Familiar faces and familiar themes reappear in Pilkey’s newest addition to the Captain Underpants family. George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the merry pranksters of his wildly popular series, are back, this time as authors of a “graphic novel.” Punished by their principal, Mr. Krupp, the boys are sentenced to write a 100-page essay on “Good Citizenship.” Of course, that doesn’t happen. The story of Super Diaper Baby is their not-so-contrite response to the punishment. There is plenty to be offended by in this truly “graphic” work. Adults and children who can spell well will surely be distracted and occasionally confused by the plethora of misspelled words and missing punctuation marks. The bad guy being turned into a giant “piece of poo” and many more visual and written references to human excrement will revolt grownups and embarrass some members of the intended audience. When Diaper Dog reassures the newly transformed Deputy Dangerous that it could be worse, “you could have been turned into diareah [sic],” most adults will consider closing the covers and turning to more serious fare. But most children get a delicious thrill from reading forbidden and naughty things, and Pilkey has filled this niche for the emergent reader. Silly puns abound. Scatological humor is the order of the day, crowned with a toilet-paper–wrapped Deputy Doo-Doo being delivered to, you guessed it, Uranus. Adults will want to use this book as a birdcage liner, and young readers with elementary senses of humor will revel in the humor and silliness. Some readers might feel encouraged to design their own comic books. More sophisticated readers will better appreciate the forbidden humor of Roald Dahl. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-37605-X
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2002
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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