“The action-packed storylines in The Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey offer children a bridge to fluency during a critical moment in their reading journey,” says Webber-Bey. “To begin with, small reading wins give kids a quantitative feeling of success. The page-turning action in The Bad Guys is punctuated with chapter headings that mark progress — and the ability to say things like ‘I am on chapter five’.”
Having a concrete visual of accomplishing something, such as finishing a chapter, is important for keeping your child motivated to read. According to the 7th edition of the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, the number of kids that say they love reading drops 12 percent between ages 8 and 9.
“Though The Bad Guys graphic novel adventures will appeal to readers of all ages, the books can also significantly impact and engage striving readers at this inflection point,” says Webber-Bey.
Children who read The Bad Guys will be able to engage in imaginative world-building with their friends and other fans of the series, which creates excitement for each new book they dive into. This feeling of shared joy and anticipation, plus the familiarity of the ongoing storylines with their favorite characters, will help your child strengthen their reading stamina.
“The Bad Guys uses many of the core elements of comics’ grammar, with written dialogue and illustrated action compartmentalized into squares and rectangles, read from top to bottom and left to right,” says Webber-Bey.
The visual elements provide just the right amount of context for a striving reader to want to keep turning the pages.
“Looking closer, Aaron Blabey experiments with these basic rules; illustrations use shadow and perspective, zooming in and out to break the fourth wall, and storytelling is done in both first and second person,” Webber-Bey says.
One of the main reasons the humor in The Bad Guys series works so well is that it is based on being misunderstood. Through relatable humor, children are more likely to absorb information and take away lessons. (See why funny books are so important to have in your child’s library.)
“According to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, kids want stories that make them laugh when choosing books to read for fun, and the desire for funny books increased 10 points between 2016 and 2018,” says Webber-Bey.
And by comparing and contrasting plots and takeaways from classic stories your child already know (say, where the bad guys are always bad), you can pique their interest and challenge character stereotypes.
Shop the books in The Bad Guys series below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.
