Below is the complete list of Aaron Blabey books in order. For each series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Game of Pets Books
Publication Order of Pig the Pug Books
Publication Order of The Bad Guys Books
Publication Order of Picture Books
About Aaron Blabey
Aaron Blabey is an Australian author, illustrator, and former actor best known for creating The Bad Guys, Pig the Pug, and Thelma the Unicorn. His books combine bold cartoon artwork, rapid visual storytelling, irreverent comedy, and characters whose flaws are central to their appeal. Although much of his work is aimed at children, his humor often operates on several levels, helping his books develop a broad international readership and inspiring major screen adaptations.
Blabey was born in Australia on January 1, 1974. Before establishing himself in publishing, he worked extensively as an actor. During the 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared in Australian film and television productions, including the series Water Rats. He later moved away from acting and concentrated increasingly on writing and illustration.
His career as a children’s author began with picture books. Early works such as Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley demonstrated the combination of simple storytelling and expressive illustration that would become characteristic of his work. The book, about two very different friends whose personalities complement each other, received recognition from the Children’s Book Council of Australia and helped establish Blabey as a significant new voice in Australian children’s publishing.
A major breakthrough followed with Pig the Pug in 2014. Pig is a greedy, selfish, temperamental pug who lives with the much more agreeable Trevor, a dachshund. Pig repeatedly refuses to share, behaves badly, or becomes consumed by some new obsession, usually discovering the consequences of his behavior in spectacular fashion.
The Pig the Pug books became especially successful with younger readers because Blabey communicates much of the comedy through exaggerated expressions, physical action, rhyme, and page turns. The stories address subjects such as sharing, honesty, manners, greed, competition, and friendship without turning Pig into a model of perfect behavior. His refusal to learn lessons easily is part of the joke.
Blabey created another enduring picture-book character with Thelma the Unicorn. Thelma begins as an ordinary pony who dreams of becoming a glamorous unicorn. When an accidental transformation appears to grant her wish, she experiences fame and attention before discovering their less attractive consequences. The story and its sequel, The Return of Thelma the Unicorn, explore identity, celebrity, friendship, and being comfortable with oneself.
His largest series is The Bad Guys, launched in 2015. Presented in a hybrid style combining illustrated chapter book, comic strip, and graphic novel, the series follows Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Piranha. These animals have terrible reputations, but Mr. Wolf decides that they should reinvent themselves as heroes.
Their attempts at doing good rarely proceed according to plan. Blabey plays with familiar fictional stereotypes—the dangerous wolf, frightening shark, sinister snake, and ferocious piranha—while building an increasingly elaborate adventure around friendship and the difference between reputation and character. As the series develops, its scale expands far beyond the simple rescue missions of the earliest books into science-fiction, superhero, and apocalyptic territory.
The Bad Guys became an international publishing success and was adapted by DreamWorks Animation into the 2022 feature film The Bad Guys. The film retained the basic concept and central characters while creating its own version of their story. Its success expanded the franchise beyond the original books and led to further animated screen projects, including the feature sequel The Bad Guys 2.
Blabey’s work reached another large audience when Thelma the Unicorn was adapted as an animated Netflix film in 2024. As with The Bad Guys, the adaptation reflects how readily his visually driven storytelling translates to animation.
Beyond his best-known franchises, Blabey has written and illustrated numerous picture books, including Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas, I Need a Hug, Don’t Call Me Bear!, Bustard, Stanley Paste, and Sunday Chutney. Many share his interest in outsiders, difficult personalities, mismatched friendships, and characters determined to define themselves rather than accept the identities others assign to them.
Blabey’s illustrations are inseparable from his writing. Facial expressions, typography, panel composition, repetition, and sudden visual reveals frequently deliver jokes that the words alone would not convey. This makes his books particularly approachable for emerging or reluctant readers while still giving them sophisticated control over comic timing.
Across his work, Aaron Blabey repeatedly finds humor in imperfect characters. Pig is selfish, Thelma is seduced by fame, and the Bad Guys begin with reputations built around fear and villainy. Rather than removing those flaws, Blabey makes them the engine of the story. His characters stumble toward friendship and self-understanding through spectacular mistakes, giving his books their distinctive combination of chaos, warmth, and comic energy.