The Adventures of Captain Underpants - Softcover

Dav Pilkey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590846280 ISBN 13: 9780590846288

Publisher: Scholastic, 1997

Synopsis

Fourth graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins are a couple of class clowns. The only thing they enjoy more than playing practical jokes is creating their own comic books. And together they've created the greatest superhero in the history of their elementary school: Captain Underpants! His true identity is SO secret, even HE doesn't know who he is!

About this title

From the Author:

NOTES (from Pilkey.com):

This book is based on a superhero that Dav Pilkey invented way back in 1973 when he was a second-grader. The comics that Dav made were very much like the comic book that George and Harold sell on the playground in Chapter 3.

When I began making children's books in 1986, my goal was to one day make a book about Captain Underpants. I wrote several different versions of this story, including a 48-page comic book, but every publisher who saw it turned it down. When the book was finally accepted in 1996, it was a real dream come true! -- Dav Pilkey

Many of the things in the book are taken directly from Dav's childhood: the practical jokes, the comics, even the cheesy animation technique called "Flip-O-Rama" (Dav and his friends used to amuse themselves by making these flip-action animated pictures in elementary school).

Dav Pilkey had dyslexia when he was a kid. He was always discouraged by wordy texts, small type, and lengthy chapters.

My goal with The Adventures of Captain Underpants was to make a chapter book that SEEMED like a picture book. So I wrote incredibly short chapters and tried to fill each page with more pictures than words. I wanted to create a book that kids who don't like to read would want to read. -- Dav Pilkey


Fun Facts:
1. George and Harold's first names were inspired by one of Dav Pilkey's favorite movies, It's A Wonderful Life (directed by Frank Capra). This is a film about two brothers named George and Harold Bailey, and how George's life is changed dramatically when an angel gives him a chance to see what the world would have been like if he'd never been born.
2. George and Harold's last names (Beard and Hutchins) were the last names of Dav's two favorite "Little Rascals" (a.k.a. Hal Roach's Rascals, a.k.a. Our Gang) characters: "Stimey (Matthew Beard)" and "Wheezer (Bobby Hutchins)".
3. George and Harold's school, Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, got it's name from "Curly" of "The Three Stooges". Curly's given name was Jerome Horwitz.
4. If you look at the box on page 45, you'll note that George and Harold live in Piqua, Ohio. Dav Pilkey chose Piqua as the setting because it used to be known as the Underwear Capital of the World. Every year Piqua hosts an "Underwear Festival"! It seemed like the perfect place!

About the Author:

"Considered one of the most popular contemporary authors for readers in elementary school, (Dav Pilkey) is also regarded as a talented artist and inventive humorist as well as a subtle moralist. ...He underscores his works--even at their most outrageous--with a philosophy that emphasizes friendship, tolerance, and generosity and celebrates the triumph of the good-hearted." -The Educational Book & Media Association

Dav Pilkey is the Caldecott Honor Award-winning creator of more than 40 books for children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0590846280
• ISBN 13: 9780590846288
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 121