Great Books for Fans of the Bad Guys
The Bad Guys series is laugh out loud funny and I know this for a fact. I was spending a few days at my parents’ house and my niece and nephew stayed over for a sleepover and we were reading aloud the first book in the The Bad Guys series and my mom could not stop laughing. I mean, my niece and nephew thought it was funny, but my mom and I were just giggling the whole way through it!
It’s funny and adventurous and supports young readers with lots of great pictures (and you can now find the series in full color!), plus they make for a quick read and don’t get too overwhelming! So, if you’ve got a Bad Guys fan, you’ll definitely want to check out these other chapter books and graphic novels for a similar age group who love the same ideas! They are definitely funny, full of adventure, and many of them are series, so if you like one of them, you’ve got a couple more to add to your to be read list as well!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information.
Great Books for Fans of the Bad Guy
Agent Moose by Mo O’Hara, illustrated by Jess Bradley
Something fishy is going on at the South Shore. Folks just disappear and are never seen again. But when Agent Moose learns that a key witness has gone missing, he and Owlfred ride to the rescue. Will they find the missing turtle before time runs out?
Bird & Squirrel On the Run! by James Burks
Squirrel is afraid of his own shadow. Bird doesn’t have a care in the world. And Cat wants to eat Bird and Squirrel. Of course, he’ll have to catch them first, and that’s not going to be easy.
Join this trio as they head south for the winter in a hilarious road trip. But watch out! Cat is waiting around every bend, and he’s one pesky feline.
The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Kevin Cornell
Meet the Chicken Squad: Dirt, Sugar, Poppy, and Sweetie. These chicks are not your typical barnyard puffs of fluff, and they are not about to spend their days pecking chicken feed and chasing bugs. No sir, they’re too busy solving mysteries and fighting crime.
So when Squirrel comes barreling into the chicken coop, the chicks know they’re about to get a case. But with his poor knowledge of shapes (“Big” is not a shape, Squirrel!) and utter fear of whatever it is that’s out there, the panicky Squirrel is NO HELP. Good thing these chicks are professionals.
But even professionals get worried. Especially once they see that round, shiny, green, BIG thing in the yard. What if it’s a UFO full of aliens who want chickens as pets, or worse, dinner? It’s up to the Chicken Squad to crack a case that just might be out of this world.
Fluffle Bunnies: Buns Gone Bad by Anna Humphrey, illustrated by Irma Kniivila
This story starts, as stories often do, with a tragedy.
Three bunnies are left without their mother when she goes off to Brazil to learn jiujitsu.
The bunnies, Flop, Biggie and Boingie, learn some hard truths about life pretty quick: squirrels will take over your cozy nest as soon as you leave and refuse to give it back, dogs are to be avoided at all costs and raccoons will believe anything you tell them.
With quick thinking, ingenuity and maybe a little bit of raccoon manipulation, these three buns will take on all comers to be the rulers of the park. Will they win?
Well, this IS an origin story . . .
The Hunger Heroes by Jarrett Lerner
Meet the Hunger Heroes: Toots the Bean, Chip Ninja, Tammy the Tomato, and Leonard, a wedge of cheddar cheese, ready to save kids—even cranky, annoying ones—all over the world while flying around in their taco hovercraft!
It’s a typical Monday when the Hunger Heroes get the call: a kid in Ms. Sternbladder’s class missed breakfast and isn’t allowed to have snacks! How will he pass his math test, study for spelling, or play soccer at recess if his stomach is growling out of control? Hunger Heroes to the rescue!
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks―or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?
Real Pigeons Fight Crime by Andrew McDonald, illustrated by Ben Wood
What do REAL PIGEONS do? They fight crime, of course! Wait, what? You didn’t know your town is protected by a secret squad of crime-fighting feathered friends? Well, you are about to get schooled. REAL PIGEONS solve mysteries! REAL PIGEONS fight bad guys! And REAL PIGEONS won’t stop until your neighborhood is safe and the questions are all answered: Like, why have all the breadcrumbs disappeared? And which food truck smells the best?
Roscoe Riley Rules: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by Brian Biggs
When his classmates can’t sit still for a big performance at school, Roscoe Riley takes matters into his own hands with a liberal dose of Super-Mega-Gonzo Glue—which his mom calls the don’t-you-dare glue because Roscoe isn’t supposed to use it.
Roscoe doesn’t mean to break the rules—he just can’t help himself! After all, his teacher’s job might be at stake and desperate times call for desperate measures.
Two Dogs In a Trench Coat Go to School by Julie Falatko, illustrated by Colin Jack
Sassy and Waldo are good dogs. They spend the day keeping their house safe. Has a squirrel ever gotten inside? No! But every day their boy, Stewart, comes home from this terrible place called school smelling like anxiety and looseleaf paper.
Sassy and Waldo decide to save Stewart. But they don’t let dogs into school. So Sassy and Waldo decide to get creative. They put on an old trench coat, and now everyone at Bea Arthur Elementary thinks they are a new student named Salty from Liver, Ohio. Well, everyone except Stewart.
Sassy and Waldo love school! Everything smells like meat and dirty socks. And they discover a whole other way to help out Stewart!
Two-Headed Chicken by Tom Angleberger
Anything is possible in the multiverse, including a madcap adventure starring a plucky two-headed chicken. But look out—there’s a chicken-hungry moose in pursuit! In this fourth wall–breaking graphic novel, our double-headed hero is chased through dozens of bizarre universes, from an ocean planet with a disturbing mermoose (that you can never unsee) to a world where chickens drive cars, and even to a land covered with . . . pizza sauce? With each BZOOP! of the universe-hopping Astrocap, the only thing to expect is the unexpected.
Villains Academy by Ryan Hammond
Villains Academy is the most prestigious of villain schools where being bad feels so good and the classes are guaranteed to make students leave as fully formed villains…or in pieces! On werewolf Bram’s first day at Villains Academy, he doesn’t feel like a villain at all. The other monsters seem way scarier and more diabolical than he could ever be.
When it’s announced the coveted Villain of the Week trophy is up for grabs, Bram decides to prove himself by claiming the prize—but he’ll have to dig deep to connect with his inner villain. With the help of new friends Mona the elf-witch, Bryan the lion, Shelia the ghost, and Tony the skeleton, can Bram become the big bad he’s always dreamed of being?
The Yeti Files: Meet the Big Feet by Kevin Sherry
Blizz Richards is a great guy, a caring boss, and a loyal friend. Oh, yeah…he’s also a yeti! He’s made it his life’s mission to study cryptids like him, hidden animals who have taken a powerful oath to never be seen by the outside world. So when a photo of Cousin Brian becomes a media sensation, Brian can’t handle the guilt and disappears. But it’s time for the annual Bigfoot family reunion, and it won’t be the same without him. Luckily, Blizz and his devoted team are on the case. Can they find their furry friend before their secret gets out for good?In Kevin Sherry’s hilarious new illustrated series, you’ll meet a wide array of weird and wacky cryptids, from goblins and Goatman to skunk apes and Sasquatch–animals that you don’t believe exist. And it’s up to Blizz to keep it that way!
