The Bad Guys Book 1 and 2 Review written by the Ent on February 6th, 2022. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: The Bad Guys; The Bad Guys: Mission Unpluckable
Author and Illustrator: Aaron Blabey
Genre: Humor; Graphic Novel; Action/adventure
Length: 139/140 pages
Age suggested: 7+
Release Date: December 27, 2016/February 28, 2017
Warnings: None
Quick Summary of The Bad Guys Book 1 and 2
Mr. Wolf has decided that he wants to be a good guy – not a bad guy – and invites some of the other bad guys to join him. In there attempt to become good guys, they make some humorous mistakes. Can Mr. Wolf and the crew complete the transition to being a good guy or are they going to be stuck in the rut of villainy forever?
The Bad Guys Book 1 and 2 Review (Contains some spoilers)
We have reviews of some of the later books (6 and 8; see the links at the end of this review), but we wanted to go back to the first two books in anticipation of the upcoming movie. Most of the important characters in the movie (though not all) are introduced in books one and two.
The movie (from what we know) will have a somewhat different plot, but there should not be much (if anything) in the first two books that would spoil the movie. The first two books are primarily exposition – with a lot of humor – getting the “Bad Guys” together. Mr. Wolf invites Mr. Shark, Mr. Piranha, and Mr. Snake (all of whom have humorous police records) to join him in becoming “Good Guys” – going good deeds. They have a couple of stumbles in the first book, and in the second decide to rescue chickens from a chicken farm.
To help with this they add a new member – Mr. Tarantula (note – this will be Ms. Tarantula in the movie). At the end of the second book, they rescue a guinea pig named Marmalade. There is a lot of humor as they go through all of this – and they begin to slowly start working together as a team.
Christian Thought: The series is not religious, but since we do like to highlight the relationship of faith and fiction, we would like to note that the themes of change being possible, and “Bad Guys” wanting to be “Good Guys” are certainly ones that fit within the Christian faith, as well as other major faiths. Lots of potential discussion with kids here.
-Why Read The Bad Guys Book 1 and 2-
First, the series definitely builds, and these two books are foundation (see our reviews of books six and eight, mentioned above). The story is genuinely funny, and Blabey is not afraid to poke fun at himself. One of the most important things about all of the books is that they tell kids real change is possible. It is not easy, but it can be done…and doing good feels a whole lot better than not doing good.
Character note: Mr. Wolf is the leader and is the most developed character. You can already tell, in these two, that Mr. Snake is going to play a prominent role. They are the most “human” of the group, although some kids will relate to the others who have more specific traits.
The Bad Guys Book 1 and 2 Discussion Questions
Themes to Discuss: Heroism, teamwork, friendship
1. Which is your favorite character and why?
2. How does Mr. Tarantula help Mr. Shark with his fear of spiders? Do you think this would work for most people?
3. What are some ways you might be able to do “Good guy” type good deeds?
4. What was the funniest thing that happened in these two books?
5. What type of car do you think the Good Guys need to be driving? Or should they try something else, like a helicopter?
Thanks for reading our The Bad Guys Book 1 and 2 Review. Before you go, check out these other posts
–The Bad Guys in Superbad
–The Bad Guys in Aliens vs. Bad Guys
–All of our Dog Man posts:
–Grime and Punishment
–Brawl of the Wild
–Lord of the Fleas
–Fetch 22
–For Whom the Ball Rolls
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