Sarcastic, rebellious, inappropriate. Parents: would you encourage your elementary-aged child to hang out with someone described that way? If your seven to nine year olds are reading some of the most popular books for that age group, then they’re making literary friends with characters like that. But don’t worry. Don’t snatch those books out of their hands. Those books are totally age appropriate. Their ironic, satirical, disrespectful tone could actually be comforting to them. Facing up to the “bad guys” in the world, by reading books about them, can help kids grow. Let’s take a look at some examples.

The shark and his buddies in Scholastic’s Bad Guy series are, as the title proclaims, bad. Author Aaron Blabey brings together the worst of the animal kingdom: a piranha, a snake, the big, bad wolf—and they all have criminal records. Sure they do bad stuff, but as we read we realize they maybe have good hearts and are often just misunderstood. Does that describe your child, just a bit? I think the kids who love these books identify with this feeling. Sure our kids make mistakes, but maybe we should all try understanding life from their perspective.

My Fox Ate My Homework is about a child, Joe, who meets a talking fox and a chicken who lays rotten eggs (that smell like farts). Joe and the fox get in trouble but it all happens while Joe interacts with a bully and has to deal with lots of unfairness. Is your child struggling to stand his or her ground? Are things in their life unfair? Can you think of ways your own kids can sympathize with this type of story?

Maybe books with a subversive tone are popular among second, third, and fourth graders today partly because they match the sense of humor of many seven to nine year olds (stinky rotten eggs—hilarious!). Maybe they resonate with today’s kids for deeper reasons, too.

Parents, don’t be scared by the casual sarcasm of these stories. There may be something comforting for these kids as they read about bad actors with good hearts who figure out how to be vindicated and find friendship in challenging circumstances.