The Adventures of Captain Underpants facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Dav Pilkey |
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| Illustrator | Dav Pilkey |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Captain Underpants series |
| Genre | Superhero Toilet humor Slapstick |
| Publisher | Blue Sky (US), Scholastic (US) |
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Publication date
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September 1, 1997 (black-and-white), August 27, 2013 (color edition) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback, Hardcover) |
| Pages | 125 |
| ISBN | 978-0-590-84628-8 0-590-84628-0 |
| Followed by | Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets |
The Adventures of Captain Underpants is a funny children's book written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey. It was first published on September 1, 1997. This book is the very first story in the popular Captain Underpants series. It quickly became a favorite among kids all over America.
Contents
What Happens in the Story
Pranks and Punishment
The story starts with two fourth-grade best friends, George Beard and Harold Hutchins. They love to play pranks and create their own comic books. One day, they play a lot of jokes during their school's football game. They put black pepper in the cheerleaders' pom-poms. They even fill the football with helium, making it float away. Because of their pranks, their school team loses the game.
The next day, their grumpy principal, Mr. Krupp, calls them into his office. He shows them a video of them planning all their pranks. Mr. Krupp uses this video to blackmail George and Harold. He tells them they must obey him or he will show the video to the football team. This means the boys have to do chores for Mr. Krupp. They have to wake up early to wash his car and mow his lawn. They also can't smile at school and must do extra homework.
The Hypno-Ring
To escape Mr. Krupp's demands, George orders a "3-D Hypno-Ring" from a novelty company. After waiting for weeks, the ring finally arrives. The boys plan to use it on Mr. Krupp. The next day, they purposely arrive late to school. This makes Mr. Krupp send them to his office.
Once in the office, George and Harold use the Hypno-Ring on Mr. Krupp. They hypnotize him! Harold quickly swaps the video of their pranks with a silly "Boomer the Purple Dragon" sing-along video. Now, they can make Mr. Krupp do anything they want.
Meet Captain Underpants!
George and Harold have a lot of fun making Mr. Krupp act silly. They make him cluck like a chicken and swing like a monkey. Then, they decide to turn him into their own comic book superhero: Captain Underpants! Suddenly, Mr. Krupp believes he is Captain Underpants. He even jumps out the window, ready to fight crime!
The boys quickly grab some funny supplies, like fake dog poop. "Captain Underpants" soon finds two bank robbers at Frank's bank. He tries to stop them, but they just laugh at him. The police almost arrest Captain Underpants too. But George and Harold quickly pull him away to safety.
Dr. Diaper's Evil Plan
Before they can change Mr. Krupp back, the three of them see something strange. Two robots are stealing a huge crystal! Captain Underpants' cape gets caught on the robots' van. This drags him (and the boys) to an old, abandoned warehouse. Inside, they meet the evil Dr. Diaper.
Dr. Diaper is a short, baby-like villain. He plans to use the stolen crystal to power his Laser-Matic 2000. His goal is to blow up the Moon! He thinks this will destroy all major cities on Earth. Then, he can take over the whole planet. George and Harold manage to hide, but Captain Underpants gets tied up.
Saving the World
George uses his slingshot to launch fake dog poop at Dr. Diaper. Dr. Diaper leaves to change his clothes. While he's gone, the boys destroy the robots and free Captain Underpants. Harold sees a lever and thinks it's an "off" switch for the machine. He pulls it, but it's actually the machine's self-destruct lever!
Dr. Diaper returns, very angry. He aims his ray gun, the Diaper-Matic 2000, at them. But Captain Underpants quickly shoots underwear at Dr. Diaper's face! (It turns out it was his own underwear!) The four of them escape the warehouse just before it explodes. They leave Dr. Diaper tied up outside the police station with a note saying "arrest me."
Back to Normal?
The three return to school. But they have lost the Hypno-Ring's instruction manual. In a panic, George dumps a vase of water on Mr. Krupp's head. Mr. Krupp immediately turns back to normal. He is still angry and plans to show the prank video to the football team.
George finds the manual later, but throws it away. The manual had a warning: if you drench a hypnotized person with water, they will keep switching between normal and hypnotized if they hear fingers snapping.
Meanwhile, the football team, the Knuckleheads, watch the "Boomer the Purple Dragon" video. They love it so much they decide to rename themselves the Purple Dragon Sing-A-Long Friends! George and Harold go back to making comics and playing pranks. But now, they have to be careful. Every time someone snaps their fingers near Mr. Krupp, he turns back into Captain Underpants!
Main Characters
- George R. Beard: One of the two main heroes. He is a fourth grader at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School and Harold's best friend. George often comes up with the ideas for their pranks and comics.
- Harold M. Hutchins: The other main hero. He is also a fourth grader at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School and George's best friend. Harold is very creative and helps George write and draw their comics.
- Mr. Benjamin Krupp: The very strict and grumpy principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. He dislikes George and Harold and tries to catch them playing pranks.
- The Amazing Captain Underpants: A silly superhero from George and Harold's own comic books. Mr. Krupp accidentally becomes Captain Underpants when he is hypnotized. He wears only underwear and a red cape.
- Dr. Diaper (Dr. Nappy in the UK): The main bad guy in this story. He is a short, baby-like villain who wants to destroy the Moon and take over the world.
Other Characters
- The Horwitz Knuckleheads: The school's football team. After watching the "Boomer the Purple Dragon Sing-along Video," they change their name to the Purple Dragon Sing-A-Long Friends.
- Robots: Dr. Diaper's helpers. They are the ones who steal the crystal for his evil plan.
- The Inedible Hunk: A monster from George and Harold's Captain Underpants comics. He is made from cafeteria food.
- Cheerleaders: The school cheerleaders. George and Harold put black pepper in their pom-poms, making them sneeze a lot during the football game.
- The Band: The school's marching band. George and Harold fill their instruments with bubble bath as part of their pranks.
- Mr. Meaner: The coach of the Knuckleheads football team.
- Ms. Ribble: George and Harold's fourth-grade teacher.
- Bank Robbers: Two criminals Captain Underpants tries to stop at the bank.
- Heidi Hutchins Kaur: Harold's youngest sister. Harold uses one of her "Boomer the Purple Dragon Sing-along Videos" to replace Mr. Krupp's prank footage.
