I know, I know, the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey is not one of those weighty banned books – but boy is it fun! My son, a typically reluctant reader, was introduced to the series when I brought them home from work. Reading together, we laughed and laughed. Short chapters, lots of pictures and of course, the bathroom humor, kept him begging for more and then, magically, reading them himself. It didn’t hurt that the stars of the series, George and Harold, kids bent more on drawing than academics, beat the bad guys every time.
George and Harold, two clever class clowns who write and sell comic books to their classmates about a caped, undies wearing superhero, also manage to thwart the school establishment with silly pranks. One day, while hypnotizing their crabby principal Mr. Krupp, he accidentally turns into their comic character Captain Underpants. Together, they fight bad guys named Professor Poopypants or the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space.
The Captain Underpants series has been questioned for violence (due to the clever Flip-o-ramas, live action scenes of our heroes’ close calls), inappropriate language and ‘modeling bad behavior’. Yes, the language can be crass, but is also full of alliteration and wordplay like teachers named Miss Anthrope. Yes, George and Harold are a bit rebellious, but their pranks are harmless and hilarious. In the end, what’s essential is that kids will read what they like and they like Captain Underpants a lot. And whatever gets them reading is “Tra-la-la” to my ears.
~ Dori
Read it or Weep 