The Adventures of Captain Underpants (Collectors' Edition with Bonus CD Included) [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Dav Pilkey (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005 | Age Range: 7 and up

This special 8 1/2th Anniversary Edition of the book that started the Captain Underpants craze features a lenticular paper-over-board cover and a top-secret bound-in component for just $9.95.

When Dav Pilkey began drawing pictures of an underwear-clad, wedgie-giving superhero as a second grader, his teacher said, "You'd better start taking life more seriously, because you can't spend the rest of your days making silly books!" Luckily for us, Dav didn't listen, and Captain Underpants was born. Now, kids everywhere can enjoy this special edition of the book that started it all--with an awesome lenticular cover and a super-cool value-added component that's so amazing, so fun, and so top-secret that you'll just have to buy it to find out!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?Pilkey plays with words and pictures, providing great entertainment. The story is immediately engaging?two fourth-grade boys who write comic books and who love to pull pranks find themselves in big trouble. Mean Mr. Krupp, their principal, videotapes George and Harold setting up their stunts and threatens to expose them. The boys' luck changes when they send for a 3-D Hypno-Ring and hypnotize Krupp, turning him into Captain Underpants, their own superhero creation. Later, Pilkey includes several pages of flip-o-ramas that animate the action. The simple black-and-white illustrations on every page furnish comic-strip appeal. The cover features Captain Underpants, resplendent in white briefs, on top of a tall building. This book will fly off the shelves.?Mary M. Hopf, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 2^-4. The title and the cover art, which depicts a toothy, egg-shaped fellow in a red cape and jockey shorts, are designed to keep this chapter book in constant circulation. The story is a superhero spoof: two misbehaving fourth-grade boys, Harold and George, hypnotize their school principal and turn him into their comic book creation, Captain Underpants. The boys have their hands full when the captain escapes and starts chasing bad guys in his underwear. The extra leading and slightly enlarged typeface make for easier reading, but the silliness goes overboard (picture villainous Dr. Diaper staring at a pile of rubber doggy doo), and the many action-packed illustrations rob the plot of some of its zip by commanding more than their share of attention. (The flip book pages seem clever, but they're really just a tease). Still, the humor is on target for some kids in this age group, who will undoubtedly look forward to a planned second adventure--Captain Underpants 2: Attack of the Talking Toilets. Stephanie Zvirin --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: The Blue Sky Press; HAR/CDR CO edition (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439756685
• ISBN-13: 978-0439756686
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More 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

PRAISE FOR CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS:

"Combines empowerment and empathy with age-appropriate humor and action" - BOOKLIST

"For every downtrodden fun-seeking kid who never wanted to read a book." - SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

"(One of the) 5 Books That All Children Should Read" - HEALTHY FAMILY MATTERS

"They'll (parents) appreciate children laughing as they dive in and page through this old-fashioned thing called a book." - THE NEW YORK TIMES

Dav Pilkey is the Caldecott Honor Award-winning author and illustrator of more than 40 books for children. Check out his award-winning website at www.Pilkey.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is awesome and incredibly funny January 20, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I just finished reading this to my 3 sons, ages 4, 6, and 8 and the four of us couldn't stop laughing. It's a wonderfully silly story. Even the flip pages were really well done. (I expected them to be lame.) As soon as the boys heard that there was another adventure of Captain Underpants on the way, I was entreated to get it. Definitely. I bought this book because the title was different and because we've read all of the Dragon books and Hallo-weiner and loved them all. We were NOT disappointed.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars We loved it! November 19, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

My son has been running around in a cape since *before* he graduated from diapers to (superhero) underpants, so I picked this book based solely upon the title, and the fact that the hero wore a cape.

This book (I now see) is for 9-12 year-old readers. My son is 5. But we read it straight through (all 122 pages!), and we laughed and laughed! The silly antics of George and Harold, and especially the Amazing Captain Underpants (Tra La Laaaaaa!) made me feel like a fourth-grader again. What better comment on a book than it allowed me to hear my 5-year-old giggle?

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the Amazing Flip-O-Rama... February 2, 2000

By A. Creech

Format:Hardcover

I laughed aloud at the "Amazing Flip-O_Rama" pages. For those of you who don't know, "Flip-O-Rama" is "the cheesy animation technique that lets you animate the action yourself". Don't forget to add your own sound effects. In fact, you'll be laughing so hard you might have trouble with the sound effects, but who cares! This is THE book if you have kids who aren't really into reading. Everybody who sees it at my work (I work in a library) has to pick it up and look at it--and before they know it, they are laughing out loud. Read the others too (read the fourth one, about Evil Professor Poopypants, and you'll be changing your name!).

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Teacher's Grade: A+ July 16, 2006

By N. Bilmes VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

In my dozen years of teaching 2nd grade, there has never been a better book for motivating reluctant boy readers to read than this one. Pilkey's humorous story and illustrations compel the reluctant readers to keep going, and turn the page to see what happens next. The story is delightfully zany and full of humor that is geared for kids. The great thing about Pilkey's writing is that there's also humor geared toward adults that the kids won't have any idea is there!

This is terrific to read-aloud to kids, or to have them read in small-group reading settings.

A winner!

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars a negative comment May 21, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

My son thought this book was hilarious, and I think most kids would....so I am hesitant to criticize something that encourages kids to read so much. But the fact is that I don't want my son growing up thinking it's "cool" and "fun" to pull pranks on other people like the main characters in this book do; I also want him to understand that people such as principals do need to be shown basic respect, even if one doesn't particularly like them. So because of that I'm not going to get other books in this series. There are tons of other chapter books that are funny and can encourage my son to love reading.

On the positive side, it's fabulous that the two main characters in this book are very creative, making their own comic books (which will encourage creativity in kids who read these books); and, one friend is black and one is white. Because this inter-racial friendship is presented without ever making an issue of it I think it is a positive friendship model for children.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ATTENTION PARENTS OF RELUCTANT READERS!!!!: January 28, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

My son is a typical 8 year old boy. Passing gas is the hit of his life. Up with recess! Down with studies! How can you get through to a kid like this? Let alone get him to want to read?

ANSWER: Buy and read THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!!!!! Just with that name and the cover picture alone, I knew he would be interested. But I never expected him to read it COVER TO COVER, BY HIMSELF, THREE TIMES, IN THE FIRST SITTING!!!!

I took this book with me to my son's gymnastics team practice to praise it up and down to the parents of the boys on his team (quite a few were reluctant readers too). Some parents raised an eyebrow, but as the book made the rounds, and even the toughest to please kid shouted, "GET ME THIS BOOK!!" all the parents were convinced.

My son is now an excellent reader who has moved on to great books, but he returns to Captain Underpants regularly, and I still hear him giggling to his friends, "HAVE I GOT A BOOK FOR YOU!!"

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Adventures of Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel March 11, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

My son is in second grade and although the book was hard for him to read, the story kept him interested and he finished it. He has now read the entire series of Captain Underpants, and his teacher has purchased copies for her room. They may be slightly above a second grade reading level, but making a child WANT to read is the first step to a future of reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars wedgie power!!!!! May 4, 2005

A Kid's Review

Format:Paperback

George Beard and Harold Hutchins were playing around one day when they accidentally hypnotized their unsuspecting principal into the greatest superhero ever, Captain Underpants. If you like superheroes running around in their underwear, kids chasing superheroes in their underwear and jokes that don't make sense but are still funny anyway then this is the right book for you. Follow Captain Underpants, George, and Harold as they get into the most trouble of their lives. These short books will keep you laughing for hours.