HOW TO GO
WHAT: Meet Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty children’s series
WHERE: Books & Co., The Greene, 4453 Walnut St., Beavercreek
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
AGES: Children and adults
COST: Free
MORE INFO: 937-429-2169
About Bad Kitty
Bad Kitty doesn’t mean to be bad … she just always seems to get herself into trouble. Whether she is trying to be a good kitty and eat her vegetables or be a quiet kitty and behave at a birthday party, it seems that trouble finds a way to her. Find out more at www.badkittybooks.com.
The author of one of the top-selling children’s book series in America – targeted to an unusually wide age-range of readers – will visit the Dayton area Sunday.
Author Nick Bruel broke the traditional picture book/chapter book molds in 2004, when Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group took a risk and printed his hybrid “Bad Kitty.” The series mostly features chapter books that are heavily illustrated, appealing to beginning readers up through middle-school readers, ages 5 to 12. Bruel said the series has sold about 8 million copies so far, printed in 10 languages and sold in a dozen countries.
“I get boatloads of fan mail for him from kids and adults, and he is one of our most sought-after public speakers,” Macmillan’s Molly Brouillette said. “Nick is every bit as charmingly zany as one might expect from an adult male who writes illustrated books about a mischievous cat.”
The books are designed to be both fun and funny, while including lessons about topics like presidential elections and fitting in at school. They got their start when Bruel came up with a title for a new piece – “Bad Kitty.”
“I started thinking – what does a Bad Kitty do that’s so bad?” he said. “Why does she do all these terrible things? And that’s how the whole Bad Kitty empire started.”
Inspired by Chuck Jones
As it turned out, Bruel’s character’s motivation is “pretty much that she’s a cat. She likes to be left alone to her own devices, except for when she chooses to be part of the action. She might be the ultimate introvert.”
But when she’s thrust into a situation that keeps her from enjoying her warm, comfortable sleeping spot at home, Bad Kitty will do whatever it takes to get back.
Bruel is on tour this month promoting the newest Bad Kitty book, “Drawn to Trouble,” which reveals the process of writing and illustrating a children’s story. It started with an idea for making an informative activity book, he said, mixed with his love of classic cartoons, including “Duck Amuck” by Chuck Jones.
“Daffy Duck has to deal with brushes and pens that come in from outside his world and mess with him,” Bruel recalled. “I love metaphysical stuff like that. I thought, I can do the same thing with Bad Kitty in a book format, in a way that can be not only bizarre and fun, but also teach kids how the process of actually making a Bad Kitty story comes about.”
It’s similar, he said, to how he wove election process details into his book, “Bad Kitty For President.”
“Teachers work really hard to put information into their kids’ minds,” Bruel said. “And I thought, ‘I can do part of that.’ (In ‘Bad Kitty: Drawn To Trouble,’) why not include a couple of ‘big’ words like ‘protagonist’ and ‘theme’ and ‘plot point?’ I think authors in general probably should take the chance and not be afraid to go into the academic side of things while they’re trying to be amusing.”
A boost for special needs
Bruel, who spent 15 years working for independent bookstores, said he’s not sure why Bad Kitty has resonated with children so well, but his guess is that the humor in them helps.
“Also, kids like stuff with familiar situations,” he said. “I keep the cat at home as much as possible, as tempting as it would be to have her launch into space or go sailing on a pirate ship.”
He said the familiarity of the format is also a big help, as young readers transition from picture books to chapter books.
“You’re creating a scenario where the character grows up with her reader,” Bruel said.
The biggest surprise for him has been Bad Kitty’s impact on children in the autistic spectrum.
“I get emails all the time from parents and teachers and kids who are in the higher level of the autistic spectrum,” Bruel said, “and these kids really connect to aspects of Kitty’s character.”
He said he suspects that’s because autism affects social skills, and Bad Kitty prefers to avoid social interaction – most of the time.
Kids welcome
At book signings like Sunday’s, Bruel’s audiences tend to be an even split between children and adults.
“I keep it simple,” he said. “I read a chapter with big blowups of the pages, and then I just go straight to questions, and answer as many as the kids or grownups have.”
Bruel answered questions this week in Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia; after Beavercreek, he will visit Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.
“I love meeting people around the country,” he said. “I’ve been to Cleveland and Cincinnati in the past – both cities I really liked – but Dayton is going to be a new experience.”
In December, he finished the next book in the Bad Kitty series, “Puppy’s Big Day,” which will come out next January.
“It’s what happens when Kitty wakes up in such a foul, horrible, violent mood, that for the dog’s own safety, Uncle Murray is called to take Puppy for a walk,” he said. “Then Uncle Murray loses the dog!”
Bruel said he’s outlined another piece called “Bad Kitty’s Guide To Making Comics,” which he hopes encourages kids that are like him.
“I started drawing comics in third grade and loved it so much that I never really stopped,” he said.
Other books in the wings? “Bad Kitty: The Musical,” “Bad Kitty Christmas,” and a “chunky board book, putting Bad Kitty into toddlers’ hands.”
Sounds like a recipe for fun and trouble.
About the Author