Ebullient, chaotic, and pure fun, just as this scantily clad hero should be.
Two boys turn their principal into a superhero in this faithful manga vision of a quirky modern classic.
Captain Underpants was first published in 1997, to the discomfort of some literary connoisseurs and the delight of young readers giddy at the sight of the chrome-domed hero clad only in a cape and tighty-whities. The tale also presaged a format revolution in children’s literature, bridging the divide between prose chapter books and graphic novels. Over a quarter-century on, Pilkey adapts the original story with a fresh format. The story’s essential arc remains mostly unchanged. Fourth graders Harold and George hypnotize their principal, he strips down to his briefs and dons a cape, and the trio battle Dr. Diaper, a baby-size villain with robot bodyguards. Seasoned artist Motojiro confidently uses classic manga conventions to bring Pilkey’s world to life, perfectly retaining Underpants energy while introducing an entirely new-to-the-series aesthetic. The kids zoom around on skateboards trailed by dynamic super-speed lines, exaggerated angles add drama, and wide whitened eyes express surprise, fear, and glee. Notably, the book employs Japanese onomatopoeia—in phonetic hiragana and katakana characters—to signify moods and movement, resulting in a uniquely multilingual reading experience and an impressive opportunity to consider the integration of image and text anew, even after all these years. As in the source material, George presents Black, while most other characters are pale-skinned.
Ebullient, chaotic, and pure fun, just as this scantily clad hero should be. (notes & fun facts) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781546151210
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Captivated kids will be happy to see that Book 3 is on its way.
Neanderthal siblings return for a blustery infoventure in the Ice Age.
Lucy and Andy meet and welcome into their cave an extended, racially diverse family of humans. Andy is less than enthusiastic about the arrangement, but Lucy is glad to have Sasha, a little black girl, and the others to pal around with. Between hunts for food, the adults search for a nearby cave for the humans to move into. The kids play in the snow, do chores, visit a glacier, and visit the Neanderthal family’s summer cave at the beach. Can the families outsmart cave bear Big Bob and appropriate his cave for the humans, or will they live together forever? Modern-day fictional commentators Pam (a white woman) and Eric (a black man) return as well to explain (usually with jokes) and expand on the actual science and discoveries behind the events in Lucy and Andy’s comic-strip adventures. Science-y tidbits dot the narrative panels (usually followed by sarcastic one-liners), and the whole is followed by a museum list, a Q-and-A, and myth-busters about cavemen, all conveyed in a light tone. No further reading or works cited make this problematic as an informational source, but for the paleontologically inclined, it’s a fast, funny read with likable kid characters.
Captivated kids will be happy to see that Book 3 is on its way. (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-38838-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Full of magical adventure and heart.
Twin witches and their friends encounter magic and mishaps in this story based on a popular WEBTOON series.
When 12-year-old witch twins Dorian and Dani Wytte miss the bus on the first day of school, it’s only the beginning of their troubles; the bus has teleported to a secret location. Not wanting to fess up to the mishap, the siblings head to their Aunt Hilde’s in hopes that she’ll be their tutor for the year and not tell their parents what happened. Instead, they uncover a plot by a community of evil witches to take power. Together with new friends, including a soothsayer, a princess, and some town kids, the twins—now suspected of being traitors—must prove their innocence and get to the bottom of everything. The central conflict plays with the ideas of good and evil as well as biases and assumptions. Many of the large cast of characters grapple with self-doubts and questions of self-worth. All the young protagonists have something to prove, and together they begin to grow. Tur’s episodic and fast-paced plotting plus a cliffhanger ending will keep readers engaged and itching for the next volume. The energetic, manga-style art matches the energy of the characters, and the dramatic color palette adds to the strong sense of this witchy world. The panel-breaking compositions are fun and support the pacing. All major characters present White.
Full of magical adventure and heart. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-46830-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Etch/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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