Bad Kitty: Searching for Santa

September 1, 2019
Bad Kitty is back--with a letter to Santa. Even though she "is not so sure she's been good this year," Kitty writes to Santa to ask for "a nice present." Next she must "GIVE the letter to Santa," and a picture shows her gripping a newspaper with the headline "MEET SANTA TODAY!" and a photo of Kris Kringle. While en route to the store to see him (her letter cleverly stuck into the folded brim of her knitted hat), Kitty encounters someone she thinks is Santa but who turns out to be someone dressed in a Santa suit and ringing a bell for charity. Other similar encounters show a diverse range of people (men, women, and a child with different skin tones and hair textures) wearing Santa suits and holding signs reading "GIVE." There's even a dog and an octopus getting in on the action in the digital, cartoon-style pictures. Kitty is overwhelmed by all the Santas, none of whom looks like the white-bearded white man in the newspaper. And alas, when she reaches the store, it's closed! Angry, she balls up her letter and stomps on it before heading home. But, in a gift of an ending, Bad Kitty ends up with a very nice present under her tree: a fish in a brown-paper package all tied up with string. Nice enough. (Picture book. 4-7)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2019
Kitty wants to give her wish-list letter directly to "Santa" at a store. On the way, she encounters so many Santa-costumed charity workers (plus one dog and...an octopus?) that she becomes frazzled. Kitty's "bad" behavior, communicated as always entirely in the bright cartoon illustrations, is relatable as well as funny. The narrator's droll tone and the smart pacing of page-turns and occasional panels heighten the humor.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2019
Kitty wants to give her wish-list letter directly to "Santa" at a nearby store. On the way, she encounters so many Santa-costumed charity workers (plus one dog and...an octopus?) that she becomes frazzled. Arriving at the store to find it closed does nothing to improve Kitty's mood, nor does opening a bunch of packages containing ugly sweaters. Happily, Santa-or whoever read the letter-pulls through. As usual in this series, Kitty's "bad" behavior, communicated entirely in the bright and expressive cartoon illustrations, is relatable as well as funny. The offstage narrator's droll tone and the smart pacing of page-turns and occasional panels heighten the humor. Katie Bircher

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)