14 questions from elementary students to Bad Kitty creator, Nick Bruel

It’s great to be teaching in elementary schools. I get to see what they’re learning and hopefully add to that in a manner that makes some kids get it, or further their knowledge. I also get to see what they’re reading and in every ELA classroom, there’s at least one Bad Kitty book. Author and illustrator Nick Bruel’s latest installment is Bad Kitty Gets a Phone and he was kind enough to answer 14 questions from some of my ELA students.

Rodrigo – Why is Bad Kitty the only bad cat in the book?

Good question, Rodrigo.  I think the best way for me to answer this is to simply tell you that Kitty is the star in these stories.  As the star, or “protagonist” of these books, I need to make her unique.  Meaning, I can’t have any other characters like her in my books.  In fact, my challenge as a writer is to make ALL of the characters distinct from each other.  If my characters become too similar to each other, then the reader might have trouble telling them apart, and that would make the story itself confusing. 

Wyatt – How did you come up with the idea of Bad Kitty?

Sydney – What was the motivation to write the story?

Great question, Sydney.  Every time I have to write a story, I always ask myself the same question – “What do kids care about?”  It’s an important question, isn’t it?  If I’m going to write books for kids, I need to think about what is important to you guys. 

I’ll give you an example… Years ago, I asked myself that question, and the answer I came up with was “Birthdays”!  Kids definitely care about birthdays!  I know my daughter does.  She’s had 14 birthdays so far, and she can’t wait for each of them to come around so she can open presents and eat ice cream cake.  So that was my inspiration to make “Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty”. 

Years later, I asked myself that same question that I always ask, “What do kids care about?” and the answer that day was “School!”  Regardless of how a kid might feel about school (personally, I loved school), that kid will certainly care about it because school is a big part of every kid’s life.  So that’s what inspired “Bad Kitty: School Daze”

A couple of years ago, I asked myself that same question yet again… “What do kids care about?”  And the answer I came up with was “Phones!”  My daughter, for instance, REALLY cares about her phone.  She can’t get enough of it.  Honestly, she uses her phone too much.  Even if a kid doesn’t own their own phone, they certainly know all about them and definitely care about having one.  I see this all the time when I go to a restaurant and see parents give kids of all ages their phones to keep them pacified while they all wait for their food to be brought to the table.  This is why I decided that “BAD KITTY GETS A PHONE” would be a good idea.

Shepherd – Who is the cat based on?

Thanks for asking, Shepherd.  Kitty’s personality is not really based on any particular cat.  Moreover, her personality is based on every cat I have ever known.  I grew up having cats around and all of them were unpredictable, sleepy, quick to panic, and altogether delightful.  And so is Kitty!  But I will say that Kitty is physically modeled after I cat named Zou-zou (pron. “zoo-zoo”) that we owned for many years when I was growing up.  I always thought that Zou-zou had the most wonderful design for a pussycat.  She was all black – absolutely jet black from the tip of her ears to the tip of her tail, EXCEPT for this elegant spot of white fur on her chest.  It always looked to me like she was wearing a piece of jewelry.  So, when I first had to decide what Kitty would look like, I thought of Zou-zou.

Matias – What are your keys to success in writing?

This is a really important question, Matias.  I think the most important two words that every writer needs to tell themselves when making a story are “Be Brave”.  I say this for two reasons…

1. Every writer needs to “Be Brave” when it comes to the type of storytelling they want to do.  Sometimes I’ll come up with an idea that I’m not sure my own readers might like because it’s so odd.  But I personally like my idea, so I need to be brave and put it in my book anyway.  For example, in “BAD KITTY GETS A PHONE”, I wanted a unique way to depict how Kitty would feel about doing all the chores she needs to do to earn her phone like making her bed and cleaning her litterbox.  I decided to write that chapter like it was hand written on an ancient scroll to make it look like her chores feel like they were epic quests.  I’m not sure that anyone will like it, but I think it’s terrific!
2. The other reason writers need to “Be Brave” is because once they’ve managed to create something, they need to be brave enough to share it.  This might sound simple, but I’ve found that it’s a very hard step for a lot of writers.  I have a very good friend who is a truly brilliant writer, but I don’t know if anyone will ever know it except for me and a select number of her friends and family because once she’s written something, she becomes too timid to show it to anyone.  But clearly if you ever want to be published, you have to be brave enough to share what you create with the entire world.

Be Brave.

Matias – Do you have another book coming out?

Yes, Matias.  In about a year you can look for the next Bad Kitty chapter book: “BAD KITTY: SUPER CAT”.  It will be my Bad Kitty book about superheroes and playdates.  It will also be the longest Bad Kitty book I’ve ever done at 176 pages!

Tate – Will you make a “good doggy” series?

Hmmm… let me think about this question for a moment.  I don’t have any plans to make a “good doggy” series.  So I want to turn that question around, Tate.  I want to ask YOU that question.  Will you, Tate, ever make a “good doggy” series?  I ask this because I think it’s a great idea.  But the only problem is that it’s not MY idea.  It’s YOUR idea, and it’s a good one.  I think you should write it.  It won’t be easy, but it will be fun.  I should know. And I sincerely hope that anyone else who is reading this will use any ideas they might have to write a story and do just that.  Remember… Be Brave.

Alexa – Are you also the illustrator of the book?

Thanks for asking, Alexa.  Yes, I am very lucky in that I both write and illustrate my books.  But the funny thing is that I don’t even think of myself as an illustrator at all.  I think of myself as someone who tells a story with both words and pictures.

Katia – Why do the owners not care about their pets?

I’m not sure why you think this, Katia, but it’s certainly an interesting question.  I would say that all of the kitties’ owners do indeed care about their pets as evidenced by the fact that they are all healthy and happy and get into all kinds of adventures.  What more would any owner want for their pets?

I wonder if you’re asking this because we never see Kitty’s owners.  The reason we never see Kitty’s owner is because I like to create the illusion that YOU the reader are Kitty’s owner.  If you read the book out loud, then you can pretend that you’re the one talking directly to Kitty all throughout the book.  Does this illusion work?  I’m not sure.  But as I like to say… Be Brave.

Who is this Murray guy and why does he keep appearing?

As the only regularly recurring character in the Bad Kitty books, he’s a very important character.  He first appeared in the very first Bad Kitty book, the picture book title simply “Bad Kitty”.  It’s an alphabet book and Uncle Murray is the “U” animal in the alphabet of animals Kitty wants to eat.  (It’ll make sense when you read it.)  When I first started writing Bad Kitty chapter books, I realized quickly that I needed a host for the Fun Fact pages I wanted to incorporate into each book as well as a human character who could act as a target for many of Kitty’s antics.  Uncle Murray fit both of those bills very nicely.

Solomon – What breed is the cat?

Good question, Solomon!  While a lot of the cats in these books do have a specific breed – Big Kitty is a Maine Coon, Strange Kitty is a Sphynx, Chatty Kitty is a Siamese – Kitty herself doesn’t really have a breed.  I think of her as being the result of what would happen if you managed to mix ALL of the cat breeds out there into a single cat.  You’d wind up with the complicated but lovable mess that is Kitty.

What college did you go to?

I went to a small college near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania called Haverford College.  I had a really terrific time there.  One of the most important parts of college isn’t just the classes you take but the many opportunities that are presented to you.  For me, I was fortunate enough to be able to write and illustrate a comic strip in the campus newspaper for two years called “Koala Bob”.  It was a weekly feature about a koala who was a student at the college who never spoke but was prone to sudden, unpredictable fits of temper.  Sound familiar?

Beau – How old is Bad Kitty?

Kids ask me this question a lot, Beau, and I think it’s because kids are always interested in how old other kids are.  Grown-ups are also often interested in how old kids are.  Interestingly, grown-ups rarely ask how old other grown-ups are. I think of Kitty as being older than a kitten and not as old as an old cat.  So, somewhere in between.  Let’s say Kitty is about 7 years old.

Cailyn and Caroline – Why is Bad Kitty so bad?

I’m glad you asked this question, Cailyn and Caroline.  The funny thing about me and these books is that even though all of the titles begin with the words “Bad Kitty…”, such as “Bad Kitty Gets a Bath” and “Bad Kitty Meets the Baby” and “Bad Kitty: Kitten Trouble”, I don’t even think of Kitty as being bad!  You may notice that inside all of the stories, I don’t refer to Kitty as “BAD Kitty”.  Inside the stories, she’s simply “Kitty”.  The reason is that for the most part Kitty is not always bad.  Usually, she’s just being herself.  She might be moody or aggravated, but she’s not necessarily being bad.  Mind you, sometimes she is BAD, like when she’s screaming at her friends or tries to steal Uncle Murray’s wallet (one of my favorite moments in “Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation), but she’s not always bad.  This is a weird example where this character’s name on the title is different from her name inside her own books.

Gabriella — Will you ever collaborate with Dog Man?

Wow, Gabriella!  I don’t think anyone has ever asked me this question before.  I wonder if anyone has ever asked Dav Pilkey if he’d ever collaborate with me and Kitty.  If I ever run into him again, I’ll have to ask.

To answer your question, as much as I think it would be tremendous fun to collaborate with Dav Pilkey, I don’t think it will ever happen.  I’m pretty busy making my books about Kitty, and I’m pretty sure he’s pretty busy making his own books about Dog Man and Cat Kid and Captain Underpants.  But maybe I should try to reach out to him and ask. 

But what if he says “No”?!  I don’t know… maybe I shouldn’t ask him. 

Wait… what is it I always say?  Right… Be Brave.

Bad Kitty books, including Bad Kitty Gets a Phone are available on Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing.