Mr. Pilkey fist-bumped every student as they left the assembly.
Mr. Pilkey said that even though his school days were
sometimes difficult, he was fortunate to have supportive
parents. “I owe credit to my mom,” who told him to “look
at problems as opportunities.” He described how he used
his extra energy and imagination to create his characters on
paper and, beginning with his first Captain Underpants story
published in 1997, books that bring laughter as well as a love
of reading to children.
Mr. Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series has sold 70 million
copies worldwide. According to his website, he has written
and illustrated numerous popular, award-winning books for
children, including both the Captain Underpants and Dumb
Bunnies series; “Dog Breath,” winner of the California
Third grader Leo Vandapel took Mr. Pilkey’s
latest book, “Dog Man: A Tale of Two
Kitties,” to be signed by the author. “They
are really funny,” he explained as to why he
likes Mr. Pilkey’s books. Leo said that Little Petey (the bad cat)
was his favorite character in the Dog Man series. He also said
that he and his father had traveled to the Carnegie Library the
day before for a presentation by his favorite author, and it was
the first time he had ever gone to see an author in person. “I
met him. He was a great guy,” Leo said, and added about the
experience, “It was really cool, and I felt special.” He also said
he learned from Mr. Pilkey’s presentations that “If you don’t
succeed, keep on doing until you can.”
The author visit at O’Hara was sponsored through the
Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Words & Pictures program with
support from the EQT Foundation.
Mr. Pilkey drew a picture of one of his favorite characters as he told the students about his life.
Fox Chapel Area | Winter 2017 | icmags.com 11
“Students love his books,” said O’Hara
Elementary School librarian Karen Fornari.
“I can’t keep his books on the shelf. We have
a long waiting list in the library for his Dog
Man books.”
Young Reader Medal; and “The Paperboy,”
a Caldecott Honor Book. Many of his
characters evolved from those second-grade
illustrations, including the half-man, half-dog
superhero, Dog Man.