Our first encounter with Nick Bruel’s “Bad Kitty” character was a few years ago at an elementary school. We’d volunteered to read to a classroom full of squirrely first graders, and we’ll admit that despite being around lots of kids, we were a little nervous. But, we showed up, bag of books in tow, ready to 
hit the ground, er,… reading. But, it was just before lunch, the room was too warm and the kids just weren’t feeling the chapter book we were attempting to push through. We tossed it aside, and asked for suggestions from the kids. A cute little freckled faced brunette with blue eyes and two missing teeth yelled out, “Bad Kitty!” and the rest of the kids squealed in agreement.
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Bad Kitty? Weird. We didn’t have a copy, let alone heard of it. Thankfully, the teacher happened to have a copy of “Bad Kitty Gets A Bath” and so we resumed our reading sesh. We can say lots of things about “Bad Kitty.” But, from the perspective of someone who regularly reads to school kids, you can tell when a book has got the kid mojo or not. We’re confident that “Bad Kitty” does. Within just a page or two of reading to that classroom, the kids were transformed from grouchy, ravenous little people who were bored with us to giggling, relaxed kids who wanted to be read to more. To put it mildly, “Bad Kitty” made us laugh as much as the kids, and being cat-lovers who’d made the perilous decision to attempt to bathe our own felines, we were hooked.
“Bad Kitty For President” is the latest children’s book from Nick Bruel, and in terms of the magic and oddities that come out of the minds of child authors, it’s a treasure. Bad Kitty is a cat that struggles toget her hand, or, well, paw into the election and get votes. It’s a great little book that uses humor to teach kids a bit about the American political system, and the competition inherent in the electoral system. Campaigning on a platform that includes more naps and playtime, Bad Kitty seems like a shoo-in for president. We know we’d vote for her, and so would that classroom.