Common Sense Media Review
By Darienne Stewart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Zany hijinks disguise terrific storytelling lesson.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In BAD KITTY DRAWN TO TROUBLE, author-illustrator Nick Bruel first introduces himself and then takes readers through a Bad Kitty story, introducing Kitty as the main character and proposing a few ideas for settings before deciding on Kitty's home. The story needs conflict: Kitty loves to eat, but she needs to go on a diet. Puppy comes in as the antagonist who eats all of Kitty's food. She faints from shock, and the author proposes putting her on an all-turnip diet to recover. Kitty packs her bags to leave, but a giant octopus at the door forces her back. Bruel brings it all together for a closed ending, with Kitty now loving turnips -- but Kitty doesn't like that ending and convinces him to bring back her usual heaping pile of cat food.
Is It Any Good?
Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble is a brilliant bit of inspiration for budding writers. As he did in Bad Kitty for President, which deftly demystified U.S. politics, Nick Bruel lures readers with slapstick humor, then serves up a solid lesson on writing before they even realize they're learning. Bad Kitty is her usual cantankerous self, bristling at her creator's manipulations. Uncle Murray steps in to explain plot versus theme, closed versus open endings, and how a writer makes use of a dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary.
At the book's end, a character accuses the author of stealing the idea for the interplay between creator and character from Looney Tunes shorts. Bruel says those cartoons inspired him but he didn't copy them, and he encourages readers to write Bad Kitty books. A small quibble: If Bruel had shared his inspiration upfront, it would have been a good lesson on acknowledging source material. Bonus: At the end there's a recipe for roasted turnips.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the elements of storytelling with a favorite bedtime story, TV show, or movie. Can you identify a plot point, the antagonist, or a MacGuffin?
What's the difference between creating media inspired by another creative work -- such as Bad Kitty -- and copying?
Do you prefer stories with open endings or closed endings?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Nick Bruel
- Genre : Learning
- Topics : Book Characters , Animals
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Roaring Brook Press
- Publication date : January 7, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 7 - 10
- Number of pages : 128
- Available on : Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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