The Bad Guys in Superbad Review with Discussion Questions written by the Hobbit on 8/2020 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 The Bad Guys in Superbad Book
Book: The Bad Guys in Superbad (Book 8)
Author and Illustrator: Aaron Blabey
Genre: Superhero
Pages: 140
Published: December 2018
Age Suggestion: 7+
Themes: Heroism, teamwork, self-worth
Warnings: Mild violence
Quick Summary of The Bad Guys in Superbad Book:
The Bad Guys have returned to save humanity from the evil alien once known as Dr. Marmalade. And now most of them have super-powers! But can they control their powers and defeat the aliens?
The Bad Guys in Superbad Review: (Contains some spoilers)
For a fuller background, you may want to refer to our review of book six. The Bad Guys (also now called the Good Guys Club) have returned to earth after a brief detour to prehistoric times in book seven. All of the original characters acquired super powers during the time travel. But they are having difficulty controlling their powers, and the aliens have unleashed an invasion of earth. We have already met Agent Fox from the International League of Heroes, and we now meet the rest of her team, who train the new superheroes. But, of course there is a cliffhanger at the end.
-Why Read Bad Guys in Superbad-
Life can be tough for young kids, and one of the ways it can be tough is hearing that they are “bad”. This can take many forms (grades, behaviors, etc.), but a lot of kids have a self image that suffers because of this message. “The Bad Guys” is an antidote to this, and can inspire kids to overcome this message. This book highlights some potential ways this might happen.
-Plot/Story- Each story in the series holds together well, and book eight is well-plotted. It introduces a fun new element – superpowers.
–Characters- I love the characters and how they are being subtly developed in the series. In this book we get the new characters from the International League of Heroes.
-What we loved about it– It is a graphic novel version of the old Saturday morning movie serial, always a cliffhanger, which is quite fun.
–Favorite Quotes:
“And we made a pact. We decided to take all our hurt and our anger and our fear and turn it all into something good.” “Instead of trying to hurt those who’d hurt us, we started trying to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”
The Bad Guys in Superbad Discussion Questions:
1. We met several new characters. We met the rest of the International League of Heroes, and we met Milton, the very intelligent )and polite) dinosaur. Which is your favorite and why?
2. Why does Mr. Tarantula feel bad? Have you ever felt left out of a group? How does Milton help him?
3. What are some ways you might be able to “Protect those who can’t protect themselves”?
Final Thoughts on The Bad Guys in Superbad Book:
The theme of book 8 sounds a lot like the Golden Rule…..Protecting those who cannot protect themselves is a profoundly Christian virtue (even if not always well lived out). Lots of potential discussion opportunities here with this book and series.
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