Tuesday, September 11, 2007
"The Adventures of Captain Underpants" by Dav Pilkey
"The Adventure of Captain Underpants" was one of our options for our group book projects and no one wanted to read it but me so I decided I would let everyone know how is was. I can see how this book gets so many boys into reading. The story is about two boys of different ethnicities, George is Black and Harold is White, who are best friends and write a comic together after school. The comic that the boys favor the most is "The Adventures of Captain Underpants", which is just a silly hero who wears his actual underpants to fight crimes rather than the hero outfits that just look like underpants over their clothing. When the boys are not writing their comic adventures they are doing pranks and jokes in school. The book is full of fantasy and silly mischeif. The boys find themselves caught pranking on camera and buy a $4 hypno-ring to hynotize the principal and they end up turning him into Captain Underpants. The whole story is very exciting and great for keeping the class's attention. Students can relate to the characters because they are shown in similar settings like school and the classroom and the characters are in the fourth grade, which is probably the grade that would read this book. I like that this book showed racial diversity between the best friends, it helps for students to see that they can branch out to befriend children of different backgrounds if they haven't already. It also helps more students relate themselves to the story by having a broader range of races in the characters. Both of the boys have different talents; George is good at writing while Harold is good at drawing. This shows that you don't have to be good at everything because you can use your skill to be part of something greater, like the boys comics. You can use this book to start a big class project; first identify what all of the children think they are best at and them give them their own parts of the project that they can feel successful about doing. Once the whole class project comes together it will be a real-life example that as a team you don't have to be great at everything you just need to be good at something. I think this book is popular with young boys because the two main characters are trouble-making boys and the whole story is formated like a comic book/long picture book. We learned in either EDP or ELM250 (I don't remember which) that boys like to read magazines and comics, so why not let them read something that is formatted to keep their attentions better. Thank you Dav Pilkey for finding something to get young boys into reading.
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2 comments:
Amanda, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog on “The Adventures of Captain Underpants" by Dav Pilkey. As I read your blog I found myself agreeing with a lot of the points that you made. For instance, I agree that this book would be an ideal choice for boys and a great way for them to stay interested and motivated in reading. In addition, after reading your blog, I felt that I would love this book to, so I am sure girls would enjoy it, too. I felt that this book would be a great way to introduce fantasy and adventure into the classroom for all the students. Since this book was based in a classroom with students, I agree that it is an excellent way for students to be able to relate to this particular setting. However, my favorite idea that you mentioned was present in the book is how the book displays diversity. I loved how the main characters were different races, which allows multicultural students to really relate and develop a better understanding of student differences. In addition, I liked how Pilkey gave the boys different literacy abilities where one boy was exceptional at writing and the other at drawing. Overall, I believe that this book is a great way to teach students different concepts and ideas. I felt that many of Amanda’s ideas were a great way for students to learn about diversity, classroom community, and understanding that everyone is unique and special in there own way. Great book choice Amanda!!
Amanda and Alexia, I would definitely agree with what you both had to say about "The Adventures of Captain Underpants." First off, just the title itself intrigues me and I am sure would intrigue young children as well. I also enjoy the idea that the book not only has a wonderful imagination but also has a greater opportunity to catch the attention of young boys because of the main characters. Furthermore, I think this book gives children who ever read it the motivation to step into the creative world. I believe that the diversity issue in the book is an important feature as well that has hidden meaning behind friendship. It can provide students with an eye opening story that helps them open up into the vast world of diversity in which we live. I myself would enjoy reading this book because I love silly books and the title itself is eye catching. Thanks for commenting on my picture book Amanda and I enjoyed your book choice as well!
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