American cartoonist and author (born 1966)
David Murray
"
Dav
"
Pilkey Jr.
(
; born March 4, 1966)
[1]
is an American
cartoonist
, author, and
illustrator
of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series,
Captain Underpants
, and its spin-off children's graphic novel series
Dog Man
, the latter published under the respective writer and illustrator
pen names
of
George Beard
and
Harold Hutchins
, which are also the names of the two protagonists of the
Captain Underpants
series.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Pilkey was born in
Cleveland, Ohio
, on March 4, 1966, to the Reverend David Pilkey, Sr. and Barbara who was the church organist.
[2]
[3]
He has one older sister. Pilkey was brought up in a conservative
Christian
household and went to Christian schools throughout his life.
Pilkey was diagnosed with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and
dyslexia
as a child.
[4]
In elementary school in
Elyria, Ohio
, Pilkey was frequently reprimanded for his behavior in class and thus usually sat at a desk in the school hallway, where he created the
Captain Underpants
character.
[5]
In 1987, Pilkey wrote his first book,
World War Won
, an allegorical fable inspired by the
nuclear arms race
between the United States and the
Soviet Union
, in a
national competition for student authors
and won in his age category. The book's publication in 1987 was included in the award.
[2]
The atypical spelling of his first name came when the "e" in "Dave" was left off his name tag while working at
Pizza Hut
.
[6]
Pilkey graduated from
Kent State University
.
[7]
He married Sayuri Pilkey in 2005.
[8]
The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby
was published in 2002 and was Pilkey's first full complete graphic novel. It appeared at No. 6 on the
USA Today
bestseller list for all books, both adult and children's, and was also a
New York Times
bestselling book for Children's Middle Grade. The first
Super Diaper Baby
graphic novel was published with Scholastic years before Scholastic created the Graphix imprint.
[9]
Pilkey took a break from writing for a few years to care for his terminally ill father (who died on November 13, 2008), but in 2009 agreed with Scholastic to publish four new books.
[10]
[11]
The first two are
graphic novels
:
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future
, released on August 10, 2010; and
Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers
, released on June 28, 2011.
Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers
was released on August 28, 2012,
Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers
was released on January 15, 2013,
Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000
was released on August 26, 2014, and
Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot
was released on August 25, 2015. Additionally, twelve
Dog Man
novels have been published since August 30, 2016.
Pilkey and his wife live on
Bainbridge Island
,
Washington
.
On March 25, 2021, Dav Pilkey announced on his YouTube channel that he and Scholastic would cease further publication of his book
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk
,
and would remove it from retailers and libraries, in response to a 289-signature petition claiming a character in the book to be a stereotype.
[12]
[13]
[14]
This removal would be heavily criticised by media, in particular
The New York Post
, who praised the novel as "a prime example of a positive portrayal of an Asian character in literature [who is] endearing and full of wisdom",
[15]
and refuting the logic of the petition's creator as itself being biased against Chinese people, with
Reason
calling the novel "charming, not racist", citing "Pilkey's whole gag [as] the censorial impulse [being] ridiculous and kids instinctively know[ing] it should be mocked",
[16]
calling for the novel's republication amongst a list of books banned in America in August 2022.
[17]
Publications
[
edit
]
Dragon Series
[
edit
]
- Dragon Gets By
(1991)
- A Friend For Dragon
(1991)
- Dragon's Merry Christmas
(1991)
- Dragon's Fat Cat
(1992)
- Dragon's Halloween
(1993)
The Dragon series was originally published with Orchard Books. Scholastic then reprinted the series in 2019.
Dav Pilkey used watercolors purchased at a local grocery store to paint the illustrations in these books. The series became a
stop-motion animation TV show
with 78 episodes from 2004 to 2007.
Dumb Bunnies
[
edit
]
- The Dumb Bunnies
(1994)
- The Dumb Bunnies' Easter
(1995)
- Make Way for Dumb Bunnies
(1996)
- The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo
(1997)
Pilkey authored The Dumb Bunnies series using the pseudonym, Sue Denim.
Captain Underpants
[
edit
]
- The Adventures of Captain Underpants
(September 1, 1997)
- Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets
(February 1999)
- Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)
(September 1, 1999)
- Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants
(July 29, 2000)
- The Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book o' Fun
(2001)
- Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
(August 29, 2001)
- The All New Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book O' Fun 2
(2002)
- Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets
(August 1, 2003)
- Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers
(September 30, 2003)
- Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People
(August 15, 2006)
- Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers
(August 28, 2012)
- Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers
(January 15, 2013)
- Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000
(August 26, 2014)
[18]
- Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot
(August 25, 2015)
Captain Underpants
spin-offs
[
edit
]
Pilkey authored the Super Diaper Baby books and Ook and Gluk under the pseudonyms George Beard and Harold Hutchins, to be authentic to the book's theme.
Dog Man
[
edit
]
Dog Man
is also a
spin-off
of
Captain Underpants
.
- Dog Man
(August 30, 2016)
[19]
- Dog Man: Unleashed
(December 27, 2016)
- Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties
(August 29, 2017)
[20]
- Dog Man and Cat Kid
(December 26, 2017)
- Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas
(August 28, 2018)
- Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild
(December 24, 2018)
- Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls
(August 13, 2019)
- Dog Man: Guide to Making Comics in 3D (October 1, 2019)
- Dog Man: Fetch-22
(December 10, 2019)
- Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
(September 1, 2020)
- Dog Man: Mothering Heights
(March 23, 2021)
- Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea
(March 28th, 2023)
- Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder
(March 19th, 2024)
Cat Kid Comic Club
[
edit
]
- Cat Kid Comic Club
(December 1, 2020)
- Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives
(November 30, 2021)
- Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose
(April 12, 2022)
- Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations
(November 29, 2022)
- Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers (November 28, 2023)
Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot
[
edit
]
Big Dog & Little Dog
[
edit
]
- Big Dog and Little Dog Getting in Trouble
(1997)
- Big Dog and Little Dog Wearing Sweaters
(1998)
- Big Dog and Little Dog Making a Mistake
(1999)
- The Complete Adventures of Big Dog and Little Dog
(1999)
Other books
[
edit
]
- World War Won
(1987)
- Don't Pop Your Cork on Mondays
(1988) Illustrator only
- '
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
(1990)
- The Place Nobody Stopped
(1991) Illustrator only
- Julius
(1993)
- Kat Kong
(1993)
- Dogzilla
(1993)
- Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis
(1994)
- The Moonglow Roll-O-Rama
(1995)
- The Hallo-Wiener
(1995)
- When Cats Dream
(1996)
- God Bless the Gargoyles
(1996)
- The Paperboy
(1996)
- The Silly Gooses
(1998)
- Comics Squad: Recess!
(2014) contributor as author/illustrator for this anthology
- Guys Read: Terrifying Tales
(2015) contributor as author/illustrator for this anthology
[21]
- One Today
(2015) illustrator only
[22]
Awards
[
edit
]
- 1986: The National Written and Illustrated by... Awards Contest for Students, ages 14?19 category,
World War Won
[23]
- 1997: Caldecott Honor Award,
The Paperboy
[24]
- 1998: California Young Reader Medal,
Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis
, published in 1994
- 2007: Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, The
Captain Underpants
series
- 2016: Milner Award, The favorite children's book author,
http://themilneraward.org/
- 2019: Person of the Year Award from Publishers Weekly
- 2019: Comic Industry Person of the Year
Further reading
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Pilkey.com
Archived
February 4, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
"Dav Pilkey"
.
Ohio Authors Online
. Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. 2003. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2007
. Retrieved
August 8,
2007
.
- ^
"5 things you may not know about 'Captain Underpants' author Dav Pilkey"
.
TODAY.com
. June 6, 2018
. Retrieved
January 1,
2021
.
- ^
"Writer Dav Pilkey says having dyslexia was a blessing"
.
The Straits Times
. Retrieved
February 29,
2020
.
- ^
Nissen, Beth (July 11, 2000).
"Captain Underpants: The straight poop on a grossly entertaining series of children's books"
.
CNN
. Archived from
the original
on July 30, 2003
. Retrieved
August 8,
2007
.
- ^
"Super Humor: Tales of an 'Under' Achiever"
.
Washington Post
. July 3, 2002. p. C18.
ProQuest
409295767
.
- ^
"
Meet Dav
." Dav Pilkey Official Website. April 17, 2003. Retrieved on August 14, 2019.
- ^
"
The Almost Completely True Adventures of Dav Pilkey
." Dav Pilkey Official Website. September 3, 2012. Retrieved on August 14, 2018.
"The man behind "Captain Underpants"
"
.
CBS News
. September 17, 2017
. Retrieved
August 18,
2018
.
Dav dreams up those funny books at the home he shares with his wife, Sayuri, on a picturesque point on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The two have no children of their own.
- ^
Publishers Weekly September 9, 2020, "The World of Dav Pilkey: Reigning Dogs and Cats" by Sally Lodge.
- ^
"Planet Pilkey"
(PDF)
.
www.scholastic.com
.
- ^
Pilkey, Dav.
"Four New Books"
(PDF)
.
- ^
Archived at
Ghostarchive
and the
Wayback Machine
:
"Dav Pilkey Apology"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
"Captain Underpants: Children's book withdrawn over 'passive racism'
"
. BBC. March 3, 2021
. Retrieved
April 6,
2021
.
- ^
Morales, Christina (March 28, 2021).
"Scholastic Halts Distribution of Book by 'Captain Underpants' Author"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
April 6,
2021
.
- ^
Chen, Melissa
(March 31, 2021).
"
'
Kung Fu Cavemen
'
isn't racist ? just the victim of moral panic by a self-righteous few"
.
The New York Post
. Retrieved
March 31,
2021
.
- ^
Mangu-Ward, Katherine (July 30, 2022).
"Dav Pilkey's
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk
Is Charming, Not Racist"
.
Reason
. Retrieved
July 30,
2022
.
- ^
Mangu-Ward, Katherine (July 3, 2022).
"Who Controls What Books You Can Read?"
.
Reason
. Retrieved
July 3,
2022
.
- ^
ThunderX19 (January 17, 2013).
"Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo-Toilet 2000 Teaser"
.
YouTube
. Archived from
the original
on March 1, 2014
. Retrieved
January 26,
2013
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Schoenberg, Nara (April 16, 2015).
"Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey brings underdog message to Chicago"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
May 23,
2015
.
Pilkey says he's still doing picture books in that vein, even as he follows George and Harold, authors of the upcoming "Dog Man" on new literary adventures.
- ^
Bertini, Cristy (July 28, 2016). "Dav Pilkey's Super Amazing Author Advent-bertini/dav-pilkeys-super-amazing_b_11200852.html".
The Huffington Post
.
- ^
"Guys Read: Terrifying Tales"
. Harper Collins
. Retrieved
October 30,
2015
.
- ^
Lodge, Sally (September 19, 2013).
"Dav Pilkey to Illustrate Picture Book of Inaugural Poem"
.
Publishers Weekly
. Retrieved
October 30,
2015
.
- ^
"The National Written & Illustrated by... Awards Contest for Students Winners"
. Landmark Editions
. Retrieved
August 8,
2007
.
- ^
Association for Library Service to Children (November 30, 1999).
"Caldecott Medal Winners and Honor Books, 1938?Present"
. American Library Association
. Retrieved
May 14,
2019
.
External links
[
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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Dav Pilkey
.
Interviews
[
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]
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