Released: 1997
Published by: Scholastic Paperback
Source: Library (Overdrive)
Book Summary: Captain Underpants is not your average superhero! Even his "costume" is different from the conventional superhero's. Find out if and how his powers are different in this book of one of his epic adventures!
Reference: Pilkey, D. (1997). The adventures of Captain Underpants: An epic novel. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.
*MY IMPRESSIONS*
This is a book I wouldn't normally pick up. It just isn't my cup of tea. Maybe I would've been a fan of it when I was younger, but now it just seemed a little crazy.
I can see why some adults would want to censor it. There were bathroom jokes, children talking bad about and to authoritative figures, and many other things. Like me, I'm sure there were many adults that didn't find this book interesting but the children would still love it. These are things they would see as funny.
One thing I had to remember when reading this was that this book was not written for someone like me. This book was made for children who may find the things they were talking about funny or see the children in the book disobeying and think that it's cool because it's something they can't do, but I didn't think it was funny at all. Not because I thought it would make the children start doing bad things, but because it just wasn't funny to me.
I can see why some adults would want to censor it. There were bathroom jokes, children talking bad about and to authoritative figures, and many other things. Like me, I'm sure there were many adults that didn't find this book interesting but the children would still love it. These are things they would see as funny.
One thing I had to remember when reading this was that this book was not written for someone like me. This book was made for children who may find the things they were talking about funny or see the children in the book disobeying and think that it's cool because it's something they can't do, but I didn't think it was funny at all. Not because I thought it would make the children start doing bad things, but because it just wasn't funny to me.
Overall, I give this
Professionals are saying...
Gr 2-4--Pilkey plays with words and pictures, providing great entertainment. The story is immediately engaging--two fourth-grade boys who write comic books and who love to pull pranks find themselves in big trouble. Mean Mr. Krupp, their principal, videotapes George and Harold setting up their stunts and threatens to expose them. The boys' luck changes when they send for a 3-D Hypno-Ring and hypnotize Krupp, turning him into Captain Underpants, their own superhero creation. Later, Pilkey includes several pages of flip-o-ramas that animate the action. The simple black-and-white illustrations on every page furnish comic-strip appeal. The cover features Captain Underpants resplendent in white briefs, on top of a tall building. This book will fly off the shelves.
Retrieved from: Hopf, M. M. (1997, December 1). [Review of the book The aventures of Captain Underpants: The first epic novel, by Dav Pilkey]. School Library Journal, 43(12), 99. Retrieved from www.slj.com.
Retrieved from: Hopf, M. M. (1997, December 1). [Review of the book The aventures of Captain Underpants: The first epic novel, by Dav Pilkey]. School Library Journal, 43(12), 99. Retrieved from www.slj.com.
Library Uses:
I would use this one to tell the students to make their own superhero! I'd give them some crafts supplies and tell them to make them as crazy as they could.
Book Image from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/207266.The_Adventures_of_Captain_Underpants