Excerpt: 'Captain Underpants'

January 14, 2013
http://www.npr.org/books/titles/169328255/captain-underpants-and-the-revolting-revenge-of-the-radioactive-robo-boxers?tab=excerpt

CHAPTER 12

CALLING ALL CAVEMEN

"How are we ever going to get out of THIS mess?" asked Harold.

"I don't know," said George. "But we're going to need Tippy Tinkletrousers if we ever want to get back home!"

"Are you kidding?" said Harold. "We can't trust that guy! He can't even trust himself!"

"I know," said George. "But Tippy has a time machine, and we don't. So we're going to have to defeat him!"

"But we'd need an army to defeat that guy," said Harold.

"So let's go get an army," said George.

The four friends glided above the grassy plains as they followed the sounds of beating drums. Soon, they arrived at the forest.

The drumming was getting louder. Crackers swooped down and landed behind some bushes near the caves. Just beyond them was the cavepeople village.

George and Harold and Crackers and Sulu peeked over the thick bushes as they watched the cavemen and cavewomen go about their daily routines. They seemed peaceful, so George decided to speak up.

"Hello!" said George. "We come in peace! We are friends!" The cavepeople looked confused and startled. They did not seem to understand.

"Maybe they don't speak English," said Harold.

"Ellohay!" said George (who only spoke one other language). "Eway omecay inway eacepay! Eway areway iendsfray!"

That didn't work either.

The cavepeople grunted and sniffed at George and Harold and their pets. But they said nothing. Suddenly, off in the distance, the sounds of gigantic footsteps came thundering through the deep forest. Tippy was coming, and he was getting closer and closer with each terrifying stomp.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THAT VILLAGE!" Tippy screamed. "But you can't hide from ME!!!"

Tippy crashed through the trees and stomped into the village, kicking over huts and smooshing everything in sight. The terrified cavepeople grabbed their children and ran for the safety of the caves behind their village. George and Harold and Crackers and Sulu ran into the caves also, and hid with the cavepeople in the darkness as the destruction outside continued.

After a while, some caveteenagers started a campfire. The flickering light illuminated the massive walls of the caves as the cavepeople whimpered and huddled together in horror. "Wow!" said George. "Some army they turned out to be!"

"It's not their fault," said Harold. "They've never seen giant Robo-Pants before. They're just scared!"

"If we could only communicate with them," said George. "There's gotta be some way to reach them!"

Harold looked up at the giant, blank walls of the cave. "How about pictures?" he asked. "Hey! Good idea," said George.

Harold walked over to the campfire and grabbed a charred, smoking stick from the burning cinders. Then he went to one side of the giant cave and started to create the world's first cave drawing.

At first, the cavepeople were astonished. They had never seen anybody draw before. They laughed and pointed and jumped up and down every time Harold drew something new.

But when Harold drew Tippy and his Robo-Pants, the cavepeople became frightened. They grunted nervously and lowered their heads in fear and submission.

"Wow," said Harold. "How are we ever gonna change their minds about Tippy?" "I know," said George. "Let's make a wordless comic! They'll understand that!" "Good idea!" said Harold. "Let's do it!" So George and Harold found a ladder and began creating the world's very first comic.

The cavepeople watched with excitement as George and Harold's tale unfolded. Soon, their opinions about Tippy and his Robo-Pants began to evolve.

CHAPTER 12

CALLING ALL CAVEMEN

"How are we ever going to get out of THIS mess?" asked Harold.

"I don't know," said George. "But we're going to need Tippy Tinkletrousers if we ever want to get back home!"

"Are you kidding?" said Harold. "We can't trust that guy! He can't even trust himself!"

"I know," said George. "But Tippy has a time machine, and we don't. So we're going to have to defeat him!"

"But we'd need an army to defeat that guy," said Harold.

"So let's go get an army," said George.

The four friends glided above the grassy plains as they followed the sounds of beating drums. Soon, they arrived at the forest.

The drumming was getting louder. Crackers swooped down and landed behind some bushes near the caves. Just beyond them was the cavepeople village.

George and Harold and Crackers and Sulu peeked over the thick bushes as they watched the cavemen and cavewomen go about their daily routines. They seemed peaceful, so George decided to speak up.

"Hello!" said George. "We come in peace! We are friends!" The cavepeople looked confused and startled. They did not seem to understand.

"Maybe they don't speak English," said Harold.

"Ellohay!" said George (who only spoke one other language). "Eway omecay inway eacepay! Eway areway iendsfray!"

That didn't work either.

The cavepeople grunted and sniffed at

George and Harold and their pets. But they said nothing. Suddenly, off in the distance, the sounds of gigantic footsteps came thundering through the deep forest. Tippy was coming, and he was getting closer and closer with each terrifying stomp.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THAT VILLAGE!" Tippy screamed. "But you can't hide from ME!!!"

Tippy crashed through the trees and stomped into the village, kicking over huts and smooshing everything in sight. The terrified cavepeople grabbed their children and ran for the safety of the caves behind their village. George and Harold and Crackers and Sulu ran into the caves also, and hid with the cavepeople in the darkness as the destruction outside continued.

After a while, some caveteenagers started a campfire. The flickering light illuminated the massive walls of the caves as the cavepeople whimpered and huddled together in horror. "Wow!" said George. "Some army they turned out to be!"

"It's not their fault," said Harold. "They've never seen giant Robo-Pants before. They're just scared!"

"If we could only communicate with them," said George. "There's gotta be some way to reach them!"

Harold looked up at the giant, blank walls of the cave. "How about pictures?" he asked. "Hey! Good idea," said George.

Harold walked over to the campfire and grabbed a charred, smoking stick from the burning cinders. Then he went to one side of the giant cave and started to create the world's first cave drawing.

At first, the cavepeople were astonished. They had never seen anybody draw before. They laughed and pointed and jumped up and down every time Harold drew something new.

But when Harold drew Tippy and his Robo-Pants, the cavepeople became frightened. They grunted nervously and lowered their heads in fear and submission.

"Wow," said Harold. "How are we ever gonna change their minds about Tippy?" "I know," said George. "Let's make a

wordless comic! They'll understand that!" "Good idea!" said Harold. "Let's do it!" So George and Harold found a ladder and

began creating the world's very first comic.

The cavepeople watched with excitement as George and Harold's tale unfolded. Soon, their opinions about Tippy and his Robo-Pants began to evolve.

From Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, by Dav Pilkey. Copyright 2013 by Dav Pilkey. Reproduced with permission from Scholastic.

Captain Underpants Is Back!

Hold On To Your Tighty Whities, Captain Underpants Is Back!
ELIZABETH BLAIR
January 15, 2013
http://www.npr.org/2013/01/15/169326364/hold-on-to-your-tighty-whities-captain-underpants-is-back

Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers
by Dav Pilkey
Hardcover, 214 pages

Let's face it. When you're a kid, sometimes adults can be a real drag. The new Captain Underpants book puts it this way: "Did you ever notice how grown-ups hate it when kids are having fun?"

Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books are all about kids who get in trouble for having mischievous fun. With potty humor, wacky illustrations, and names like Tippy Tinkletrousers and Professor Poopypants, small wonder the books are hugely popular. Every book in the series has made it to USA Today's best-seller list. The folks at Scholastic are counting on the new one — Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers — to do just as well.

At the Robert E. Smith Library in New Orleans, 8-year-old Aidan Caliva says he loves the silliness of Captain Underpants. One of his favorites is Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy. In that one, protagonists George Beard and Harold Hutchins get busted for leaving ketchup packets under the toilet seat in a prank they call "Squishy."

Sundiata Haley, 7, thinks the title of his favorite Captain Underpants book is too long — Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds). But he's clearly tickled when he reads Captain Underpants' battle cry, "I am here to fight for truth, justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony."

Author Dav Pilkey even talks smack about grown-ups. In the new Captain Underpants book, he writes: "If you're like most kids you're probably reading this book because some adult wanted you to stop playing video games or watching TV." Pilkey says that when he writes for kids, "it's really an 'us and them' type of situation. It's like me and the kids versus the grown-ups."

Pilkey says there's a lot of him in the Captain Underpants series. He says he remembers what it was like to be a kid who got in trouble for his pranks. He also remembers what it was like to be a struggling reader. "I remember every kid in the class would have to stand up and read a chapter from our history book or something. And whenever it was my turn, everyone would just kind of groan, like 'Ugh, Pilkey's reading again.' And it just took me so long to get through it. I had all these really negative associations with reading. I just hated it," he says.

So he wanted to make a children's book that even kids like him would find irresistible. But some grown-ups, true to form, think it's inappropriate for the heroes of a children's book to be such troublemakers. George and Harold are big-time pranksters. They draw a comic strip in which they turn their mean principal into the superhero Captain Underpants who wears nothing but a red cape and underwear. This, and other bad-boy behavior, has landed Captain Underpants on the American Library Association's "Hit List," the annual top 10 list of most-complained about books. Pat Scales, chair of the ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee, says, "The No. 1 complaint is — this is kind of funny — nudity. I guess because the superhero has on jockey shorts. [Also] vulgar language, and they feel that kids are being taught not to obey authority."

In the books, the principal hates George and Harold's comic strip. Some parents have problems with it too, not for the content, but for all the misspellings. "Laugh" is spelled "laff." "Trouble" is spelled "trubbel." Rex Exnicios, 7, from New Orleans says that really bugs his mom. "She gets really mad ... She just says, 'That's misspelled,' and then says, 'This is how you actually spell it,' and then she spells it," he says.

Scales says Exnicios' mom is on the right track. Scales — who's a big fan of Captain Underpants — wants grown-ups to take it a step further and use George and Harold's mistakes as an opportunity to teach kids about literature. "What I would ask kids is, 'How does this represent the character of the two boys?' and 'What kind of students do you think they are?' And then you take it a step further," she says, "and have the kids write it out properly and say, 'How does this change the tone ... and how does this change the humor of the book?' "

Eventually, kids figure out how to spell the words correctly, says Scales. That's what happened to Titus Adkins from Brooklyn. He's a senior in high school. He says that when he was little, the Captain Underpants books were the only ones he liked. They were also the jumping-off point to more books. "I started reading Chronicles of Narnia when I was in second grade because of Captain Underpants," says Adkins. "It was because it was a book my mom told me to read. She said it was sort of like Captain Underpants. She kind of lied to me to get me to read it."

A trick that could've come straight out of Captain Underpants. Adkins says he got hooked on the Narnia books, too.