The series, by Dav Pilkey, is a series of American children's books about two 4th graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, and the aptly-named superhero they accidentally created, who is their principal, Mr. Benny Krupp.

Harold and George are two mischievous fourth graders who have created their own comic book hero, Captain Underpants. Prone to playing pranks, the boys hypnotize their school principal into becoming their crime-fighting creation and, naturally, things get out of hand — the principal escapes and begins roaming the streets in his underwear. Will the boys be able to get things back under control?

Grade 2-5-Pilkey packs an amazing amount of humor into what could have been a one-gag novel. Besides turning their principal into a silly superhero, George and Harold play tricks on just about everyone. They pepper pom-poms, put bubble bath in tubas, and fill a football with helium. Pilkey's illustrations are half the fun, and that magical moment when the hypnotized Principal Krupp dons his Captain Underpants uniform and sings "Tra-La-Laaaaaaaa" is priceless. Krupp is a worthy successor to Lamar J. Spurgle, the nemesis of "the Cut-Ups" in James Marshall's great picture books. The "kneel here" sign in front of his desk says it all. Kid Appeal Award: Superheroes are always fascinating to kids. And children of a certain age will laugh at anything that has to do with underpants. Combining the two was a stroke of comic genius.

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

In the fine old tradition of James Marshall's Cut-Ups, Pilkey (God Bless the Gargoyles, 1996, etc.) introduces George Beard and Harold Hutchins, two usually responsible fourth-graders, as in ``whenever anything bad happened, George and Harold were usually responsible.'' Pranksters of the first order, George and Harold are finally nabbed by Mr. Krupp, the principal, whom they then hypnotize into believing he's Captain Underpants, a superhero of their own creation. Before they can stop him, he's out the window in cape and briefs, off to fight crime with Wedgie Power, taking on bank robbers, robot thieves--`` `You know,' said George, `up until now this story was almost believable!' ''--and ultimately the evil Dr. Diaper. Distracting Dr. Diaper with some ``fake doggy doo- doo,'' the boys save the planet, then hustle Krupp back into his clothes, just in time for--their next adventure, The Attack of the Talking Toilets, coming soon. Pilkey's stubby black-and-white cartoon figures appear on every page but can be animated in one chapter, thanks to ``Flip-O-Rama,'' where readers flip pages back and forth for the ``latest in cheesy animation technology.'' There'll be no silence in the library once readers get hold of this somewhat classier alternative to Barf-o-Rama books and their crude ilk. (Fiction. 9-11)

length: (cm)19.8 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)12.6