Captain Underpants

Captain Underpants And The Preposterous Plight Of The Purple Potty People  by Dav Pilkey
2006
Weight: 4.8 oz
Method of Disposal: Recycle because I tore out some pages

I love Dav Pilkey. My dear friend Sarah introduced me to him when I worked at Walden Books, but I did not truly fall in love until I was working at Barnes and Noble and discovered Captain Underpants. A lot of the parents would complain about the books. They taught children poor grammar and bad manors. This is where I would often disagree with the customer. I feel like any book a child is willing to read is a good book. Dav Pilkey has a knack for understanding the importance of a child’s imagination and for teaching lessons in a subtle way so that every book does not feel like a lecture. Children who may struggle within the education system and/or do not thrive with a ridged and inflexible teaching style may relate to these main characters. I really value this in a children’s book because it encourages creativity and potentially helps kids to realise that they are, in fact, intelligent, thoughtful students even if they don’t have the grades to prove it.

Aside from that the books are just fun to read even as an adult, I find myself laughing and falling in love with the main characters. Dav Pilkey also throws in little tidbits aimed at the parents. In this particular book I tore out the page where a librarian is trying to get the students to pay attention to a book entitled Mommy has two Heathers. When I was growing up Heather has two mommies was one of a handful of lesbian children’s books that I could get my hands on. The book was highly controversial and not allowed in school. A lot of time has passed since then, and I really appreciated Pilkey’s wink wink nudge nudge. It is hilarious because many kids and parents will miss the lesbian implication or the way he completely heteronormalizes a Sapphic classic.

I am sad to see it go but I am excited to reread the others in the series and pass them on to a child who may also enjoy them.