Using his popular character, Bad Kitty, Bruel teaches readers how to construct a story. Breaking down the writing process into digestible chapters, Bruel provides a solid introduction to story elements and plot development. "Fun Facts" spreads explore more advanced topics. A brief overview of plagiarism rounds out this accessible how-to book; a glossary of literary terms is appended.

Gr 2-4 In this seventh installment in the series, readers are introduced to the process of writing and illustrating a book in a fun and humorous way. Bruel employs his signature style of addressing readers directly; he begins the book with a step-by-step demonstration of how to draw Bad Kitty and moves on to describe the necessary ingredients of a successful story. Through the process of describing story elements such as protagonist, antagonist, and conflict, the author creates some scenarios that Kitty finds objectionable (most notably, an all-turnip diet), but eventually she convinces him to rewrite the story in her favor. Many of the usual secondary characters (Uncle Murray, Puppy, Strange Kitty, etc.) make an appearance in this volume, and there are some unexpected additions, including a zombie, a giant octopus, and a talking turnip named Terry. Bruel makes no attempt to hide the fact that the intent of this book is to teach readers how to write stories, but his informal writing style and hilarious illustrations make the lesson seem like a fun opportunity rather than a chore. Fans of the naughty feline will not be disappointed by this new volume, and when they finish reading it, they will have the tools, along with the encouragement of Bruel himself, to create their own Bad Kitty-inspired adventures. Sarah Reid, Broome County Public Library, Binghamton, NY

Bad Kitty makes her tenth appearance in this humorous (and partly nonfiction!) introduction to writing stories. Bruel teaches readers how to draw Bad Kitty and write stories of their own by introducing key story components (plot, conflict, character, etc.) and demonstrating them with good old Bad Kitty, who proves an unwilling model. Beginning with the simple scenario of putting Bad Kitty on a diet, things quickly become outrageous as new concepts are introduced. Fun Facts and a glossary are included to help readers grasp the fundamentals of composition. Bruel's sky's-the-limit attitude will encourage boys and girls to use their imaginations and get writing.