A Book Review of Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part One

Recommended for ages 7-10

Warning: this book contains lots of disgusting snot, booger, mucus, and drippy, sticky gunk. The title should tip you off: Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part One, by Dav Pilkey. This is the sixth in the Captain Underpants series of graphic novels.

Even if you're a fan of Captain Underpants already, you might not like this if you don't like stories about snot blowing and dripping and flinging and flying. Because that's basically all that happens this time.

You might already know that Harold Hutchins and George Beard are two friends at school who have a knack for getting into trouble. They are budding comic book artists. They write and illustrate their own series of comics featuring a superhero named Captain Underpants.

In reality, they have hypnotized their school principal, Mr. Krupp, to turn into this superhero whenever he hears a finger snap. He strips down to his underwear and a cape and flies off to fight evil, villains, and silly made-up monsters, like the one in this book.

The humor here is mostly based on the grossness of a robot who was crossed with a classmate who sneezed, producing a snot-dripping robotic kid monster thingie. At any rate, if you think kids sneezing and spewing mucous everywhere is funny, you'll love this book.

On the other hand, if you think that's disgusting, stay away. Because that's basically what happens. Sure, the robot kid drippy snotty monster thingie goes on to make even more trouble, but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens, and how Captain Underpants gets involved.

Once again, like in the other books in the Captain Underpants series, there are a few pages of Flip-O-Rama action. This is where you turn one page back and forth rapidly, so you see that page and the page after it. When you do it fast enough, it makes it look like a cartoon.

These are really fun to do. They usually involve some hitting, screaming, pained expressions on faces...that sort of thing. And you are encouraged to add your own crazy sound effects, which is great fun if you are an imaginative, dramatic kind of kid who likes that sort of thing.

Because it's a graphic novel, it has lots of pictures--one on every page, at least. This is great to attract reluctant readers, who will then want to read more to find out what happens.

One of my students said, about the book, "It's not even funny." But there are tons of kids out there who love it. So you have to be the type who finds silly, disgusting humor funny. If not, you might want to stay clear of Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part One, by Dav Pilkey.

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Review: Battle For the Castle by Elizabeth Winthrop

My kids enjoyed The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop, so we decided to listen to the sequel, The Battle for the Castle. Both children gave the book a thumbs up, and I was sufficiently entertained with the book to keep listening to it.

The summary

William went on a magical journey six hundred years back in time with his nanny, Mrs. Phillips, in the first book, The Castle in The Attic. He met Sir Simon and defeated the villain, Alastor. This book starts off with William being two years older and Mrs. Phillips sent him a birthday present, the charm of Janus used in the first book. The charm can be used to shrink and un-shrink things, animals, and people. Then, if these shrunken folk spend the night in the castle in William's attic, they wake up in the past. The attic is gone, and a forest is outside the castle.

William and his friend Jason bring their bicycles to the attic, shrink themselves, and go on an adventure. They meet Sir Simon as he is about to leave for a tournament, and they stay at his castle. They spend time with a boy and a girl at the castle and together. The girl tells them of an omen her grandmother, Calendar, kept repeating before she died. Sir Simon sent Calendar away to the convent because he thought she was crazy and he does not believe the omen. Few believe it but Calendar's granddaughter does. Jason and William believe it too.

Topics for discussion

New technology: The kids are interested in the bicycles. They have never seen them before. How would you react if someone from the future brought something to you and you had never seen it before?

Human behavior: Some people panic in emergencies. Some people do not panic, seem to gain clarity, and lead through touch situations. Which type of person are you? Is that a trait you can change?

Human behavior: Why did the small rats turn on the large rat? Would humans behave that way in a similar way if they were in that type of situation?

Swimming: Is it a good idea to go out on a boat? What about when you cannot swim? What if you are with people that can swim?

Rats: What can rats really do? Can rats really chew through walls? Can they eat entire animals? Is one rat dangerous? How many rats does it take before the rats are dangerous?

I'm an engineer who quit full-time work and now freelance so I can homeschool my two children. I also teach science classes at a local homeschooling cooperative. As a temporarily retired engineer, I try to keep my brain active by reading, writing, and teaching. Check out the free resources, including unit studies, videos, tutorials, and little books at Unit Studies By Gwen or her blog at GwenOnline.
©2011, Gwen Nicodemus

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