Elledge 1 Ayla Elledge Professor Malcolm Campbell UWRT 1101-059 09-08-2014 a Ree Choe Captain Underpants: When I was in elementary school, I looked forward to the book-fair every year. In fourth grade, I found a book that just come out called The Adventures of Captain Underpants. | thoroughly enjoyed reading and re-reading it. It follows the lives of the main characters George Beard and Harold Hutchins as they get into mischief in and outside of school. The first book in the series shows how the boys accidentally hypnotize their despised principal, Mr. Krupp, into believing he is the protagonist of the comic books they write, Captain Underpants. Once Mr. Krupp is transformed in the Captain Underpants, he goes looking for crime to fight. {fhis leads him into harm’s way and they boys ae Wor a'r must constantly follow him so that he doesn’t get hurt, and them in major“ (5 alii Wei f troublefn the end, they hypnotize him back into “being” their principal. ig However, every time Mr. Krupp hears the snap of fingers, he tums back into Captain Underpants, setting up the storyline for future books. Some other works comparable to Captain Underpants are the Big Nate series, written by Lincoln Peirce and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series;by Jeff Kinney. Captain Underpants is a children’s comedic graphic fiction novel. It ismatt 0% Con SE Elledge 2 mainly geared at children ages 7-10. I believe Pilkey is mainly targeting most in this age group, but also some of the less popular children or trouble-makers. [He ‘writes for a very impressionable age group and can have a tremendous 7” impact on their perception of reading) chitdren of this age can be very bored by reading and academics, in general. For them to like a publication, it should grab and hold their interest, while entertaining them. I credit him for writing and illustrating books that achieve this Captain Underpants fits well in this genre because there is a generous amount of illustration on each page. He also chooses to use comic-style onomatopoeia several time throughout the book. In addition to his cartoon work, he includes several jokes and silly situations that the boys and their principal get into. Other books in this genre use very similar conventions such as cartoon-y illustrations, witty comedy, silly or bizarre plot twists, and anti- authority tones. Children’s graphic novels often try to connect to their readers by expressing a discontent for adults. In Captain Underpants, not only is there a chapter titled “Mean Old Mr. Krupp,” but the characters go in to detail about why they don’t like him, “He hated laughter and singing. He hated the sounds of children playing at recess. In fact, he hated children altogether.” Furthermore, Mr. Krupp coerces (blackmails) them into behaving themselves and doing chores for him in exchange for keeping quiet about pranks they pulled on classmates that resulted in a football game being forfeited. These aremake nore wie nS) Elledge 3 examples of the writer vilifying the principal to connect with the reader on a common ground. Many students do not like their teachers or principals and will understand Fred and George’s malcontent. Although the audience will never experience some of the fictional scenarios that happen in this book, they can understand and empathize with something such as being sent to the principal’s office or hating their lunch lady. Captain Underpants breaks this genre by adding a tactile activity in which his readers can participate. In the chapter titled “The Extremely Graphic Violence Chapter,” Pilkey includes directions of how to flip the pages fast to create an action scene similar to how cartoons are made. He encourages the reader to become part of the process of how they experience the pictures he /\ has drawn for the climactic vanquishing of the villains. Children’s graphic novels of this variety also use a lot of comedy to entertain their audience. The purpose of this is to captivate children in “x elementary school and make them laugh. Mr. Krupp recalls the time afd L gootte rigged the intercoms to play “Weird Al” Yankovic on full-blast for 6 hours. In chapter 10, chef aeauice a 3D hypno-ring, Before accidentally transforming their principal into a superhero, they first make him act like a chicken and then a monkey. The title character itself is used to elicit laughter. Captain Underpants is a grown man in his underwear who is bald and fights crime with the use of “Wedgie Power.” He fights for “Truth, Justice, and all that is pre- shrunk and Cottony.” These scenes/excerpts are hilarious and would definitelyadding, edge 4 ‘\ make children laugh. Laughter and fun can be a deciding factor in whether a child decides to continue reading a book or not. The author writes in such a way that is easy for the young audience to read. He uses very straight-forward and unambiguous diction /language. It is very simple and he doesn’t go into overly-wordy explanations that the reader may not understand. Pilkey also chooses to use lots of character dialogue in quotations, I believe he uses this to make the book sound as informal as possible; is. as if the character could be talking in your presence, leading back to him wanting to form a connection with the reader. The purpose of this series (and most children’s books, in general) is to entertain children enough so that they enjoy reading. The more one reads, the more one learns and understands. He accomplishes this through vivid illustration and a simple, yet interesting plot. I think there is a higher purpose in Pilkey’s writing. This is to encourage creativity that he may have not experience when he was a child. He subtly achieves this by showing that the characters Fred and George produce comic books that all of their peers Love ikey’s audience is at a very impressionable age where a bit and enjoy to read. of encouragement and interest can go a long way in the development of their interests. * ecevted Reviewed lay: Avo