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The "Captain Underpants" books, which Green said he's currently reading to his 3-year-old son, have long been debated among parents and educators. Some praise the books because they encourage boys to read, others criticize them for their toilet humor and irreverent attitude.
The title character is a superhero devised by two fourth-graders about their grouchy principal, Mr. Krupp. "I don't see these books as encouraging disrespect for authority. Perhaps they demonstrate the value of questioning authority," Pilkey said. "Some of the authority figures in the Captain Underpants books are villains. They are bullies and they do vicious things." Pilkey said his characters are based in part on teachers and principals he had
from second to fifth grade
-- some of whom were villains who got away with it because they were authority figures. "None of the children in my school, including me, thought to question them," he said. "So, I do feel there is real value in showing kids that not all authority figures are good or kind or honorable." Challenged books are a measure of trouble, but also a measure of popularity, whether as a cause or an effect. Some famous entries from recent years have dropped off the top 10, likely a sign of reduced attention overall: J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books, Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" trilogy. Jones thinks some publishers "love it when their book is mentioned" because of the attention it receives, while Green agrees that getting on the list "means lots of people are reading your book." The president of Scholastic's trade division, Ellie Berger, said in a statement that the "appearance of Captain Underpants on the 2012 ALA list coincides with the publication of Dav Pilkey's first new
'Captain Underpants' book in six years and the series' return to national bestseller lists
-- both of which are evidence that this longtime bestselling series continues to inspire a love of reading (and underpants) for a new generation of kids." ___ Online: American Library Association:
http://www.ala.org/
[Associated
Press;
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