The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby
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 Book cover | |
| Author | Dav Pilkey (credited as George Beard) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Dav Pilkey (credited as Harold Hutchins) |
| Language | English |
| Series | Captain Underpants series |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Blue Sky (US) Scholastic (US) |
Publication date | February 5, 2002 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 128 (Paperback) 144 (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | 9780545385794 |
| Followed by | Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers |
The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby is a 2002 children's graphic novel by American author Dav Pilkey, credited on the cover as in-universe authors George Beard and Harold Hutchins. The book is a spin-off of Pilkey's Captain Underpants series.[1] It follows a baby named Billy who gains superpowers shortly after birth. Billy teams up with a super-powered dog, Diaper Dog, to fight Diaper Dog's former master, a sentient piece of feces named Deputy Dangerous.
Plot
[edit]Introduction
[edit]Fourth-graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins skate over ketchup packets in the school gym until their mean-spirited principal, Mr. Krupp, catches them and makes them write a 100-page essay on good citizenship. The boys instead create a comic book about a superhero called "Super Diaper Baby", to Mr. Krupp's surprise.
Plot
[edit]Expectant couple Bill and Mary Hoskins rush to the hospital; meanwhile, Deputy Dangerous and his talking pet dog, Danger Dog, drain Captain Underpants of his superpowers. They convert the superpowers into juice, intending to share it to give themselves powers. Danger Dog drinks half of the juice, but the police come to arrest them before the Deputy gets a chance to drink. They run away from the police, ending up below the hospital.
At the hospital, Mary gives birth to a boy named Billy. The attending doctor gives Billy a "spank of life", accidentally sending him out of the window. He lands in Deputy Dangerous' container of juice and drinks it, gaining superpowers and becoming Super Diaper Baby. Billy then overpowers Deputy Dangerous and Danger Dog, who are arrested.
Danger Dog and Deputy Dangerous break out of jail and escape to their secret lab, where the Deputy invents a crib device that would transmit Billy's powers to him at midnight. They deliver it to the Hoskins under pseudonyms, "Deputy Un-Dangerous" and "Safety Dog". Billy poops before midnight, and Mary takes him out of the crib as the device turns on. It transmits the poop, turning Deputy Dangerous into a small piece of feces. The next morning, Deputy Dangerous invents a robotic ant mecha-suit and intends to use it to destroy the city as an act of revenge. Danger Dog does not take the Deputy's efforts seriously, calling him "Deputy Doo-Doo" and choosing to cause mischief instead of destruction.
Billy's father sees the ant suit, scaring him, and Billy leaves his home to defeat it. Billy fights the Deputy, who captures him and throws him into a nearby nuclear power cooling tower. Danger Dog flies into the tower, saving Billy. Deputy Danger falls into the tower and the radiation makes him grow larger. Meanwhile, Billy's family adopts Danger Dog and renames him to Diaper Dog.
Deputy Danger continues his destruction of the city and Billy and Diaper Dog seek to stop him. They trick him into attacking himself and wrap him up in a giant roll of toilet paper before flying him to Uranus. Billy and Diaper Dog order superpower juice at a restaurant on Uranus and give it to Captain Underpants, restoring his powers.
Characters
[edit]- Billy Hoskins/Super Diaper Baby – the book's protagonist, a newborn baby who gains Captain Underpants' powers.
- Danger/Diaper Dog – the Hoskins' pet dog and Super Diaper Baby's sidekick. He was once allied with Deputy Dangerous because the villain fed him ample "kibbles". He gained superpowers by drinking half of the liquid produced by Deputy Dangerous' power-draining ray.
- Deputy Dangerous/Doo-Doo – the main antagonist of the first book. He becomes a piece of feces during one of his attempts to steal Super Diaper Baby's powers and grows huge when he is exposed to nuclear radiation. Billy and Diaper Dog wrap him with toilet paper take him to Uranus.
- Dr. Dilbert Dinkle/Rip Van Tinkle – the main antagonist of Super Diaper Baby 2. Once a criminal and inventor, he is shunned due to his smell, as simple water-turned-urine. Dav Pilkey originally planned to name Tinkle "Pee Pee Longstockings". While attacking a giant pee-formed Dr. Dinkle, Billy and Diaper Dog push the Earth away from the sun, making it snow and Dr. Dinkle freeze solid.
- Petey – a grumpy tabby cat. Petey dislikes Rip Van Tinkle's attitude and bad breath. He is the controller of the Robo Kitty and Supa-Mecha Kitty 3000. He appears in the second book and the Dog Man graphic novels.
Additional characters
[edit]- Bill and Mary Hoskins - Billy's parents.
- Captain Underpants - In the first book, he enters a trap in which Deputy Danger, disguised as an underwear cleaner, zaps his powers, turning them into a juice.
- The Doctor - After Billy's birth, he attempts to give Billy the "spank of life", sending him out the window. Upon returning to the birthing room, Billy, with his superpowers, spanks the doctor.
Foreword characters
[edit]- George Beard - The in-universe author of the book.
- Harold Hutchins - The in-universe illustrator of the book.
- Mr. Krupp - The principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, who finds the books in the Super Diaper Baby series offensive.
Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers
[edit]| Author | Dav Pilkey (credited as George Beard) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Dav Pilkey (credited as Harold Hutchins) |
| Language | English |
| Series | Captain Underpants series |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Blue Sky (US) Scholastic (US) |
Publication date | June 28, 2011 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 9780545175326 |
| Preceded by | The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby |
An advertisement for a sequel titled Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers is found on the last page of the first book. Its release took longer than Dav Pilkey, who took care of his terminally ill father, initially anticipated; his father died in 2008.[2][3] On the back page, there was a picture of the sequel with the words The Third Epic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins underneath. It was published on June 28, 2011, named The Third Graphic Novel.
Introduction
[edit]The book begins after the end of the first book's introduction. Mr. Krupp becomes furious at the comic George and Harold turned in as their 100-page essay. When the boys struggle to think of something to write that does not involve poop, Krupp shows them a book from his childhood, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! with the last seven page torn out, which he believes is more realistic that way. Upon reading it, George and Harold are inspired create something without poop and decide to make their sequel about pee. Offended by their new book, Krupp send them to detention.
Plot
[edit]The Hoskins and Diaper Dog set up a picnic in the park where Billy ends up over a tree, but he and Diaper Dog force a doll back from a bully, get a ball out of a portable toilet, and get a toe-broken kid to the hospital in a few seconds. That night, Mr. Hoskins feels depressed, but after a reminder by his wife, he decides to read Mechafrog and Robotoad are Enemies to Billy. Billy can now read it to him, instead, due to the powers he gained. Meanwhile, two criminals called Dr. Dilbert Dinkle and Petey the Cat sneak into Jim's Bank, but before Dr. Dinkle can measure for his invention, Petey accidentally pushes a lever, and Dr. Dinkle turns into water. Petey accidentally destroys the invention, leaving Dr. Dinkle made out of water permanently. Dr. Dinkle likes being made out of water when he is able to turn into a puddle, sneak into the vault, and steal the money. Back at his home, Dr. Dinkle finds out he will never pay the water bill and his supply is cut off after two weeks. Petey complains he needs water for drinking, but Dr. Dinkle goes to sleep. Petey drinks him in revenge. The next morning, Dr. Dinkle yells to be let out, right when Petey needs to urinate and the cat leaps into his litter box. Dr. Dinkle discovers that he is now made out of urine, and Petey coins the name "Rip Van Tinkle", much to Dinkle's dismay. Petey makes jokes at his expense and makes him go to multiple places, all of which kick him out for his smell.
The following night, Rip Van Tinkle puts Petey in the Robo Kitty 3000, before he evaporates and rains pee on people. Soon, the pee drops break into houses to steal toilets for the Robo Kitty 3000 to destroy. One drop gets caught by Billy, so it tricks him into thinking that it will repair the toilet, gives him a juice box in bed, then the Kitty destroys the toilet. The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins are in pain, and they put on diapers, while the mayor decides to drain the pool. The pee drops unite to recreate Rip Van Tinkle, while Petey steals diapers to sell to the people who were robbed of toilets. Rip Van Tinkle takes Petey's money, and the cat soaks him up with toilet paper. Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog arrive, only for Petey to evolve the Robo Kitty 3000 into the Supa-Mecha Kitty 3000. Super Diaper Baby flies to buy catnip and pour it inside the control seat. Petey goes crazy after smelling the catnip, bounces around, and detaches the Supa-Mecha Kitty 3000's head. Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog grab Petey and carry him to jail.
A drop of pee gets flicked up and lands in the Mayor's pool, where it grows into an enlarged Rip Van Tinkle, whom the duo finds wreaking havoc at the train tracks. Rip Van Tinkle uses the train as nunchucks and hits both of them. Rip Van Tinkle overpowers the two and smashes a building on top of them. Super Diaper Baby remembers that a week before, he put his juice box in the freezer and it froze solid, giving Diaper Dog the idea to push down on the Earth. It works and makes the Earth move farther from the Sun. Rip Van Tinkle freezes, and Diaper Dog and Super Diaper Baby carry Rip Van Tinkle, while Super Diaper Baby gets an idea of how to cheer up his father.
Back at the Hoskins' house, Billy tells Mr. Hoskins that there was an ice monster outside and that he was brave enough to stand up to it. Diaper Dog, hiding behind and making a voice for Rip Van Tinkle, talks to Mr. Hoskins. The "ice monster" is "scared" of Mr. Hoskins' talking and leaves Earth. While someone asks for Mr. Hoskins' autograph, Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog take Rip Van Tinkle to Uranus, only for Deputy Doo-Doo to say "The Baby again." They return to Earth, and take a picture with Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins with a news reporter and put out a newspaper saying, "Diaper Clad Dad Saves The Earth!".
Reception
[edit]Super Diaper Baby series received positive reviews from book critics.
Barbara Schultz of Common Sense Media gave the first book three stars out of five, calling it "really pretty hilarious." She praised the art as "adorable." However, she also noticed the humor involved with "almost all the bathroom variety, and it is so funny to kids that they will read it and talk about it many more times than adults might want."[4]
Controversy
[edit]Super Diaper Baby has frequently been banned and challenged and was on the American Library Association's lists of the 100 most banned and challenged books between 2000 and 2009, at 47th place,[5] and between 2010 and 2019, at 41st place."[6]
Super Diaper Baby was challenged in the Riverside Unified School District for being inappropriate for children due to its excessive toilet humor and intentionally misspelled words. A committee voted 5–2 to reject its removal.[7][8]
The book was removed at the Channelview Independent School District after an elementary student was suspended for a day after calling another student a "poo poo head."[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Pilkey, Dav (2003). "Dav's Books". pilkey.com. Eyeland Studio. Archived from the original (Web page) on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ^ Staskiewicz, Keith. "'Captain Underpants' returns: Creator and potty humor maestro Dav Pilkey gives us the scoop". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Macpherson, Karen (22 July 2011). "Super Diaper Baby is back in all his powder and glory". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Schultz, Barbara (July 12, 2017). "The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby Book Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". Banned & Challenged Books. American Library Association. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ "Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019". American Library Association. 2020-09-09. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ Sauerwein, Kristina (13 June 2003). "Super Diaper Baby Survives". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Sauerwein, Kristina (5 June 2003). "Panel Torn Over Fate of 'Super Diaper Baby'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ "Channelview ISD removes 'poo poo' book from elementary school library". KHOU. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2019.