The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future

November 1, 2010

Gr 3-6-The year is 500,001 BC. The town is Caveland, OH. Ook Schadowski and Gluk Jones have a knack for getting under the skin of no-good Chief Goppernopper, the ruler of Caveland. When one of his distant descendants uses a portal to travel back in time from AD 2222 and steal natural resources, our heroes jump into action, traveling to the future, where they learn kung fu and eventually put a stop to the evildoers. The humor is completely immature, and for the target audience, completely hilarious. Billed as The Second Graphic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins-The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby (Scholastic, 2002) was the first-the book is crafted to look like it was written and illustrated by kids, employing rough black-and-white pencil and watercolor artwork. Also in keeping with the ruse, words are often misspelled-a fact that will drive many teachers and parents bonkers, but will likely have little effect on the spelling skills of youngsters. Few books can inspire the level of devotion seen by the "Captain Underpants" series, but Pilkey has likely re-created that feat with the joyous Ook and Gluk, a book destined to fly off the shelves and circulate until the cover falls off.-Travis Jonker, Dorr Elementary School, MI

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2010
Grades 2-4 Caveboys Ook and Gluk live in Caveland, Ohio, during the Stone Age, 500,001 BC, and they spend a lot of time annoying Chief Goppernopper, the ruler of Caveland, and fighting with Mog-Mog the Tyrannosaurus rex. One day, Goppernopper and the boys come across people from the future stealing natural resources. Ook and Gluk, along with baby Tyrannosaurus Lily, pass through the time machine into 2222 ADa future in which Goppernopper Enterprises is reaping huge profits by despoiling the pastand learn kung fu to take on the evil corporation and save their own time. Pilkey uses the same style of art and irreverent humor as in his Captain Underpants books (in fact, this book is ostensibly created by the fourth-grade heroes of those books, George Beard and Harold Hutchins). Ook and Glukand all the inhabitants of Caveland for that matterspeak in poor, misspelled grammar (Me shure hope this works). This wild graphic novel will appeal to those who like silly adventures, puke-based humor, and kung-fu fighting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2011
Legions of Captain Underpants fans will enjoy this graphic novel "created" by the series' two main characters. The title captures the elements that will appeal to boy readers--kung-fu, cavemen, and time travel--combined to good effect and rendered with childlike art and "ooga-booga" dialogue. An ecological theme in one story adds some educational value, but this is primarily just laugh-out-loud fun.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)