Mar 18, 2010 09:05 ET
TRA-LA-LAAAAAA! Scholastic Announces New Four-Book Deal With Captain Underpants Creator Dav Pilkey Starting With "
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future" (An All-New Graphic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the Creators of Captain Underpants)
To Be Published August 10, 2010, With Million-Copy First Printing
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 18, 2010) - Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education, and media company, announced today that it has signed a new four-book deal with Dav Pilkey, author of the bestselling and award-winning Captain Underpants series. On August 10, 2010, The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic, will release The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future (an all-new graphic novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the creators of the Captain Underpants and Super Diaper Baby series), with a world English first printing of one million copies. Three more new books will follow. The deal for world rights was negotiated by Amy Berkower, President of Writers House, for Dav Pilkey and Ellie Berger, President of the Scholastic Trade division.
"Dav Pilkey is one of the world's most innovative, hilarious, and adored creators of children's books working today," said Ellie Berger. "Scholastic is proud to introduce Dav Pilkey's legions of fans, as well as young readers lucky enough to be discovering Captain Underpants for the first time, to new out-of-this-world Captain Underpants adventures, starting with Ook and Gluk."
"Dav has introduced both literacy and laughter to millions of children who resisted reading but then leaped to devour the Captain Underpants books," said Bonnie Verburg, VP, Editorial Director, The Blue Sky Press. "He has promoted reading as few have, and the Blue Sky Press team is ecstatic to have this irresistibly funny new book."
"I think fans of Captain Underpants will be very happy with this new book. It has all of the action, laffs and ridiculousness that kids love, plus all the unapologetic irreverence and questionable potty humor that grumpy curmudgeons love to complain about. It's got something for everybody!" said Dav Pilkey.
In this all-new graphic novel, George Beard and Harold Hutchins present the sensational saga of two silly caveboys named Ook and Gluk. Ook and Gluk have a pretty awesome life growing up together in Caveland, Ohio, in 500,001 BC -- even though they're always getting in trouble with their nasty leader, Big Chief Goppernopper. But Ook and Gluk's idyllic life takes a turn for the terrible when an evil corporation from the future invades their quiet, prehistoric town. When Ook, Gluk, and their little dinosaur pal, Lily, are pulled through a time portal to the year 2222 AD, they discover that the world of the future is even worse than the devastated one they came from. Fortunately, they find a friend in Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who trains them in the ways of kung fu, so that they may one day return home and make things right again. And, like the other Captain Underpants books, The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future features the world's cheesiest animation technology, "Flip-O-Rama," in every chapter.
Launched in September 1997 with The Adventures of Captain Underpants, the Captain Underpants series has more than 45 million books in print in North America. Dav Pilkey's last three epic novels, Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People (August 2006), Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets (August 2003), and Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers (September 2003), each debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The Captain Underpants books are published in 19 languages.
Dav Pilkey created his first stories as comic books while he was in elementary school. Since then, in addition to the Captain Underpants series, his Blue Sky Press/Scholastic books include numerous popular, award-winning books for children, such as Dog Breath, winner of the California Young Reader Medal; The Paperboy, a Caldecott Honor Book; The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list; and the Dumb Bunnies series. He is also the author of the Ricky Ricotta series, illustrated by Martin Ontiveros. For more information about Dav Pilkey, visit
www.pilkey.com.
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
By Dav Pilkey
The Blue Sky Press / Scholastic
August 10, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-17530-2
$9.99 hardcover
Ages 7-10
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