HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAD KITTY

Bad Kitty is back; and, just like every morning, she doesn’t want to get out of bed. Today, however, is a special day: Bad Kitty’s birthday! After a special alphabetical breakfast made of everything from Aardvark Bagels to Yak Zabaglione, Bad Kitty “helps out” with the decorations (i.e., destroys them). She picks out what she really wants from the Cat-alog of Cat Toys just before the guests start to arrive. She unwraps their… questionable gifts, which promptly vanish. Who is stealing them? Bad Kitty’s human gives her a truly hideous gift, and Bad Kitty has a major freakout until a special guest calms her down. Then Poor Puppy gives Kitty his homemade present, and it’s time for bed. Bruel’s follow-up to Bad Kitty Takes a Bath (2008) is nearly as much fun. Uncle Murray returns with his real facts about cats, and an appendix offers information on the breeds of each of the guests. The frenetic black-and-white illustrations are just plain hysterical, and the translations of Siamese Chatty Kitty’s blathering is a stitch. Fun for all, especially fans. (Fiction. 7-10)