Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble

Bad Kitty

Good Mosasaur

Bruel, Nick. Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble. New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2014.

Plot: A self-proclaimed handsome and skilled author/illustrator discusses the creation of a book with his readers. The subject of the novel, Kitty, finds herself at the mercy of the author's descriptions. And ink. As he discusses the various aspects of story-telling, Kitty abruptly gains weight, eats turnips (sort of), faces Puppy, and earns a mcguffin.

Genre: Animals, Writing

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: Whales on Stilts!, Miss Suki is Kooky

Personal Thoughts: Some of my favorite moments were the explanations. While the humor was fast-paced and well-illustrated, Bruel did not rely only on it to create his story. He also introduced concepts such as themes, plots, and open endings. Additionally, he took several pages to describe the differences between copying a work and referencing a work. Such a distinction is very important for tweens to understand, especially as they approach high school research papers. While the novel is more information-based than some of the other Bad Kitty works, it still keeps the audience's attention through humor and an ultimately interesting story.

A Book of Magic Animals

It's more of a history book to him...

Manning-Sanders, Ruth. A Book of Magic Animals. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. 1975.

Plot: The title offers a collection of tales featuring magical beasts. Some creatures, such as the small-toothed dog and Elsa's bear are actually enchanted humans. Others, like the dolphin king and Mainu the frog are genuine animals, but with extraordinary abilities. They all assist the protagonists to defeat overwhelming evil, conquer complex challenges, and earn fantastic rewards.

Genre: Animals, Fairy Tales, Folktales

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: The Dragon Emperor, The Sea King's Daughter, The Seven Chinese Brothers

Personal Thoughts: While the title uses dated diction and has an annoying tendency to bounce between past and present tense, it also offers a pleasant blend of stories, mostly from Europe. A lot of the stories have similar counterparts in modern literature, particularly in the "beauty and the beast"-type of fairy tale. It also manages to offer different, less well known stories and can easily satisfy fans of folk and fairy tales.