FICTION

Bad Guy

by Hannah BARNABY
illus. by Mike Yamada. 32p. S. & S. May 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481460101.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2—Alice's brother thinks he is a bad guy. He wears an eye patch, traps superheroes, swallows astronauts, never apologizes, and loves to go to the library to get super bad ideas. But he is in for a shock when he finds out that not all bad guys are guys. This is a wonderfully written book with a twist ending that will charm readers. The watercolor pictures are rendered in a cartoonlike style that will appeal to young children. The intricate images convey the story well and contain several surprises that may escape notice on a first read. Each page features one simple sentence, making this book appropriate as an independent choice for early readers, and looking at the details of the pictures will keep older kids engaged.
VERDICT A fun read-aloud for storytimes, this is an amusing and clever tale, enhanced by lively illustrations, that will be a good choice for most shelves.
Reviewed by Peggy Henderson Murphy, Wyandot Elementary School, Dublin, OH
The narrator torments his sister Alice with his "bad guy" tactics (chasing her; dumping spaghetti on her head to eat her "brain"). He enjoys this identity and resents being told to "play nice." The surprise ending upends gender stereotypes and shows there's a fellow bad guy around. The entertaining digital illustrations bounce from typical family scenes to imaginative depictions of the narrator's wild schemes.
 , May 01, 2017

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