What the books are about
According to my 7 year old, The Bad Guys series of books is so good that after never reading a single book, (other than readers and books I read him), he went ahead and read the Bad Guy 3 books we could get a hold of, in the space of two days. The books were recommended to him by a girl in his class and we picked up our copies at a school scholastic fair, though you can find them at any good bookstores the book depository or even Kmart.
Bay Guys is the genius creation of Aaron Blabey, providing a perfect balance between writing and images so that little early reading eyes and minds don’t get overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to finish a big chapter book. The book is about Bad Guys who aren’t that bad at all.
The main characters are a wolf, a shark, a snake and a piranha. They have always been bad guys, look like bad guys, smell like bad guys and general were bad guys but now they want to turn their lives around. Their first mission, as determined by the wolf, is to rescue 200 puppies from the city pound. The struggle to be good is ongoing throughout the book and it is this good verse evil type banter that makes this book so appealing and relevant to the 6-9 age group. Your child will find these funny and heartwarming with just enough suspense to keep them interested!
There are four books in the series and you can buy them as a set or make the mistake we did of buying them separately and having an agonising wait while we found book 4.
Main Themes
The main theme of The Bad Guys series is the good verse evil conundrum, redemption and the constant inner struggle when faced with life’s choices. Will you be led by the immediate gratification that some choices bring or stand by your values and be guided by always doing the right thing, being kind, generous and compassionate? Who do you want to be? The Bad Guys series offers a satirical take on all these questions but none the less providing kids with an opportunity to reflect on their choices in their own world.
Why we like The Bad Guys
The Bad Guys is an ideal book to transition kids from picture books into chapter books without overwhelming their eyes with too many words. While there isn’t a great deal of text, there is enough text, and enough pages for your child to feel a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of each book. We were then able to use this new found confidence to transition to a book with just a little more text and fewer images. I credit these books for getting my son to read by himself at night, not under duress but simply because he wanted to.
The Bad Guys are suited to
The Bad Guys are a great beginner series for the early reader who might be a little overwhelmed with books containing mainly words, even though they might be capable of reading them. It is a funny series with lots of kid-appropriate crude humour and will still prove a fun read even if your child does prefer the wordier chapter books.
Other books they might like if they like Bad Guys
The Weirdo Series
If you know of any other kids books you think we should add to our growing list of “must reads” for kids please email info@brisbanekids.com.au or leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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