Bad CatÆs actions are mistaken for mischief--he paints the wall outside Mr. BigtoeÆs shop, cuts Mr. Pooslop's flowers, and drops a banana peel in front of Sally Hillybumps and Frederick Wobblebottom. But the results make everyone happy: his painting is beautiful, the flowers cheer up Mrs. Pooslop, and Sally and Frederick slip and fall in love. The dragging text is not as successful as the bold, colorful digital illustrations, which bustle with energy. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Is Bad Cat, a big-city kitty of the streets, truly bad or simply misunderstood? Readers of this kinetic picture-book debut may be left wondering. When he "splotches" paint on a wall (and initially angers the wall's owner), the end result is a colorful mural that makes the owner proud. When Bad Cat drops a banana peel on the sidewalk, the two rotund people who slip on it-Sally Hillybumps and Frederick Wobblebottom-don't get hurt, they fall in love. Bad Cat squirts water at a passerby and cuts flowers, unbidden, in Mrs. Pooslop's garden. It's unclear whether the happy results are intentional, and if the ends justify the means. Where McGuinness-Kelly's story may falter, her kicky computer-generated art is the cat's meow. She creates a fluid collage style with bold colors (including fuchsia, purple and chartreuse), patterns and textures. And Bad Cat, his jet-black fur and sharp white teeth suggesting a slightly sinister Felix the Cat, adds heart to each scene. Ages 3-6. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved