In their third epic adventure, George and Harold show just what you get when you expect fourth-graders to sit still and pay attention for seven hours a day. An introductory cartoon strip, Wedgie Wars, takes parody and bad spelling to new depths. Mr. Krupp, the principal, still turns into Captain Underpants at the snap of a finger--and gains new superpowers before the end of the book. And there are fart jokes, dead jokes, the Toilet Paper of Justice, sly references to everything from Batman to the Wizard of Oz, and a Flip-O-Rama featuring incredibly graphic violence (not really). What can you say about a book in which space aliens are named Zorx, Klax, and Jennifer? Or about the incredibly tasteless cafeteria lady jokes? And what can you say about the next in the series, which will feature a character named Professor Poopypants? You know how many copies you'll need to buy. (Reviewed September 15, 1999)

Space aliens land their ship on the roof of Horwitz Elementary and get jobs as lunchroom ladies. Their plot to take over the world starts by turning the student body into zombie nerds with taped eyeglasses and pocket protectors. Enter Captain Underpants (a.k.a. Principal Krupp) who, assisted by young cut-ups George and Harold, saves the day. Silly? You bet. But also laugh-out-loud funny.

Once again, it's Wedgie Power to the rescue, in a book subtitled "And the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)." When aliens Zorx, Klax, and Jennifer launch their invasion of Earth by converting the students and teachers of the Jerome Horwitz Elementary School into an army of zombies with pocket protectors, it's up to inveterate troublemakers George and Harold, with their feckless ally Captain Underpants (he's the mean principal's alter-ego), to save the planet. The deed is done in a crowd-pleasing welter of plot twists and bathroom humor, wisecracks and free shots at school food; Pilkey's black-and-white cartoons move from crudely-drawn comic books created by the boys to pages that readers are required to flip back and forth for an animated effect. As in the previous appearances of Captain Underpants (The Adventures of Captain Underpants, 1997, etc.), this gross but not gruesome adventure will have fans looking forward to the upcoming (and obviously perfectly tasteful) Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants. (Fiction. 8-10)

Fourth-grade cut-ups Harold and George and their principal-turned-superhero are as funny as ever in Pilkey's third Captain Underpants caper. (For those in the dark, the superhero in question is an underwear-clad, toilet-paper-toting crusader for """"Truth, Justice, and ALL that is Preshrunk and Cottony""""). As in the earlier installments, this zany tale adopts a variety of formats, including sprightly illustrated text; reproductions of the two boys' homemade comic books; and """"flip-o-rama"""" pages that replicate """"world-famous cheesy animation technique."""" Captain Underpants and his errant students here go up against a trio of aliens posing as lunch ladies. Suddenly students begin turning into """"zombie nerds"""": """"Look,"""" says George, """"They're all wearing broken eyeglasses held together with masking tape... and they've got vinyl pocket protectors!!!"""" It's all part of the aliens' quest to take over the world: """"It won't be long now,"""" says the evil Klax. """"Tomorrow we'll feed them Super Evil Rapid-Growth Juice! Then they will grow to the size of Zleqxisfp trees."""" Those with a limited tolerance for the silly need not apply to the Captain Underpants fan club, yet its legion members will plunge happily into his latest bumbling adventure. Ages 7-10. (Sept.)