Nick Bruel

Nick Bruel is the fabulous author and illustrator of the "Bad Kitty" series of children's books.  He gave a talk and book signing at Powell's, and Jasper was really excited to go.  Nothing could have pleased him more than getting to meet this author!  The books have a goofy sense of humor that could only come from being a cat owner.  Mr. Bruel explained that it doesn't matter how cute and sweet cats may be, they all have a "dark side", and Bad Kitty definitely shares that trait.  The latest in the series is "Bad Kitty: Drawn to Trouble", which is especially cool because it's all about writing and illustrating books! 

Mr. Bruel told an appreciative audience about the stories he wrote in 4th grade, "The Adventures of the Invisible Family."  He said they had the advantage of being easy to draw!  Clothes and dog collars floated in midair.  He explained that his illustrations use watercolor for the backgrounds and gouache (opaque watercolor) for the characters. He was asked to name his favorite among his books, and he said that was quite impossible, since each book has its special and unique challenges and joys.  He said that his next book in the series is already complete, since it takes a whole year for a finished book to finally get published.  The next book will be "Puppy's Big Day", in which Uncle Murray takes the dog for a walk but loses the dog!  Mr. Bruel was very gracious and took the time to talk to each of the kids who asked for their books to be signed.  The little girl in line in front of Jasper introduced herself as Lydia, and he sang her a lovely rendition of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady".