Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants

Reviewed by: Bernie Alie - Kennebunk Free Library, Kennebunk ME, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 8, 2016

Review

Reprint of the 2000 title with new color by Jose Garibaldi.

The nefarious Professor Poopypants has infiltrated Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. Laughed at because of his name, he gets revenge by shrinking the entire school with his Shrinky-Pig 2000 invention, and forces everyone to take new names using his own formula. George and Harold, aka Fluffy and Cheeseball, activate Captain Underpants, aka Buttercup Chickenfanny, to save the day. Children will love the irreverence of the names.

The drawings are the same as the original version, but are now filled with bold color, making some of the pranks played by George and Harold easier to discern. Drawings on every page break up the text, which will reduce the stress of struggling readers.

In this age of increasing awareness of the need for diverse books, it is nice that George, an African American boy, is introduced as the "kid with the tie and the flat-top," while Harold, who is white, is introduced as the "kid with the T-shirt and bad haircut," (p. 11) and that George is the brains of the operation.

A table of contents called "Chapters," "Fun Facts," and "Professor Poopypants's (sic) Name Change-O-Chart 2000" are new additions. A perennial favorite, libraries will want to update their collections.

Overall Book Score: good