Title: Bad Kitty: Book and CD Set
Author: Nick Bruel
Read by Vanessa Williams
On Sale January 17, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1-4272-1362-4
Suggested Retail: $9.99
Macmillan Audio/MacMillan Young Listeners
Recommended for ages 5 and above
The beloved, riotous story of a bad kitty gone berserk – four times over, and in alphabetical order each time!
About the Author:
Nick Bruel is the author and illustrator or the phenomenally successful Bad Kitty books, as well as other fantastic picture books like Who Is Melvin Bubble? and Bob and Otto. Nick lives with his wife and daughter in Tarrytown, New York. Visit him at www.nickbruel.com.
About the Voice Talent:
Vanessa Williams has conquered the musical charts, Broadway, television, and motion pictures. After earning three Emmy nominations for her role in ABC’s hit series, Ugly Betty, Vanessa became the newest resident on ABC’s Desperate Housewives. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was nominated for a Tony Award for Into the Woods. Her musical career includes multiple Grammy nominations and the Academy Award-winning single from Disney’s Pocahontas.
Review:
Poor kitty, she received the bad news of being out of her usual food and then is given an alphabetical list of healthy food in the home she could have, much to Kitty’s disgust. Kitty was not happy by the news and protested in many ways, 26 ways to be exact. Then the owner came home from the grocery store with an alphabetical list of 26 odd foods that Kitty finds to be wonderfully delicious. Kitty then tries to correct her 26 wrong doings from earlier in the story as protest to the healthy food. Then the poor thing gets rewarded with a new house companion, a puppy! Poor, poor, Bad Kitty.
I had this book for my children, but I love how Vanessa Williams adds her dynamic voice to this title. Now I know how to properly pronounce “xigua” if I read the book to my children again. I love Vanessa from Ugly Betty so I was already a fan of her work.
The first audio recording on the CD has some catchy, jazzy background music and then the second version has no background music, but has a “meow” sound to help children identify when to turn the pages. The third version is a reading by the author/illustrator, Nick Bruel, who sounds to be reading it to a class of children. He explains that “xigua” is a Chinese watermelon, if anyone was like me, clueless to what it was. Nick also explains that some of the foods that Kitty likes in the story are actually real. That was an eye opener. There is also a short MP4 video on the CD that is of Nick Bruel at a classroom with students, going over a humorous way to create a short story to share.
I think Bad Kitty is a great way to escape and create laughs for children and parents alike. Nick Bruel has also done some vividly colorful illustrations to keep kids amused and attentive to the story. Layne, my oldest who is five, loves this story. Her younger sister and brother will often tag along to listen with her. Bad Kitty Book and CD Set is a charming way to keep my children entertained during the cold months and educated with an engaging way to work on the alphabet.
Disclosure: I received Bad Kitty Book and CD Set for this review. No other compensation has been received. The thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.
