5 Reason Kids Will Cheer for Captain Underpants

The Captain Underpants series is so much more than a tighty-whitey clad superhero tale; it is a chance for kids to relate to characters who are just like them. Captain Underpants and The Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot, the twelfth epic novel by Dav Pilkey, has all the jokes, the gross outs, and the adventures that readers have long loved, along with some new and surprising twists that will bring new fans on board. Here are five reasons why kids, and adults, should stand up and cheer.

5. In author Pilkey’s world, kids get to be kids!
There is a time to do homework and a time to play, which Harold and George, and Yesterday Harold and Yesterday George (from Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000), have worked our perfectly. Do your math, make a comic book, and then help defeat a supervillain who wields mind controlling armpit spray! Life is about balance and these fellas have that idea licked.

4. Be yourself!
While Yesterday George and Yesterday Harold are stuck being mind-controlled zombies, George and Harold travel to the future to get help from…themselves. When the boys show up they find Old George has a wife and two kids, and Old Harold has a husband and two kids. They live in great houses full of fun stuff and they make their living creating graphic novels. They stayed true to themselves and ended up being pretty nifty guys. Three cheers for being real.

3. Adults can be the heroes too!
While it is great for kids to cheer on other kids being their own heroes, it is also rad to know that there are adults you can trust. Not every adult is a conspirator in a plot to take over the world; sometimes they are the cool people who are more than happy to swoop in and save the day. Sometimes adults also fly around in their underpants with capes, too.

2. Choosing to help is an awesome choice!
One of the biggest ideas in The Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot is the power of choice. Initially, the students of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School are put under the control of the adults and are ordered to clean, give out foot massages, and do mountains of homework. Of course, George and Harold don’t like it, but they are dismayed to find out that it makes their families happy. Later, when Older George and Older Harold leave their families to choose to help the boys, they start to see the perks of being helpful. The message is subtle, but it’s clear that the person who chooses to help oftentimes turns out to be a superhero.

1. Imagination is the most awesome thing ever!
Their imaginations may get them into trouble, but George and Harold also use them to save the day. Old George and Old Harold, too, use their imaginations to have the best lives ever as adults. When, at the end of the book, the boys are faced with a surprising twist, George and Harold, and Yesterday George and Yesterday Harold both follow where their dreams take them. No matter where they end up next, the boys, and readers, know that things will turn out for the best if they just keep imagining!
Why does your young reader cheer for Captain Underpants?