Bad Cat is one serendipitous cat. He does something and people holler at him for being a bad cat. As he runs away, these same people discover what he has done is to make things better than how he found them, or to do good deeds by happenstance.

First example: He finds several cans of open paint and a paintbrush in front of a store. He picks up the brush and begins painting in first one color then another. The owner comes out shaking a stick at Bad Cat, chasing him away. When the man discovers the beautiful graffiti on the store front, he calls Bad Cat back. But Bad Cat is singing: "I'm a bad cat, bad cat,/ said that man,/ he thinks I live/ in a garbage can!" as he runs away.

My favorite example: Two rather large people, man and woman, each carrying groceries, slip on a banana peel Bad Cat throws down. They crash into each other, spilling groceries everywhere. Other people grab him, intending to do harm to our Bad Cat. Lying on the sidewalk, the two people look into each other's eyes and fall in love. The people celebrate this wondrous occasion by having a block party. To Bad Cat, they say: "You're not as bad as all that!"

In the last episode Bad Cat meets a character that shows up in the next book, a marmalade cat with glasses, representing perhaps the domesticated cat versus the stray cat with sharp teeth. Bad Cat also represents the desire to think outside the box. You know those children who won't follow directions, but follow the machinations of their own minds to create new ways of doing things. Bad Cat does what others think bad, but ends up creating good--all against a backdrop of intense colors. There's a definite message here.

The illustrations are intensely bold and colorful, created in Photoshop on a Mac. I would love to know how because they are so fabulous! Created by a writer/illustrator, this book is sure to please. I am looking forward to sharing this with my library children! You rule, Bad Cat!

Bad Cat is one serendipitous cat. He does something and people holler at him for being a bad cat. As he runs away, these same people discover what he has done is to make things better than how he found them, or to do good deeds by happenstance.

First example: He finds several cans of open paint and a paintbrush in front of a store. He picks up the brush and begins painting in first one color then another. The owner comes out shaking a stick at Bad Cat, chasing him away. When the man discovers the beautiful graffiti on the store front, he calls Bad Cat back. But Bad Cat is singing: "I'm a bad cat, bad cat,/ said that man,/ he thinks I live/ in a garbage can!" as he runs away.

My favorite example: Two rather large people, man and woman, each carrying groceries, slip on a banana peel Bad Cat throws down. They crash into each other, spilling groceries everywhere. Other people grab him, intending to do harm to our Bad Cat. Lying on the sidewalk, the two people look into each other's eyes and fall in love. The people celebrate this wondrous occasion by having a block party. To Bad Cat, they say: "You're not as bad as all that!"

In the last episode Bad Cat meets a character that shows up in the next book, a marmalade cat with glasses, representing perhaps the domesticated cat versus the stray cat with sharp teeth. Bad Cat also represents the desire to think outside the box. You know those children who won't follow directions, but follow the machinations of their own minds to create new ways of doing things. Bad Cat does what others think bad, but ends up creating good--all against a backdrop of intense colors. There's a definite message here.

The illustrations are intensely bold and colorful, created in Photoshop on a Mac. I would love to know how because they are so fabulous! Created by a writer/illustrator, this book is sure to please. I am looking forward to sharing this with my library children! You rule, Bad Cat!

Whatever the small spunky feline in the title role of this book does gets him into trouble, but it's never intended and it usually has an unexpectedly good outcome. This small black, bow-tied cat has a Cheshire grin and lives "in a huge, dirty city". The illustrations are childlike but edgy and full of fascinating detail. They are reminiscent of Richard Scarry's artwork.

We watch as Bad Cat wanders the city, stumbling into one situation after another - he paints a wall, sprays water, picks flowers, drops a banana peel, bounces on a bed - and always sings songs. People yell "Hey, you, bad cat! Don't you do that!" and only realize after he's long gone that "Bad Cat, Bad Cat, you're not as bad as all that!" Bad Cat is a loner, a bit of a rebel, and probably has an attention deficit problem, but he's also a catalyst who makes good things happen as he jumps from one misadventure into another.

Kids often feel misunderstood by those around them but unable to articulate what really happened - they'll find it very easy to identify with Bad Cat's antics and sheer exuberance and realize that they're "not as bad as all that".