What Is Dav Pilkey's Superpower?

When Dav (dayv) Pilkey was in second grade, his teacher spoke to the class. Dav can’t remember why, but at one point she said the word underwear.

Underwear! The class burst out laughing.

“Underwear is NOT funny,” Dav’s teacher said.

That just made the class crack up even harder!

As Dav laughed hysterically, he started thinking about the word underwear. “I remember thinking that it’s an amazingly powerful word that can make everyone laugh. I should do something with that.”

Dav later created a book character based on that word. People around the world have seen or heard of it. Do you know the character?

Dav (dayv) Pilkey was in second grade. One day, his teacher spoke to the class. She said the word underwear. Dav can’t remember why.

Underwear! The class burst out laughing.

“Underwear is NOT funny,” Dav’s teacher said.

That just made the class crack up even harder!

As Dav laughed really hard, he started thinking about the word underwear. “I remember thinking that it’s an amazingly powerful word that can make everyone laugh. I should do something with that.”

Dav later created a book character based on that word. People around the world have seen or heard of it. Do you know the character?

Plus, other problems began to pile up. Dav struggled to pay attention. So he made jokes. Making his classmates laugh helped school go by faster. But then he started getting in trouble for goofing around. Almost every day, his second-grade teacher would point to the door. “Mr. Pilkey, out!” she’d say. 

Dav had to sit at a desk in the hallway. He would sit there by himself for a few hours. It was very isolating. He didn’t like being separated from the rest of his classmates.

Dav wondered, “How come I’m the only person who has these problems?”

And other problems began to pile up. It was hard for Dav to pay attention. So he made jokes. Making his classmates laugh helped school go by faster. But then he started getting in trouble for not paying attention. His second-grade teacher would point to the door almost every day. “Mr. Pilkey, out!” she’d say. 

Dav had to sit at a desk in the hallway. He would sit there by himself for a few hours. It was very isolating. He didn’t like being separated from the rest of his classmates.

Dav wondered why he was the only person with these problems.

It turns out there was a reason Dav had a hard time with reading and paying attention. He has ADHD and dyslexia (dis-LEK-see-uh). Those are learning differences. They make it hard to focus and learn. A person with ADHD can have trouble concentrating on one task. And someone with dyslexia has a hard time reading.

Today we know that people learn in different ways. But when Dav was growing up, people didn’t know as much about ADHD and dyslexia. Dav didn’t get the support he needed. He sometimes came home from school feeling very upset.

Luckily for Dav, someone was there to help. Dav’s mom encouraged him to stay positive. She guessed that something good could come out of his time in the hall. And she was right.

Dav started to ask himself, “How can I turn this bad thing into something good?” Before long, he had an idea. He could draw and write stories at that desk in the hall.

Dav may have had trouble with reading. But he was great at drawing. Dav drew and drew. With a lot of practice, his skills improved.

Dav’s drawings became more detailed. He added exciting vocabulary to his dialogue. Soon he was creating his own comics. His parents loved them! They asked him if he would make a series of comic books just for them.

It turns out there was a reason Dav had a hard time with reading and paying attention. He has ADHD and dyslexia (dis-LEK-see-uh). Those are learning differences. They make it hard to focus and learn. A person with ADHD can have trouble concentrating on one task. And someone with dyslexia has a hard time reading.

Today we know that people learn in different ways. But when Dav was growing up, people didn’t know as much about ADHD and dyslexia. Dav didn’t get the support he needed. He sometimes came home from school feeling very upset.

Dav was lucky he had someone there to help. Dav’s mom told him to stay positive. She said that something good could come out of his time in the hall. And she was right.

Dav started to wonder how he could turn this bad thing into something good. Then he had an idea. He could draw and write stories at that desk in the hall.

Dav may have had trouble with reading. But he was great at drawing. Dav drew and drew. He practiced a lot. His skills got better.

Dav’s drawings became more detailed. He added exciting vocabulary to his writing. Soon he was creating his own comics. His parents loved them! They asked him if he would make a series of comic books just for them.

Dav made his first comic book in second grade. It was about a character named Dog Man. (Sound familiar?) Dog Man would get hit by lightning if the town needed a superhero. Pow! Suddenly, Dog Man had superpowers! He could save everyone.

Dav drew another comic too. He remembered the word underwear. It had the power to make people laugh. So he drew a man wearing a pair of underwear. Dav called him Captain Underpants!

Dav showed his comic books to his friends. Other kids thought his comics were great! His teacher didn’t agree. She took the comics away.

But Dav persevered. Years later, a teacher encouraged him to enter one of his books in a competition. He won!

Eventually, companies started publishing Dav’s books for children. Dav went to schools and talked to kids about being a writer. He told them how he used to sit in the school hallway. He would also mention his old comic character, Captain Underpants. Everyone would crack up!

“Are you going to make a book about Captain Underpants?” kids would ask.

“Hmm, maybe I should,” he thought.

Dav made his first comic book in second grade. It was about a character named Dog Man. (Sound familiar?) Dog Man would get hit by lightning if the town needed a superhero. Pow! Suddenly, Dog Man had superpowers! He could save everyone.

Dav drew another comic too. He remembered the word underwear. It had the power to make people laugh. So he drew a man wearing a pair of underwear. Dav called him Captain Underpants!

Dav showed his comic books to his friends. Other kids thought his comics were great! His teacher didn’t agree. She took the comics away.

But Dav persevered. Years later, a teacher told him to enter one of his books in a competition. He won!

More time passed. Companies started publishing Dav’s books for children. Dav went to schools. He talked to kids about being a writer. He told them how he used to sit in the school hallway. He would talk about his old comic character, Captain Underpants. Everyone would laugh!

“Are you going to make a book about Captain Underpants?” kids would ask.

“Hmm, maybe I should,” he thought.

How do you make your books funny and exciting for kids?

I write for the kid I used to be. I had a difficult time reading because most of the books I read were not interesting to me. Then my mom took me to the library. She let me pick out my own books. That’s when I began to enjoy reading. I want reading to be fun!

What advice do you have for young authors and illustrators?

The more you practice, the better you will become. It’s important to keep trying, study artists you admire, and read as many books as possible!

How do you make your books funny and exciting for kids?

I write for the kid I used to be. I had a difficult time reading because most of the books I read were not interesting to me. Then my mom took me to the library. She let me pick out my own books. That’s when I began to enjoy reading. I want reading to be fun!

What advice do you have for young authors and illustrators?

The more you practice, the better you will become. It’s important to keep trying, study artists you admire, and read as many books as possible!