Banned Books Week: Captain Underpants

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information.

Like Harry Potter, the Captain Underpants book series by Dav Pilkey is also one of the most commonly challenged children’s books in the 21st century. Pilkey actually created the comic while he was elementary school. His teachers would send him out to the hallway for bad behavior.

Why? Causes unruly behavior among children; inappropriate scatological story line; because it contains the phrase “poo poo head”; teaches students to be disrespectful, not to obey authority, not to obey the law – including God’s law, improper spelling, to make excuses and lie to escape responsibility, to make fun of what people wear, and poor nutrition; language & innuendo.

What can you do? Read Captain Underpants! Watch Captain Underpants! Read widely! Dav Pilkey has several other series including Dog Man, Super Diaper Baby, and Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot. Or take his word for it here.

Or write Dav Pilkey a letter at:
Dav Pilkey
c/o Scholastic, Inc.
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012-3999

Source:
Doyle, Robert P. (2017). Banned Books: Defending Our Freedom to Read. Chicago, American Library Association.