Another side-eye situation in a book we're reading..

MirandaHobbes

Okay maybe I'm being over-sensitive; but this new book series DS and I are reading is giving me a serious case of WTF. Has anyone else read the Bad Kitty series? It's a chapter book, picked up at Target, age range 7 and up, almost like a comic book format. The story line revolves around "Bad Kitty" who is this cynical, crumudegeon of a cat. I guess I assumed "Bad Kitty" would have some thoughtful life lessons, i.e. he's "bad" but the story shakes out in the end. Not so much. DS, my cat-lover, is in love with the book, so much so that he'll happily give up TV time to read more chapters with me. But in this particular book, Bad Kitty Happy Birthday, all of Bad Kitty's friends come by. They are introduced seperately "Pretty Kitty" whom all the boy cats adore, "Stinky Kitty" who sleeps in his litter pan (DS about fell off the couch laughing), and others, including "Strange Kitty" who is hairless, wears a "weird" top hat, and prefers to read comic books instead of play with the other kitties. I literally had to skip over 2 pages of description of how Strange Kitty is quote "a big weirdo" and likes to blurt out information about his comic books at inoportune times. WTH?

 I've been googling trying to find a negative review of the books but have not found any yet, and it's on the NY Times bestseller list. It's only redeeming quality is a few pages of "cat facts". Anyone else see a problem here or is this just hypersensitivity?

ppants

I wouldn't want anyone calling my kid a weirdo or for my kid to say that to someone, but does "Strange Kitty" embrace his weirdness?  Maybe it's a good lesson about how being different, strange or even weird is ok.  That's my positive spin on it, but I've never read one of these books.

bumpuser511563

I would throw that book out and shop for another book.

 

MirandaHobbes

mrs_sexy:

I wouldn't want anyone calling my kid a weirdo or for my kid to say that to someone, but does "Strange Kitty" embrace his weirdness?  Maybe it's a good lesson about how being different, strange or even weird is ok.  That's my positive spin on it, but I've never read one of these books.

I keep assuming a positive spin is coming- but my hopes are fading. We have one chapter left so maybe there is a redeeming ending. Not to this point though.

macchiatto

Yeah, I wouldn't be wild about that either. Auntie makes good points though.

MirandaHobbes

-auntie-:

You're allowed to feel what you feel.

I live with a Strange Kitty. Or Captain Random as he's sometimes called by those who know him best when he shares some random factoid. DH sometimes calls him Sheldon. At least Strange Kitty got an invitation. And he's a member of a pretty cool breed, btw. I've been trying to wean my peeps off himmies and into the Sphinx family for years- they're amazing cats.

This book would have really useful when he was younger in reinforcing the Social Behavior Mapping  lessons of Michelle Garcia Winner around teaching how much power a kid has over how others view him based on his actions. For DS, the notion that he controled what others thought of him based on how he chose to behave was empowering- life altering in fact. Seriously, this book contains a lot of the same lessons contained in the Superflex curriculum.

If your son likes cats and is on spectrum, you might like this book-

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843104814/ref=noism/oasisonlineasp07

DS thought it was insulting to cats, but most people- including myself- think it's cute.

The fictional character I don't like is "Know-it-all" from the film version of "Polar Express"- he's nasty, has a flat affect and spouts train facts. And he's not even in the orginal book.

I really want to like the book- after all, DS loves it. I just had a hard time figuring out how to explain to him what it means to be a "big weirdo". Maybe it's the name-calling that ultimately bothers me. But you make a good point that I could talk to him about how because Strange Kitty doesn't want to engage with the other cats, the cats aren't going to want to play with him either.

I found an interview with the author that said if he were a cat, he'd be Strange Kitty, so I am just trying to figure out his angle, if there is one.

MirandaHobbes

Auntie- that's excellent food for thought, thanks. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. It's a tough pill to swallow at first. I was a teased a lot myself in junior high; I remember visiting the guidance counselor and him asking me questions about what I did to bring about it the teasing- and being so incensed that he would have the gall to imply that it was my fault these girls were being such immature brats. If he had followed through and explained it more thoroughly I probably could have spared myself some teenage angst. Or maybe I wouldn't have been mature enough to understand the difference. At any rate, good perspective to have.