Bad Kitty Gets a Phone

December 1, 2021
A craving for the latest tech leads to cat-astrophe in this new addition to the Bad Kitty series. With her heart set on owning a cellphone, anthropomorphic house cat Kitty plows through three solid months of chores without complaining before her owners reluctantly grant her fervent wish. Then things go rapidly downhill. She becomes obsessed with violent mobile games, gets catfished (no pun intended), divulges too much personal information online, becomes consumed with rage at cyberbullies, and grows listless from excessive screen time. Only after the intervention of a Sphynx cat named Strange Kitty and a monthlong technology fast enforced by her owners does Kitty come to understand that while smartphones are fun, they can also be a serious distraction from real life and true friends. Using a digestible graphic-novel format, the book tackles internet safety and digital media literacy with purr-fect aplomb. The "Uncle Murray's Fun Facts" section serves as a deep dive into the differences between facts and opinions, and many of Kitty's quirky feline behaviors ring true. It's unfortunate that the word lame--a disability-related term with negative connotations--is used by the internet trolls who deride the video Kitty makes and posts on "ViewTube." Occasional misstep aside, Kitty's tribulations provide ample fodder for this instructive and amusing tale. A hilarious but enlightening guide to the online world--the good, the bad, and the ugly. (Graphic novel. 6-9)

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