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 heroes us Cap'n U o 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 ads e whole shebang.

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.

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)

D'LACEY, Chris &; Jay D'Lacey . Rain &; Fire . 304p. Scholastic / Orchard . 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41453-1 . LC 2012014374. Gr 5-8 A companion guide to the Last Dragon Chronicles . Gr 58 FREDERICK, Heather Vogel . Wish You Were Eyre . 464p. (The Mother Daughter Book Club Series). S &; S. 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3064-8 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4423-4199-9 . Gr 69 FRIEDMAN, Laurie . Mallory and Mary Take New York . Bk. 19. illus. by Jennifer Kalis. 152p. Darby Creek . Mar. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-6074-2 ; ebook $11.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0962-0 . LC 2012019008. Gr 35 GUTMAN, Dan . Miss Kraft Is Daft! Bk. 7. illus. by Jim Paillot. 112p. (My Weirder School Series). HarperCollins / Harper . Jan. 2013. pap. $3.99. ISBN 978-0-06-204215-6 . Gr 23 GUTMAN, Dan . You Only Die Twice . Bk. 3. 289p. (The Genius Files Series). HarperCollins / Harper . Feb. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-182770-9 ; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-182771-6 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-220284-0 . Gr 58 HOLUB, Joan &; Suzanne Williams . Pandora the Curious . Bk. 9. 256p. (Goddess Girls Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5975-5 ; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4935-0 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4936-7 . Gr 36 IRWIN, Bindi &; Chris Kunz . Bindi: Behind the Scenes: The Wildlife Games . 192p. Trafalgar Square . Feb. 2013. pap. $11.99. ISBN 978-1-86471-839-3 . Gr 36 KAIN, P.G. Dramatic Pause . Bk. 3. 288p. (Commercial Breaks Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2012. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9788-7 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9791-7 . LC 2012948208. Gr 58 KESSLER, Liz . Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun . Bk. 5. illus. by Natacha Ledwidge. 272p. Candlewick . Feb. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5824-3 . Gr 46 KINNEY, Jeff . The Third Wheel . Bk. 7. illus. by author. 224p. (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series). Abrams / Amulet . 2012. Tr $13.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0584-7 . Gr 4–8 LASKY, Kathryn . Star Wolf . Bk 6. 246p. (Wolves of the Beyond Series). Scholastic . Jan. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-27962-8 . LC 2012029320. Gr 4–6 MCCLINTOCK, Norah . Change of Heart . Bk. 7. 218p. ISBN 978-0-7613-8317-8 ; ISBN 978-1-4677-0701-5 ; ISBN 978-1-4677-0963-7 . MCCLINTOCK, Norah . In Too Deep . Bk. 8. 224p. ISBN 978-0-7613-8318-5 ; ISBN 978-1-4677-0702-2 ; ISBN 978-1-4677-0964-4 . ea vol: (A Robyn Hunter Mystery). Darby Creek . Mar. 2013. Tr $27.93; pap. $8.95; ebook $20.95. Gr 6 Up MCDONALD, Megan . Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout . Bk. 8. illus. by Peter H. Reynolds. 160p. Candlewick . Feb. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6140-3 ; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6422-0 . Gr 1–3 MATT AND DAVE . Yuck's Fart Club . illus. by Nigel Baines. S &; S. 112 p. Jan. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8153-4 ; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8152-7 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8154-1 . LC 2012027627. Gr 3–4 PILKEY, Dav . Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers . Bk. 10. illus. by author. 224p. Scholastic . Jan. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-545-17536-4 . LC 2012944030. Gr 3–6 RIORDAN, Rick . The Mark of Athena . Bk. 3. 608p. (The Heroes of Olympus Series). Hyperion / Disney . 2012. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-4060-3 . LC 2012017264. Gr 5–9 SELFORS, Suzanne . Smells Like Pirates . Bk. 3. 384p. (Smells Like Dog Series). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20596-2 . LC 2012028738. Gr 4–7 SMITH, Roland . I, Q: Kitty Hawk . Bk. 3. 230p. (I, Q Series). Sleeping Bear . 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-58536-605-7 ; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-58536-604-0 . Gr 5–8 SNIEGOSKI, Tom . Quest for the Spark . Bk. 3. illus. by Jeff Smith. 288p. (Bone Series). Scholastic / Graphix . Jan. 2013. Tr $22.99. ISBN 978-0-545-14105-5 ; pap. $10.99. ISBN 978-0-545-14106-2 . LC 2012025128. Gr 4–8