The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Pilkey creates a lot of fun by combining words and images. The narrative grabs readers' attention right away: two fourth-grade lads who like playing practical jokes and writing comic books end themselves in serious danger. Their cruel headmaster, Mr. Krupp, records George and Harold preparing for their antics on camera and makes threats to reveal them. When the lads hypnotize Krupp and send for a 3-D Hypno-Ring, they transform him into their own superhero, Captain Underpants, and their luck changes. Pilkey then adds many pages of flip-o-ramas to bring the action to life. Every page has straightforward black-and-white graphics that give it a comic-strip feel. Captain Underpants is on top of a towering structure, dazzling in white briefs, in the cover image. This book is going to be a bestseller.