cats, Strange Kitty can talk.

Minor characters

* Power Mouse – Strange Kitty's buddy and sidekick. He is one of the only animal characters that can talk. * Mama Kitty – Kitty's mother * Old Lady – A senior woman that appeared in ''A Bad Kitty Christmas'' * Old Kitty – The former president of the Neighborhood Cat Club * Petunia – A bulldog and a student in ''Bad Kitty: School Daze''. She is one of the only animal characters that can talk. * Dr. Lagomorph – A rabbit and archenemy of Strange Kitty's alter ego, Captain Fantasticat. He is one of the few animal characters that can talk. Bruel mentioned that

lagomorph The lagomorphs () are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae (rabbits and hares) and the Ochotonidae ( pikas). There are 110 recent species of lagomorph, of which 109 species in t ...

is the biological name for the family of rabbits. *The Chickens – There are two chickens that mainly appear in ''Bad Kitty Takes the Test'' and ''Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation'', and have a business plan to open different places around the world that will attract people and their love of cats, only to try and change their minds and make chickens the house pet, and cats the farm animals that you eat on Thanksgiving dinners.

Books

Reception

The series was met with mostly positive reviews. Lynn Beckwith at Bookpage.com describes Kitty as "a joyfully silly portrait of a picky eater with attitude", and that Bruel's illustrations are bold and humorous. The series also won a Wyoming Buckaroo Book Award. In 2020, the ''Bad Kitty'' series was named the 37th most banned and challenged book in the United States between 2010 and 2019, according to the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

. ''Bad Kitty for President'', in particular, attracted controversy for its usage of a grawlix as a stand-in for swear words.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 2005 children's books American picture books Series of children's books Children's books about cats Literature controversies