Aaron Blabey Popular Books

Aaron Blabey Biography & Facts

Aaron Blabey (born 1 January 1974) is an Australian author of children's books. He is the creator of three best-selling children's series; Pig the Pug – a picture book series about a rude, selfish, mean-spirited little dog, The Bad Guys – a New York Times #1 bestselling graphic novel series for junior readers about a gang of scary-looking animals trying to change their bad reputations and Thelma the Unicorn – a second picture book series about a plain little pony who pretends to be a unicorn. As of December 2022, Blabey has around 35 million books in print and his books have spent over 120 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. The Bad Guys first reached #1 on the list on 3 July 2019. On 22 April 2022 an animated movie adaptation of The Bad Guys from DreamWorks Animation starring Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson and Anthony Ramos premiered in the United States. Blabey served as an executive producer on the movie with Patrick Hughes and Etan Cohen. The movie opened at #1 at the U.S. box office and was the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2022. In May 2019, it was announced that Netflix is developing a movie-musical adaptation of Thelma the Unicorn with Blabey again serving as executive producer. Until 2005, Blabey was also an actor. In the field of acting, he is probably best known for his lead roles in two television dramedies, 1994's The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award, and 2003's CrashBurn, before retiring from performance in 2005. Personal life Aaron Blabey was born on January 1, 1974, in Bendigo, Australia. He married the actress and speech pathologist Kirstie Hutton in April 2000. They have two sons. Blabey supports The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, who work to protect children from violence. Career Acting Blabey appeared in various television and film roles throughout the 1990s and 2000s and took part in several theatrical productions.Besides his 1994 award for acting in a lead role, the Australian Film Institute also nominated him in 2000 for his guest-starring role in the series Stingers. Art From the mid-2000s, Blabey turned his attention away from acting and towards painting and created six separate solo exhibitions across Australia between 2004 and 2006. Early picture books Then in 2006, Blabey turned his focus entirely to the creation of children's picture books. The first of these, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, was published in July 2007. In 2008, the book received a Children's Book Council of Australia Award in the council's Early Childhood category. The book was also shortlisted for the CBCA's Crichton Award (given to new illustrators), The NSW Premier's Literature Awards – The Patricia Wrightson Award, and the Children's Peace Literature Award. In 2008, the book was also included on the Notable Book list from the Smithsonian Institution.His second book, Sunday Chutney, was published in 2008 and shortlisted for the CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2009 and the Australian Book Industry Awards 2009. His third book, Stanley Paste, was a CBCA Notable Book in the Picture Book category in 2010 as was The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon in 2012, which was also selected as a prestigious White Raven of 2012 by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon also won the Patricia Wrightson Award in 2013 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards and the 2013 Children's Peace Literature Award. In early 2014, Nick Cave selected The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon to record for the Story Box Library website. His fifth book, The Dreadful Fluff won the Best Designed Children's Cover of the Year by the Australian Publishers Association in 2013, which also saw the release of his critically acclaimed sixth title, Noah Dreary. This was followed by a picture book for adults entitled Babies Don't Suck – a guide for expectant new fathers. Blabey's seventh children’s book, The Brothers Quibble, which deals with sibling rivalry, was chosen as the National Simultaneous Storytime Book of 2015, and was read by over 500,000 children on 27 May 2015. Pig the Pug, Thelma the Unicorn and Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas In 2014 Blabey signed a three-book deal with Scholastic Australia beginning with Pig the Pug, a humorous picture book about a rude, selfish, mean-spirited dog (pug), who always gets into arguments and even fights with his rival playmate, the friendly, polite-mannered, good-hearted Trevor (dachshund). The book was an immediate hit in Australia and has since been translated into many languages and published around the world. It spawned a series of Pig books including Pig the Fibber (2015), Pig the Winner (2016), Pig the Elf (2016), Pig the Star (2017), Pig the Grub (2018), Pig the Tourist (2019), Pig the Slob (Blob) (2020), Pig the Monster (2021) and the final instalment Pig the Rebel (2022). The Pig books have sold millions of copies around the world, predominantly in the USA and Australia. The second book released from his initial three-book-deal was Thelma the Unicorn. This picture book – about a plain little pony who dreams of becoming a unicorn – has also become a bestseller. In combination with its sequel The Return of Thelma the Unicorn, it has sold millions of copies as well. In June 2019, it was announced that Netflix was developing an animated musical movie adaptation of Thelma the Unicorn, to be directed by Jared Hess (who wrote the script with his wife Jerusha) and Lynn Wang with animation provided by Mikros Image Montreal. Blabey served as an executive producer on the project. The film adaptation is set for release on May 17, 2024. The Bad Guys 2015 also saw the release of the first two instalments of Blabey's best-selling graphic novel series for junior readers, The Bad Guys. The humorous series follows the adventures of a gang of scary-looking, dangerous animals – Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha – who attempt to change their bad reputations by performing good deeds. In January 2018, The Bad Guys hit The New York Times Best Seller list (Children's Series) and have since remained there for many weeks. After 36 weeks on the list, The Bad Guys finally reached the number one spot on July 3 2019. As of December 2022, there are over 25 million Bad Guys books in print around the world and the series has spent over 120 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. On 9 March 2018 it was announced that an animated feature film adaptation of The Bad Guys was in development at DreamWorks Animation – with a screenplay by Etan Cohen. On 17 October 2019 the project went into production with a scheduled release date of 17 September 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release date was pushed back to 22 April 2022. The movie is directed by animator Pierre Perifel in his feature directorial debut and produced by Damon Ross and Rebecca Huntley and written by Etan Cohen and Hillary Winston. Blabey serves as an executive producer on the project.... Discover the Aaron Blabey popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Aaron Blabey books.

Best Seller Aaron Blabey Books of 2024

  • Happy Birthday Wombat synopsis, comments

    Happy Birthday Wombat

    Jackie French & Bruce Whatley

    Bestselling Mothball is back with birthday cake! (Carrot, of course.)She eats, she sleeps, she scratches. But today it's Mothball's birthday and it's time to celebrate!Created by ...

  • Grug Learns to Dance synopsis, comments

    Grug Learns to Dance

    Ted Prior

    Rediscover Grug, that unforgettable hero of the Australian bush. Jump and shout and do the Grruggg!

  • Grug synopsis, comments

    Grug

    Ted Prior

    Grug loves looking at the pictures in books, but one day he decides to teach himself how to read the words. Soon he can enjoy his favourite book of all Grug!

  • Boss Cat synopsis, comments

    Boss Cat

    Sarah Speedie

    A very funny 'pets behaving badly' story that will appeal to those who love the outrageous antics of Aaron Blabey's Pig the Pug and Mothball wombat in Diary of a Wombat.Napping on ...

  • G.O.A.T. synopsis, comments

    G.O.A.T.

    Jol Temple, Kate Temple & Rebel Challenger

    This hilarious picture book asks life’s most important question: who is the GREATEST OF ALL TIME?Goat thinks he’s pretty great in fact, his name stands for the Greatest Of All Tim...

  • Itty Bitty Betty Blob synopsis, comments

    Itty Bitty Betty Blob

    Constance Lombardo & Micah Player

    Itty Bitty Betty Blob wants to growl for the camera on monster picture day, but every year it goes wrong. Will practice make perfect? Or can Betty find a way to be her own blobby l...

  • Pig in Jeans synopsis, comments

    Pig in Jeans

    Brenda Li

    Introducing Pig in Jeans! A hilarious and endearing picture book about Brian, an extraordinary pig who loves to wear jeans and is always hiding silly things in his pockets!Meet Bri...

  • Grug Builds a Boat synopsis, comments

    Grug Builds a Boat

    Ted Prior

    Join Grug on his boatbuilding adventure!This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!

  • Grandma Wombat synopsis, comments

    Grandma Wombat

    Jackie French & Bruce Whatley

    'This is a cheeky story for grandparents to share with their grandkids' Reading TimeShe eats. She sleeps. She scratches.And like all grandmas, she thinks her grandson is the bestbe...

  • Weird School synopsis, comments

    Weird School

    Damian Callinan

    Some people think that all schools are the same. They might have different uniforms, slogans and emblems but in the end, there isn’t much difference between them … THESE PEOPLE ARE...

  • Grug and the Green Paint synopsis, comments

    Grug and the Green Paint

    Ted Prior

    Grug loves looking at the pictures in books, but one day he decides to teach himself how to read the words. Soon he can enjoy his favourite book of all Grug!

  • I Need a Hug synopsis, comments

    I Need a Hug

    Aaron Blabey

    Everyone needs a hug in this new, irresistibly funny picture book from Aaron Blabey, the bestselling creator of Pig the Pug!In I Need a Hug, a tiny porcupine just wants a cuddle. A...

  • Grug and His First Christmas Hardback synopsis, comments

    Grug and His First Christmas Hardback

    Ted Prior

    Jingle all the way to Christmas! The perfect gift for younger readers, now available in ebook for the first time. Grug's first Christmas means lots of lovely surprises for Grug's b...

  • Grug Goes To Hospital synopsis, comments

    Grug Goes To Hospital

    Ted Prior

    Grug loves looking at the pictures in books, but one day he decides to teach himself how to read the words. Soon he can enjoy his favourite book of all Grug!

  • Grug and His Kite synopsis, comments

    Grug and His Kite

    Ted Prior

    Startle the birds and touch the sky with Grug! This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!

  • Koala Bare synopsis, comments

    Koala Bare

    Jackie French

    FOR TOO LONG KOALAS HAVE BEEN CALLED BEARS For too long koalas have been called bears.But this koala is out to prove to the world that he is BARE!And that never, ever, ever can a k...

  • Party Animals synopsis, comments

    Party Animals

    Katherine Battersby

    Cranky Chicken and Speedy the worm are back in another laughoutloud, brightly illustrated, and heartwarming chapter book as Speedy tries to plan a party for a hungry Chickensure to...

  • Rosie the Rhinoceros synopsis, comments

    Rosie the Rhinoceros

    Jimmy Barnes

    From the awardwinning author and rock legend Jimmy Barnes and critically acclaimed illustrator Matt Shanks comes a book about the joy of being yourself.Who is Rosie?Is she a funlov...

  • Crankosaurus synopsis, comments

    Crankosaurus

    Katherine Battersby

    Cranky Chicken and Speedy the worm return in another “sweetly silly” (Kirkus Reviews) illustrated chapter book as Cranky plans a nap and the two friends find a mysterious eggsure t...

  • Grug at the Zoo synopsis, comments

    Grug at the Zoo

    Ted Prior

    Grug loves looking at the pictures in books, but one day he decides to teach himself how to read the words. Soon he can enjoy his favourite book of all Grug!

  • Thelma the Unicorn synopsis, comments

    Thelma the Unicorn

    Aaron Blabey

    Thelma is an ordinary pony who wishes with all her heart to be a unicorn.Thelma dreams of being a glamorous unicorn. Then in a rare pink and glitterfilled moment of fate, Thelma's ...

  • Grug and His Music synopsis, comments

    Grug and His Music

    Ted Prior

    March to the beat of your own drum, just like Grug! This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!

  • Wombat Wins synopsis, comments

    Wombat Wins

    Jackie French & Bruce Whatley

    The school sports day is on and Mothball wombat is competing! She eats. She sleeps. She scratches. But can this wombat win? From the awardwinning, bestselling creators of Diary of ...

  • Grug Builds a Car synopsis, comments

    Grug Builds a Car

    Ted Prior

    All aboard the Grugmobile, the only car designed and engineered by Grug! This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!

  • Chancho la estrella synopsis, comments

    Chancho la estrella

    Aaron Blabey

    ¡La versión en español de Pig the Star!El pug más egoísta del mundo quiere ser la estrella de una divertida sesión de fotos. Hasta aparta del camino a su buen amigo Tomás y acapara...

  • Cranky Chicken synopsis, comments

    Cranky Chicken

    Katherine Battersby

    Narwhal and Jelly meet The Bad Guys in this brightly illustrated, downright hilarious chapter book graphic novel full of “sweet, wholesome fun” (BCCB) about what happens when a ver...

  • Grug and the Circus synopsis, comments

    Grug and the Circus

    Ted Prior

    One day Grug was daydreaming when he saw the top of a very large tent. It was a circus!See what happens when Grug starts his own circus!

  • Grug at the Snow synopsis, comments

    Grug at the Snow

    Ted Prior

    Who is dashing through the snow on a homemade sleigh? Grug! This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!

  • Grug Plays Soccer synopsis, comments

    Grug Plays Soccer

    Ted Prior

    A brandnew goal for Cara and Grug! This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!

  • Grug Goes to School synopsis, comments

    Grug Goes to School

    Ted Prior

    Grug loves looking at the pictures in books, but one day he decides to teach himself how to read the words. Soon he can enjoy his favourite book of all Grug!