Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers

January 1, 2013
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo-bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9. The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It's all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor ("Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants"), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in "Flip-o-rama." Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big "Ka-Bloosh!"). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy. Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2013
Grades 3-5 Picking up where Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers (2012) left off, this legendary tome sends Tippy back in time again to counteract his earlier mistakes. So now there are two Tippys. Skip back to the now-redeemed present, in which Harold and George opt to save their pterodactyl pet by using the Purple Potty to jet back 65 million years. It's complicated, but pretty soon there are three Tippys of varying size in pursuit of our two heroesplus Cap'n Uwho invent cave painting (cave comics, to be exact) to galvanize cavemen for an impromptu army. Pilkey is kind enough to reveal what truly killed the dinosaurs, what began the Ice Age, and, oh yeah, how the universe was created. Everything you would expect from an Underpants book is firmly (spastically may be a better word) in place: a giddy, senseless plot; an invigorating antiestablishment streak; and Flip-o-Rama megaviolence. The big surprise: finding out the grim fate that awaits Harold and George in the future. Not as big of a surprise: volume 11 is coming soon. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Really? This is Captain Underpants we're talking about here. Try a one-million-copy first printing and print, online, and TV adsthe whole shebang.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
Tippy Tinkletrousers goes back in time five years and wreaks havoc (while readers are meanwhile treated to an origins story of how Harold and George first met); the pair must find a way to change back the course of history that was altered. These ninth and tenth installments are loaded with the series' entertaining cartoon-infused balance of pranks, humor, and absurdity.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)