The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung Fu Cavemen from the Future (Captain Underpants) - Softcover

Pilkey, Dav

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0545385776 ISBN 13: 9780545385770

Publisher: The Blue Sky Press, 2011

Synopsis

Meet Ook and Gluk, the stars of this sensationally silly graphic novel from the creators of Captain Underpants! It's 500,001 BC, and Ook and Gluk's hometown of Caveland, Ohio, is under attack by an evil corporation from the future. When Ook, Gluk, and their little dinosaur pal Lily are pulled through a time portal to 2222, they discover a future world that's even more devastated than their own. Luckily, they find a friend in Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who trains them in the ways of kung fu. Now all they have to do is travel back in time 502,223 years and save the day!

About this title

From the Author:

NOTES (from Pilkey.com)

"This book was partly inspired by a true story I once heard.

One day in a California kindergarten classroom, a little boy brought a REAL dinosaur tooth in for show and tell. The boy stood in front of the classroom told everyone all about the tooth. He knew how old the tooth was, and what kind of dinosaur it had come from. He even knew where the tooth had been dug up, and how much it was worth.

At the end of his presentation, he passed the tooth around so that all the children could go home and tell their families that they had actually touched a genuine dinosaur tooth that day. Everyone was FLOORED!

This was bad news for the next kid in line for show-and-tell that day. This kid didn't have anything cool to show the classroom and he knew it. All he had was a little toy ambulance. As he walked to front of the classroom clutching the unimpressive toy in his hand, I can only imagine the panic he must have felt. How can you top an ancient, rare dinosaur tooth with a common, everyday "Hot-Wheels" car?

Then, when he reached the front of the classroom, he did something amazing. He made up a tall tale.
"This ambulance," the boy told his fellow kindergartners, "is a pre-historic ambulance that is millions and millions of years old." The boy proceeded to tell his classmates about the ancient cavemen who used to use that particular ambulance when they drove through the jungle taking sick dinosaurs to the hospital.

The lies went on and on, getting sillier and wilder, until finally the boy passed the toy ambulance around so everyone could go home and tell their families that they had actually touched a pre-historic caveman ambulance that day. Most of the kids weren't sure if the tale was true or not (after all, they were only five years old), but they all had to admit: it was a good story.

The first time I heard this story, I got an image in my head. It was just a mental picture of two cavemen driving an ambulance through the jungle, on their way to the dinosaur hospital. One caveman had stringy yellow hair hanging in his eyes, a goatee, and a missing front tooth. The other had a big afro, mutton chops, and a handlebar moustache.

Later that day, I drew a sketch of these guys and their ancient ambulance. At the top of the sketch, I wrote the words "Ook and Gluk: Prehistoric Paramedics".

I liked the sketch very much, but not the title. The title needed something extra. So before I folded it up and put it in my pocket, I quickly scribbled the words "from the Future" at the end of the title.

Ook and Gluk: Prehistoric Paramedics from the Future. That sounded better. And somehow it seemed very plausible to me that these brave ambulance-driving cavemen might also be time travelers.

This all happened in the summer of 2005. For many months, I carried that drawing in my pocket and thought about those two cavemen. That's usually how I write books. I start with characters, then I think about those characters for a long time (sometimes YEARS). Often those characters will start "acting out" stories in my head, and occasionally those stories become books.

You might be wondering how Ook & Gluk went from pre-historic paramedics to Kung-fu Cavemen? Well, that's the funny thing about letting characters play in your head over several years. They take on a life of their own. Sometimes they refuse to do things you want them to do. Sometimes they start doing other things that you don't expect.

Every time I imagined Ook & Gluk, they were usually punching and kicking and fighting. They were always defending and protecting people and animals. I imagined their fighting was kind of like a martial art. Maybe like Kung-fu.

Then it hit me: "Kung-fu Cavemen". I really like the way that sounded.

I began to imagine that Ook and Gluk's childhoods were filled with dangerous chase scenes and silly pranks. These two cavekids were like pre-historic versions of George and Harold from the Captain Underpants books. Their teenage years were spent training their minds and disciplining their bodies, and their adulthoods were spent beating up bad guys and saving the world.
 As the story progressed in my head, it became less and less about sick dinosaurs and ambulance driving. By the time I finished writing, there wasn't even one ambulance in the whole story. Perhaps the prehistoric ambulance will have to wait for the sequel." -Dav Pilkey


Fun Facts:

1. Chief Goppernopper got his name from a book Dav Pilkey loved as a child. It was called The Children in the Jungle (1961) written by Lief Krantz and illustrated by Ulf Lofgren. The book is no longer in print, but it had beautiful, playful paintings--- some of which featured "The Goppernoppers", a tribe of fierce warriors who were out to capture three children who had painted a jungle in their playroom.

2. Lily was named after Dav's wife's brother's dog. Here are some pictures of her.

3. Professor Gaylord M. Sneedly, who appears on page 3 of this book, has a minor role in the 6th and 7th Captain Underpants books.

4. The Chinese symbol that Master Wong paints on page 94 means "Jing", and is usually translated as "respect". The word also can mean other things, such as admiration, awe, and/or discipline.

5. The lines "Lily, don't be a hero!" and "Don't be a fool with your life!" (page 115) refer to a song from the 1970's called "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. This song was also referenced in the book The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby and Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers.

6. Dav's wife, Sayuri coined the term: "Cavemonics".

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: The Blue Sky Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0545385776
• ISBN 13: 9780545385770
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Pilkey Dav