Aaron Blabey, Apocalypse Meow (Bad Guys #4), Scholastic Australia, 140pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760158774
The Bad Guys consists of Mr Wolf, Mr Shark, Mr Snake and Mr Piranha, a bunch of very ugly looking ‘bad guys’ who, really when you get down to it, are actually very nice men who want to do good deeds and be heroes. Apocalypse Meow is the latest set of adventures that these blokes, in need of serious dental work, must undergo.
The men, assisted by the shapely Ms Fox and the mad genius denture-wearing alligator Granny Gumbo, must stop an army of zombie kittens – large numbers of furry, cute, flesh eating monsters called Zittens.
Blabey uses simple sentences, alliteration and toilet humour to appeal to young readers, for example:
Should you panic? Should you cry?
Should you poop your pants? NO!
Just sit back and watch the Fur Fly
as the BADDEST good guys
take on MAD MARMALADE’S
meowing monsters!
There are also plenty of fight scenes; Zittens biting people; characters showing expression with their bulging eyes and wide open mouths (so you can see how bad their teeth are), and the same characters making disgusting noises.
Children in junior primary who enjoy naughty words and concepts will love this book and the vivid sketches and limited number of words per page will make these stories accessible to children with reading difficulties.
Reviewed by Katy Gerner
