Book Review: The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
The Bad Guys
Aaron Blabey
For ages 7-10
Scholastic Australia, 2015 ISBN: 978-1-76015-042-6
Everyone knows the big bad wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but is it his ultimate goal to be so bad? The Bad Guysby Aaron Blabey explores the concept of a group of previously labeled “bad guys” who turn their lives around and do good for a change.
Mr. Wolf introduces himself by drawing in the audience through the use of large words and unique fonts. He is immediately recognizable to anyone who has seen him in an old lady’s clothes or in an old lady’s bed. The “Metropolitan Police Department Suspect Rap Sheet” goes into further detail about his offenses and reasons for being bad, yet Mr. Wolf continues to urge the reader that the police report is covered in lies and that he is indeed a great guy. In order to do this, he gathers a whole gang of guys he feels are facing the same troubles as him.
The gang is introduced to the reader in the same way Mr. Wolf was— on a “Metropolitan Police Department Suspect Rap Sheet.” The gang of characters now includes Mr. Wolf—“Dangerous. DO NOT APPROACH” (Blabey, p. 9), Mr. Snake—“Very Dangerous. DO NOT APPROACH” (Blabey, p. 21), Mr. Piranha—“EXTREMELY Dangerous. DO NOT APPROACH” (Blabey, p. 29), and lastly Mr. Shark—“RIDICULOUSLY DANGEROUS. RUN! SWIM! DON’T EVEN READ THIS! GET OUT OF HERE!!” (Blabey, p. 37). Cleary according to the police reports, the gang doesn’t come off as the nicest set of guys, making it hard for Mr. Wolf to show how they are good. He works by diverting the attention of the readers and encouraging his newfound gang of people with the same issue to prove their ability to be good.
After laughing off an abundance of comments from the members in the gang that are otherwise very dangerous, Mr. Wolf gets everyone together for “The Good Guys Club” meeting (Blabey, p. 42). Despite the confusion from its’ new members, Mr. Wolf uses techniques of advertisement and persuasion to grab the groups attention about want he wants to do and what he wants to prove to the world. Despite the disbelief in the fact that Mr. Wolf has changed his mindset and character from normal expectations of being bad to suddenly being good, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha and Mr. Shark climb into their vehicle of transporting them to the site in which they will do good.
After driving for some time, and after lots of re-explaining from Mr. Wolf to the gang on the purpose of their travels, they happen to find just the right place for them to show how they are good: a kitten stuck in a tree. It seems simple at first to rescue the kitten, until the gang comes to realize even the kitten is aware of the reputations all the members of the gang hold, making the animal more scared than it was when they first approached it. Their first attempts at rescuing the kitten are rather unsuccessful, leaving Mr. Piranha inside the stomach of Mr. Snake. In an attempt to set Mr. Piranha free from the stomach of Mr. Snake, the gang also successfully frees the kitten from the tree as it lands safely in the arms of Mr. Wolf. Instead of showing a more forgiving gratitude, the kitten uses it’s sharp claws to scratch up Mr. Wolf. Despite the not so loving thank you, Mr. Wolf focuses on the important fact that they freed the kitten from the tree, which in his mind really means that the gang was able to do good. They gang regroups in their vehicle and Mr. Wolf shares his enthusiasm for what he has planned next.
Mr. Wolf shares his plan of breaking out 200 puppies from the dog pound. He talks about how all the puppies are locked behind bars along with their hopes and dreams. The key to getting the puppies out is using Mr. Wolf’s once bad idea of dressing up as little red riding hood’s grandma, and now using it for the good of getting the puppies out of the dog pound. Just like the kitten, all dogs are just as scared of the gang, which ends up encouraging them to run out of the opening.
This quirky and unusual text encourages us to look at the normal “bad guys” in most children’s novels as good guys instead. Despite all of the hard facts and evidence that prove to the reader that the characters only do bad and should be avoided at all costs, the main character Mr. Wolf does everything in his power to change our minds and change how we view the “bad guys.”
In the end, Mr. Wolf has taken his new Good Guys Club on a journey that may have changed their hearts just a little. Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha and Mr. Shark have now experienced what it is like to be good for once and they are even willing to give it another go. This novel did a great job of telling a story that sends a message saying we cant always believe the stories we hear about who someone is because that might not always be the truth. It also conveys the message that no matter what someone’s past is, that doesn’t determine who they are in the future.
Works Cited
Blabey, Aaron. The Bad Guys. Scholastic Australia, 2015