Kirkus Review
How good is Bad Kitty at actually being a cat?Bad Kitty loves birds, but when she climbs a tree to play with two of them, it ends in a disastrous fall from the treetops. She rethinks her opinion of birds. The incident triggers a letter from the Society of Cat Aptitude Management; her cat license is being revoked for a series of shameful un-catlike embarrassmentssuch as the time she woke up suddenly and fell behind the sofa or when she tried to jump on the desk but landed in the plants. Not to mention that time the dog sat on her head when she was asleep. According to SCAM, Kitty must take a special class and then pass a test to get her cat license back. Kitty is not amused. The next day, she joins Chatty Kitty, an odd-looking cat named Mittens (a chicken with fake cat ears), and Uncle Murray (who thinks hes in class to renew his drivers license) for a course taught by Strange Kitty. They watch a specious video created by the test makers, TestPro, full of oddball cat facts, before the first of many pretests begins. The final test (administered by a chicken) couldnt be more surprising. Bruels obvious antistandardized-test agenda doesnt tarnish Bad Kittys appeal in her 10th chapter-book appearance. Standardized-test companies may want to hurl hairballs, but the loopy humor and silly kitty cast will have fans purring with laughter. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Has Bad Kitty gone too far? In the latest installment, S.C.A.M. (The Society of Cat Aptitude Management) forces Kitty to take a remedial cat course, followed by a test, or her cat license will be revoked. Kitty is enraged. The class, taught by Strange Kitty (actually a dog) and a melodramatic mouse, includes classmates Chatty Kitty, Mittens (a chicken in a cat costume), and Uncle Murray (a human). Will Kitty have her license revoked by a tie-wearing chicken who only speaks in multiple-choice questions? As outlined on the final page, the moral of this absurdly humorous story is that education is more about asking questions than having answers. As with previous titles in this series, the story is told using a combination of comic-book panels, speech bubbles, off-page dialogue, and slapstick visual humor. Perhaps the most ridiculous Bad Kitty adventure ever, the plot is convoluted, lacking even a shred of realism. Bad Kitty fans will love the offbeat humor and bizarre situations in Bruel's newest book.--Seto Forrester, Amy Copyright 2016 Booklist
