The Adventures of Captain Underpants Paperback – September 1, 1997

It was not long ago that I treated an irrepressible 8 year old boy at the children's hospital where I worked. This kid was something else. He was smart, articulate and bubbly. We got to talking about books, and I told him about Roald Dahl's 'The Twits' (one of my long-standing favourites by that author). "Have you read Captain Underpants?" he asked me. Then he proceeded to regale me with the story of Mr Krupp and Harold and George. I was intrigued.At the follow-up appointment, my patient brought me one of his own copies of Captain Underpants, so I could see what he was going on about. I promised him the next time he came for an appointment, I would have read the whole series. His mom told me later, "You're the only doctor here who's willing to read Captain Underpants. You're doing pretty well."And here I am. I read Captain Underpants and I thoroughly loved it. It is one of the most banned books in libraries in the US, which probably goes to show you that it is extremely effective at engaging its target audience. I laughed in delight, reading the adventures of Harold and George, and remembered all the childhood hours I spent with my brother thinking up practical jokes that landed us in trouble again and again. I remembered the stink bombs, the fart spray, the whoopee cushions, and simply remembered what it was like to be a kid.I have read a few of the reviews that express concern that the series encourages defiance of authority, but I have several points to make in response. Firstly, the authority figures in the book should be challenged. Quite frankly, if kids had to attend a school where the principal punished naughty behaviour by making them clean his house and mow his lawn, I would mount a protest. That is a highly inappropriate punishment. Secondly, I seriously doubt that reading Captain Underpants is going to turn a kid into a criminal or miscreant of the justice system. If you really looked at the kinds of things that turn kids into criminals, reading books is not one of them. Thirdly, Captain Underpants was wonderfully imaginative. It turns mundane things into objects of great potential (nefarious or otherwise). I love that it encourages kids to dream and imagine, and not be confined by the dictates of our time. If not for challenging ideas, we wouldn't know that the earth revolved around the sun, or that gravity makes apples fall to the ground, or that spores from a fungus (penicillin) could be critical in treating infection.Let's let kids enjoy being kids. Heaven knows, growing up isn't much fun. And for the love of all that is cotton-y and pre-shrunk, if they love the Captain, let them read it.

This book is great! As a 12 year old, I'm obviously pretty old to be reading this book, but when I was younger, I read this book, and it definitely helped me love to read. I think that this book falls in the 3rd-4th grade age level.Some of the other reviews said that this book would make you hate school and make you say potty talk and stuff. Some even said it woul make your kid a "juvinile delinquet"... (not sure if I spelled that correctly). Anyway, I'm proud to say that (though I can't help the potty talk, but what type of kid can?) I have sraight A's, and I am very good at sports, though I don't know how that has much to do with anything!Anyway, I think that the main characters, George and Harold, are very clever and funny. They must be good at english and art too if they make comic books. I wish my school had signs where you can switch around the letters! Read the book and you will know what I'm talking about.Mr. Krupp is the perfect villian. He actually turns into "the greatest superhero of all time" with a 3-D Hypno Ring. Now the villian has turned into a hero, gets into lots of trouble, and George and Harold have lots of adventures.New villians show up through the series, and George and Harold fight them off. The wisecracks make this book halarious. There is also some random grown-up humor! The stories are not too complicated, and the comics are supercool!As a kid, I suggest to other kids to read this book. You will laugh. If you don't want to act like a kid, if you want to be all grown-upy, I don't know what's wrong with you, but I think that this book is totally worth reading. If you are 8 years old or 100, you will still love this book so much!!Wow, I must admit I'm proud of that last speech!

It was a quick fun read. A nice break from "grown up" books. I enjoyed the little boys. The reminded me of my kiddos.

The movie was getting stellar reviews so I had to see what all the hubbub was about. So I wanted to read the book first before seeing the movie.I had already read about Dav Pilkey on Wikipedia and was intrigued by his back story. I was also a troublemaker in Elementary school and loved drawing in class, and in fact I still do to this day. I'm a graphic designer for a local newspaper. But I always wanted to be a comic book artist. However, things never quite pan out when you're older but this book literally transported me back to my childhood. I laughed like I was a kid again and was so surprised I was actually reading a children's book.Please just trust me and read this one, at least with your kids. It's such a great book. The pacing, humor, and silliness are wonderful. It literally exercises your imagine with such creativity by the author.I needed that read. So thank you, Mr. Pilkey.Now if you'll excuse me, it's Labor Day today and I have to go to work in a few hours so I guess I better get some sleep. 👔 Eh, we gotta grow up sometime, right?