MODULE 10: GRAPHIC NOVELS & CENSORSHIP ISSUES Captain Underpants

· Book cover image (OPTIONAL)

 Book Summary:

This is part two of the series, so the story starts from the point where part one ends. After the bionic hamster spit the three massive boogers into outer space, brains of Mr. Krupp and Melvin Sneedly were mysteriously switched. So Mr. Knapp the principal, who wears his underwear on the outside of his suits, became Melvin, a little bratty kid. The adventure begins when trying to remember who is really who and why an adult is throwing a tantrum and why a child is acting all important with his friends. George and Harold went back in time with a time traveling machine to go back just a few days to collect the Combine-O-Tron 2000, which can switch brains and super powers back to the correct body. 

While these two were gone Child Melvin brain with Mr. Knapp’s body began firing everyone he saw. The Cafeteria lady, Mr. Knapp’s secretary to name a few.

After the two were zapped back into their original bodies and super powers were returned, the mob of angry of fired employees came after Mr. Knapp who had no idea he had fired them.

During the trip back to get the Combine-O-Tron 2000, they went too far back in time and ended up with the dinosaurs. George had befriended a pterodactyl.  He was supposed to return it to his time, but instead, he returned it to his home. So the next day they. Harold and George with the pterodactyl entered the purple port-a-potty and flips switched to go back in time once again. Something backfired and the ending is …well another story to follow.

 APA Reference of Book:

 Pilkey, D. (2003). Captain Underpants and the big, bad battle of the Bionic Booger Boy,        part 2: The revenge of the ridiculous Robo-Boogers: The seventh epic novel. New York: Scholastic. 

 Impressions:
I understand why these books are popular with the students. I however, was  not impressed. I really had a hard time wrapping my brain into it. The writing is cute, as when a child writes with all the misspelled words, the words crossed out and rewritten again. That could be one of the reasons the children likes this book series. The drawings is like that of a child, so in a child's view, they perhaps believe that a child did write these books.
I can see why parents are not too impressed with them. The misspelled words could be seen as it is ok to write and publish with all the errors. The title of this book alone could be another reason. "Bionic Booger Boy...Robo Boogers. Not everyday words we want our children speaking about at the dining room table with the grandparents. Also the fact that a grown man wears his underpants on the outside of his pants and is a super-hero, can be seen as disturbing. I think, however, if a child is reading then encourage it and afterward discuss what they read, and how some of the words are not dinner material. 

 Professional Review:

Review

Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers

by Dav Pilkey

Part 2 of CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE BIG, BAD BATTLE OF THE BIONIC BOOGER BOY opens with the vilest, most disgusting and most terrifying creatures on the face of the earth --- the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers. They're chasing George, Harold, Melvin and Mr. Krupp down the city streets and have them cornered. But at the very last second, Sulu the Bionic Hamster saves the day. He stuffs the three snotty fiends into his mouth and shoots the slimy villains into space, never to be seen again. This sequence lasts only 10 pages, making it the shortest Captain Underpants adventure ever. Well ... not exactly. Unfortunately for George and Harold, their incredible adventure has only just begun.

THE REVENGE OF THE RIDICULOUS ROBO-BOOGERS centers on Melvin Sneedly and Mr. Krupp, who aren't quite themselves. Somehow their brains were switched around, so Mr. Krupp's brain is now in Melvin's body and Melvin's brain is in Mr. Krupp's body. Needless to say, the situation is quite confusing. The Combine-O-Tron 2000 would help solve the problem, but it was smashed in the last book. All hope seems to be lost, until George comes up with the brilliant suggestion that Mr. Melvin (the guy who looks like Mr. Krupp but has Melvin's brain) build a time machine that would allow him to go back in time to before the Combine-O-Tron 2000 was smashed, grab it, and bring it back to the present time.

This is exactly what Mr. Melvin decides to do, and his determination to succeed is heightened when he finds out that Mr. Krupp is actually Captain Underpants. When he gets his younger body back, Melvin is confident that he will become the world's first super-powered kid. When the time machine (a portable purple potty) is ready, Mr. Melvin sends George and Harold away to test it. After a series of wacky events, they finally recover the Combine-O-Tron 2000 and the brains of Melvin and Mr. Krupp are back where they belong.

So the story is over and everyone lives happily ever after, right? Wrong! After all, this IS a Captain Underpants adventure, where nothing remains normal or peaceful for too long. Will Melvin succeed in becoming the world's greatest superhero? Maybe. Have we really seen the last of the Robo-Boogers? Not a chance! Is THE REVENGE OF THE RIDICULOUS ROBO-BOOGERS just as fun to read as previous Captain Underpants books? You bet!

Reviewed by Tom Donadio on August 13, 2012

 Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-           Boogers. (2012, August 13). Retrieved from http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/captain-underpants-and-the-big-           bad-battle-of-the-bionic-booger-boy-part-2-the-revenge-of-the 

 Library Uses: 
This could be used to show students that everyone makes mistakes and that they can correct the errors. However, I think that this could be a book just for the funny things said in it and for a group read.

MODULE 9: POETRY & SHORT STORIES Water Sings Blue

· Book cover image (OPTIONAL)

 Book Summary:
The poems are short and very quick reading. There are 22 poems in this book.  The illustration has been done wonderfully. The pictures help bring the poems to life. 

 APA Reference of Book:

 WATER SINGS BLUE by Kate Coombs , Meilo So | Kirkus Reviews. (2012, March 15). Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kate-coombs/water-sings-blue/ 

 Impressions:
I am not a fan of poems. However, I picked this book because I love the sea and I thought it might be interesting. The cover is delightful. The words paint a wonderful image in my mind. The best poem I thought was Shark. She wrote: 
He circles and stares
with broken glass grin
His body a dagger
with lion's tongue skin
He slides through the water 
like a rumor, like a sneer
He's a quick twist of hunger
He's the color of fear.

I really like that end sentence : Color of Fear.  It strikes me with such passion and I have never thought that way about a shark, as true as it is. 
This is really a great book to help introduce children to poetry.

 Professional Review:

KIRKUS REVIEW

Twenty-three poems and evocative watercolor paintings pay tribute to the wonders of the ocean world.

The versatile Coombs shows she’s as adept at poetry as she is at concocting or adapting fairy tales (Hans My Hedgehog, 2012, etc.). She invites young readers into her celebration with an opening “Song of the Boat” and ends with the message of the “Tideline.” “ ‘Don’t forget me— / I was here, / wasss h e r e / wasssss h e r e …’ ” Varied rhyme and rhythmic patterns and surprising connections characterize these relatively short poems, which read aloud well and stick in the memory. There’s humor, interesting language and intriguing imagery, as when the Gulper Eel’s “astronomical maw” is compared to a black hole. Thoughtful organization and placement of text on the page and So’s wavery, watery illustrations extend the poems’ meaning. A series of couplets describing “What the Waves Say” is illustrated with panels of varying water-surface patterns. Three different jellyfish poems share a double-page spread; another spread emphasizes the size of a blue whale with its vertical orientation and a shipwreck lying at the bottom. Sand-colored endpapers show objects washed up on shore: a shell, a feather, a crab’s claw and what might just be the remains of a footprint.

Share this admirable appreciation with a wide audience.  (Picture book/poetry. 4-10)

 Library Uses: 
This would be a great book for poems and about the ocean. The poems are short so this is easy to read and discuss after each one. This book also opens up doors for children who have never been to the sea. This is a great book to read for some relaxing down time also.
As I was typing this thought popped into my head: Have the children sit at their desks with a couple of sheets of blank drawing paper. When something is read to them that moves them, have them draw it out, a rough sketch. When the book is finished have them finish their drawings and then show the book's illustrations to them.