Courtesy of Scholastic
Dav Pilkey's visit to St. Louis in 2018, where more than 900 people came to hear the 'Captain Underpants' author speak.
Author Dav Pilkey’s last appearance in the St. Louis area drew more than 900 attendees, selling out St. Louis County Library’s Main Reading Room in less than two minutes. So, this year, the event organizers at The Novel Neighbor, the Webster Groves bookstore that helped coordinate Pilkey’s 2018 visit, opted to supersize the space, accommodating more fans of Pilkey’s Captain Underpants and Dog Man series. Pilkey and his comic characters will appear at Chaifetz Arena from 1 p.m.–6 p.m. on August 18.
The Do Good Tour stop in St. Louis will feature photo ops with the underwear-clad superhero and canine cop (who is “part-dog, part-man, and all hero”), an author talk and live drawing session, as well as a meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with Pilkey. Each ticket ($25) also includes a pre-signed copy of Pilkey’s latest book, Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls, and a superhero cape.
The tour’s title stems from the Do Good campaign launched by Scholastic Corp., Pilkey’s publisher. In keeping with some of the key themes of the Dog Man series, tour stops will include a charitable component promoting literacy and community connections. Among other outreach efforts in St. Louis, The Novel Neighbor is working with select school districts to bring large groups to the event and partnering with Kids On The Move to provide 100 free event tickets, which each admit two people and include a pre-signed book. Pilkey is also covering the cost of parking for all attendees.
Here, the best-selling author tells SLM about his struggles in school and how kids’ comics contribute to his work:
You were diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia as a child and faced some obstacles in school. Can you talk about the role libraries played in helping you face those challenges?
Visiting my public library was a real turning point for me. I was having a really difficult time in school because of my dyslexia. I was associating reading with something negative. My mom decided, instead of focusing on what I was reading, she just wanted to make sure that I was reading constantly. So she got me a library card and, every week, she would take me to the library and let me pick out whatever I wanted with no judgment whatsoever. That was kind of a new thing because I was getting a lot of judgment in school: "That's not in your reading level. You’ve already read that book 10 times." My mom never did that. She let me bring home whatever I wanted. Going to the library every week and bringing home whatever I loved made me associate reading with love—and that's what changed it all.
Your elementary school teachers inadvertently fostered your talents by sending you out into the hall as punishment, giving you the time to create comics. But how can parents and other adults purposely help kids who may not be flourishing in a school setting discover and develop their talents?
One is to try to figure out what a kid is passionate about. That's what my parents did. They knew I love to create stories, and I love to make comics and draw pictures. So, they actually commissioned original comics from me that I would make just for them. As soon as I finished one, they would drop whatever they were doing, sit down and read it with me, and laugh and talk about it. Getting that rapport with my parents, that connection was really powerful.
Another thing I talk to parents about is developing the habit of reading. If a child in your life is struggling with school or socially, encourage reading for fun and make it a habit—an everyday habit—because it not only helps kids do better in school, it helps them do better socially. It helps them become more empathetic and kind. That's something parents can do by modeling the behavior, putting the phone down and reading as a family, perhaps. It’s something that's really important.
What inspired the Do Good campaign?
That's something kids have really been connecting within the Dog Man books. The characters are trying to become better characters, better people, better animals. Kids have been responding to that, so we thought it might be interesting to get kids involved—to not only be good but to do good things. So we’re hoping this campaign helps spread goodwill throughout communities.
Courtesy of Scholastic
You first drew Captain Underpants as a second-grader. How do you stay in touch with your second-grade self?
By actually going out and meeting kids and fostering that connection. That was one thing that was very important to me as a child. I didn't want to be the bad kid in school, the kid who couldn't read very well. I think I made comics as a way to have a connection with my peers. In a way, that is still happening. Meeting kids, seeing their drawings, and hearing their stories really inspires me.
The drawing style in your Captain Underpants and Dog Man books is really pretty simple. You even have instructions for drawing the characters on your site. What has inspired that aspect of your work?
I think it's something I learned from kids, actually. Before I started Captain Underpants, I had maybe 20 books out. So children would write to me and they would draw me pictures. I was always fascinated by how they would interpret something I had drawn. I would note patterns, and the theme of roundness always coming across. When I did the Captain Underpants books, I totally redesigned the character and made him much rounder than what he had been when I was drawing him as a child.
With Dog Man, too, because the idea behind the story is these comics are written and illustrated by kids. I really went back to the drawings children were sending me and studied them. There are so many things I learned. For example, the way they draw arms. A lot of times children, if they are 6, 7, 8 years old, won't draw arms if they're not necessary. So I incorporated that type of style into the Dog Man illustrations. I also think it's incredibly important to not only show how [the characters] George and Harold started out by drawing almost stick figures, [but to also] show the improvement. Kids improve as they draw, too.
Your Captain Underpants books have come under fire for different reasons, including “offensive language,” according to some complaints, even leading the American Library Association’s list of Most Challenged Books. How do you feel about that?
I don't really worry too much about it because I know the amount of love out there is so much greater than the amount of concern. If you look back at the people who have had books challenged—Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, and Harper Lee—to be on a list with those authors is actually quite an honor. I try not to let it bother me.
What advice would you give to kids who might be facing some of the same struggles you faced?
I think it's the same advice I give to parents: really develop the habit of reading, because there have been many studies that show kids who read for fun do better in school, do better socially, and do better in life. It really changes lives and it's something that's fun, too.
