View source for Dav Pilkey

{{short description|American cartoonist and author (born 1966)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| pseudonym    = Dan Pilkey<br>George Beard<br>Harold Hutchins<br>Sue Denim
| name        = Dav Pilkey
| image        = Dav Pilkey at a book event in 2018.jpg
| caption      = Pilkey at a book event in 2018
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1966|3|4}}
| birth_name   = David Murray Pilkey Jr.
| birth_place  = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| occupation   = {{flatlist|
* Author
* illustrator
* cartoonist
}}
| years active = 1987–present
| genre        = Children's literature, comedy.
| notableworks = ''[[Dragon (TV series)|Dragon]]'' series<br />''[[Captain Underpants]]'' series<br />''[[Dog Man]]'' series<br />''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot (series)|Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot]]'' series<br />''[[Dumb Bunnies]]'' series
| subject      =
| movement     =
| spouse       = {{marriage|Sayuri Pilkey|2005}}
| signature    = Dav Pilkey signature.svg
| website      = {{URL|http://pilkey.com}}
{{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=National Book Festival Presents Dav Pilkey.wav|title=Dav Pilkey's voice|type=speech|description=Pilkey talking about his childhood experiences, recorded 2019}}
}}
'''David Murray''' "'''Dav'''" '''Pilkey Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|eɪ|v}}; born March 4, 1966)<ref>[http://www.pilkey.com/adv-text.php Pilkey.com<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204141612/http://www.pilkey.com/adv-text.php |date=February 4, 2008 }}</ref> is an American [[cartoonist]], author, and [[illustrator]] of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series ''[[Captain Underpants]]'' and its spin-off children's graphic novel series ''[[Dog Man]]'', the latter published under the respective writer and illustrator [[pen name]]s of '''George Beard''' and '''Harold Hutchins''', which are also the names of the two protagonists of the ''Captain Underpants'' series.

==Life and career==
[[File:Dav Pilkey 2019.jpg|thumb|Pilkey in 2019]]
Pilkey was born in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], on March 4, 1966, to the Reverend David Pilkey, Sr. and Barbara, who was the church organist.<ref name="ohioctb">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiocenterforthebook.org/OhioAuthors.aspx?id=125&mode=detail |title=Dav Pilkey |access-date=August 8, 2007 |year=2003 |work=Ohio Authors Online |publisher=Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928065256/http://www.ohiocenterforthebook.org/OhioAuthors.aspx?id=125&mode=detail |archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=5 things you may not know about 'Captain Underpants' author Dav Pilkey|url=https://www.today.com/parents/dav-pilkey-captain-underpants-adhd-his-childhood-t130399|access-date=January 1, 2021|website=TODAY.com|date=June 6, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> He has one older sister. Pilkey was brought up in a conservative [[Christianity|Christian]] household and went to Christian schools throughout his life.

Pilkey was diagnosed with [[attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD) and [[dyslexia]] as a child.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/writer-dav-pilkey-says-having-dyslexia-was-a-blessing|title=Writer Dav Pilkey says having dyslexia was a blessing |newspaper=The Straits Times|language=en|access-date=February 29, 2020}}</ref> In elementary school in [[North Ridgeville, Ohio]], Pilkey was frequently reprimanded for his behavior in class and thus usually sat at a desk in the school hallway, where he created the ''Captain Underpants'' character.<ref name=CNNStraightPoop>{{cite news|first=Beth|last=Nissen|title=Captain Underpants: The straight poop on a grossly entertaining series of children's books|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/books/news/07/11/captain.underpants/|work=CNN|date=July 11, 2000|access-date=August 8, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030730065321/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/books/news/07/11/captain.underpants/|archive-date=July 30, 2003}}</ref> In 1987, Pilkey wrote his first book, ''World War Won'', an allegorical fable inspired by the [[nuclear arms race]] between the United States and the [[Soviet Union]], in a [[National Kids-in-Print Book Contest for Students|national competition for student authors]] and won in his age category. The book's publication in 1987 was included in the award.<ref name="ohioctb"/>

The atypical spelling of his first name came when the "e" in "Dave" was left off his name tag while working at [[Pizza Hut]].<ref>{{cite news|date=July 3, 2002|title=Super Humor: Tales of an 'Under' Achiever|page=C18|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/409295767|id={{ProQuest|409295767}}|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Pilkey graduated from [[Kent State University]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20030417035147/http://www.pilkey.com/adv-text.php Meet Dav]." Dav Pilkey Official Website. April 17, 2003. Retrieved on August 14, 2019.</ref> He married Sayuri Pilkey in 2005.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20120903080130/http://www.pilkey.com/adv-text.php The Almost Completely True Adventures of Dav Pilkey]." Dav Pilkey Official Website. September 3, 2012. Retrieved on August 14, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dav-pilkey-the-man-behind-captain-underpants/|title=The man behind "Captain Underpants"|work=[[CBS News]]|date=September 17, 2017|access-date=August 18, 2018|quote=Dav dreams up those funny books at the home he shares with his wife, Sayuri, on a picturesque point on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The two have no children of their own. }}</ref>

''[[The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby]]'' was published in 2002 and was Pilkey's first full complete graphic novel. It appeared at No. 6 on the ''USA Today'' bestseller list for all books, both adult and children's, and was also a ''New York Times'' bestselling book for Children's Middle Grade. The first ''Super Diaper Baby'' graphic novel was published with Scholastic years before Scholastic created the Graphix imprint.<ref>Publishers Weekly September 9, 2020, "The World of Dav Pilkey: Reigning Dogs and Cats" by Sally Lodge.</ref>

Pilkey took a break from writing for a few years to care for his terminally ill father (who died on November 13, 2008), but in 2009 agreed with Scholastic to publish four new books.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scholastic.com/captainunderpants/books/dav_pilkey.pdf|title=Planet Pilkey|website=www.scholastic.com}}</ref><ref name=Books>{{cite web|last=Pilkey|first=Dav|title=Four New Books|url=http://www.scholastic.com/captainunderpants/books/dav_pilkey.pdf}}</ref> The first two are [[graphic novel]]s: ''[[The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future|The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future]]'', released on August 10, 2010; and ''[[Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers]]'', released on June 28, 2011. ''[[Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers|Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers]]'' was released on August 28, 2012, ''[[Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers]]'' was released on January 15, 2013, ''[[Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000]]'' was released on August 26, 2014, and ''[[Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot]]'' was released on August 25, 2015. Additionally, twelve ''[[Dog Man]]'' novels have been published since August 30, 2016.

Pilkey and his wife live on [[Bainbridge Island]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]].

On March 25, 2021, Dav Pilkey announced on his YouTube channel that he and Scholastic would cease further publication of the book ''[[The Adventures of Ook and Gluk]],'' and would remove it from retailers and libraries due to some characters in the book being stereotypes. Pilkey stated that he intended to showcase diversity, equality, and non-violent conflict resolution. He also stated that even unintentional and passive stereotypes are harmful to everyone. Pilkey will donate his entire advance, past, and future royalties from the book to organizations promoting diversity that are designed to stop violence against Asians.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/At1e7buY2Nw Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210327174233/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At1e7buY2Nw Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At1e7buY2Nw| title = Dav Pilkey Apology | website=[[YouTube]]| date = March 25, 2021 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Captain Underpants: Children's book withdrawn over 'passive racism' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56577725 |publisher=BBC |access-date=April 6, 2021 |date=March 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Morales |first1=Christina |title=Scholastic Halts Distribution of Book by 'Captain Underpants' Author |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/28/books/dav-pilkey-ook-gluk-racism.html |access-date=April 6, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=March 28, 2021}}</ref>

==Publications==
===''Dragon'' series===
* ''Dragon Gets By'' (1991)	
* ''A Friend For Dragon'' (1991)	
* ''Dragon's Merry Christmas'' (1991)		
* ''Dragon's Fat Cat'' (1992)		
* ''Dragon's Halloween'' (1993)
 		
The Dragon series was originally published with Orchard Books. Scholastic then reprinted the series in 2019. 	
Dav Pilkey used watercolors purchased at a local grocery store to paint the illustrations in these books. The series became a [[Dragon (TV series)|stop-motion animation TV show]] with 78 episodes from 2004 to 2007.

===''Dumb Bunnies''===
* ''The Dumb Bunnies'' (1994)
* ''The Dumb Bunnies' Easter'' (1995)
* ''Make Way for Dumb Bunnies'' (1996)
* ''The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo'' (1997)
Pilkey authored The Dumb Bunnies series using the pseudonym, Sue Denim.

===''Captain Underpants ''===
{{Main|Captain Underpants#Novels|l1=Captain Underpants}}
* ''[[The Adventures of Captain Underpants]]'' (September 1, 1997)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets]]'' (February 1999)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)]]'' (September 1, 1999)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants]]'' (July 29, 2000)
* ''[[The Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book o' Fun]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman]]'' (August 29, 2001)
* ''The All New Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book O' Fun 2'' (2002)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy|Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets]]'' (August 1, 2003)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy|Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers]]'' (September 30, 2003)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People]]'' (August 15, 2006)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers]]'' (August 28, 2012)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers]]'' (January 15, 2013)
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000]]'' (August 26, 2014)<ref>{{cite news|title=Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo-Toilet 2000 Teaser|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSW4uBEuNI| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301091930/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSW4uBEuNI| archive-date=2014-03-01 | url-status=dead|access-date=January 26, 2013|newspaper=YouTube|date=January 17, 2013|author=ThunderX19}}</ref>
* ''[[Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot]]'' (August 25, 2015)

===''Captain Underpants'' spin-offs===
* ''[[The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby]]'' (February 5, 2002)
* ''[[The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future]]'' (August 10, 2010)
* ''[[Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers]]'' (June 28, 2011)
Pilkey authored the Super Diaper Baby books and Ook and Gluk under the pseudonyms of George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who are two of the main characters in the Captain Underpants series. In that series, George and Harold write and illustrate comic books together respectively and these are claimed in-story to be some of the comics they produced.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pilkey |first1=Dav |title=THE ADVENTURES OF SUPER DIAPER BABY |url=https://pilkey.com/book/the-adventures-of-super-diaper-baby |website=pilkey.com |access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref>

===''Dog Man''===
{{Main|Dog Man}}
''Dog Man'' is also a [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] of ''Captain Underpants'', similarly said to be written and illustrated by George Beard and Harold Hutchins.
* ''Dog Man'' (August 30, 2016)<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schoenberg|first1=Nara|title=Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey brings underdog message to Chicago|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-captain-underpants-dav-pilkey-20150416-story.html|access-date=May 23, 2015|work=Chicago Tribune|date=April 16, 2015|quote=Pilkey says he's still doing picture books in that vein, even as he follows George and Harold, authors of the upcoming "Dog Man" on new literary adventures.}}</ref>
* ''Dog Man: Unleashed'' (December 27, 2016)
* ''Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties'' (August 29, 2017)<ref name="THPSuperAmazingAuthor">{{cite news|last1=Bertini|first1=Cristy|title=Dav Pilkey's Super Amazing Author Adventures|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cristy-bertini/dav-pilkeys-super-amazing_b_11200852.html|work=The Huffington Post|date=July 28, 2016}}</ref>
* ''Dog Man and Cat Kid'' (December 26, 2017)
* ''Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas'' (August 28, 2018)
* ''Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild'' (December 24, 2018)
* ''Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls'' (August 13, 2019)
* ''Dog Man: Fetch-22'' (December 10, 2019)
* ''Dog Man: Grime and Punishment'' (September 1, 2020)
* ''Dog Man: Mothering Heights'' (March 23, 2021)
* ''Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea'' (March 28, 2023)
* ''Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder'' (March 19, 2024)
* ''Dog Man: Big Jim Begins'' (December 3, 2024)

===''Cat Kid Comic Club''===
* ''Cat Kid Comic Club'' (December 1, 2020)
* ''Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives'' (November 30, 2021)
* ''Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose'' (April 12, 2022)
* ''Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations'' (November 29, 2022) 
* ''Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers'' (November 28, 2023)

===''Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot''===
{{Main|Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot (series)}}
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mutant Mosquitos from Mercury|Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mutant Mosquitoes from Mercury]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Voodoo Vultures from Venus]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mecha Monkeys from Mars]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Stupid Stinkbugs from Saturn]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Uranium Unicorns from Uranus]]'' (2005) 
* ''Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Night Crawlers from Neptune'' (2016)
* ''Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Un-Pleasant Penguins from Pluto'' (2016)
* ''Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Astro-Activity Book o' Fun'' (2016)

===''Big Dog & Little Dog''===
* ''Big Dog and Little Dog Getting in Trouble'' (1997)
* ''Big Dog and Little Dog Wearing Sweaters'' (1998)
* ''Big Dog and Little Dog Making a Mistake'' (1999)
* ''The Complete Adventures of Big Dog and Little Dog'' (1999)

===Other books===
* ''World War Won'' (1987)
* ''Don't Pop Your Cork on Mondays'' (1988) Illustrator only
* '''Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving'' (1990)
* ''The Place Nobody Stopped'' (1991) Illustrator only
* ''Julius'' (1993)
* ''[[Kat Kong]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Dogzilla (picture book)|Dogzilla]]'' (1993)
* ''Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis'' (1994)
* ''The Moonglow Roll-O-Rama'' (1995)
* ''[[The Hallo-Wiener]]'' (1995)
* ''When Cats Dream'' (1996)
* ''God Bless the Gargoyles'' (1996)
* ''[[The Paperboy (children's book)|The Paperboy]]'' (1996)
* ''The Silly Gooses'' (1998)
* ''Comics Squad: Recess!'' (2014) contributor as author/illustrator for this anthology
* ''Guys Read: Terrifying Tales'' (2015) contributor as author/illustrator for this anthology<ref>{{cite web|title=Guys Read: Terrifying Tales|url=http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062385581/guys-read-terrifying-tales|publisher=Harper Collins|access-date=October 30, 2015}}</ref>
* ''One Today'' (2015) illustrator only<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lodge|first1=Sally|title=Dav Pilkey to Illustrate Picture Book of Inaugural Poem|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/59163-dav-pilkey-to-illustrate-picture-book-of-inaugural-poem.html|work=Publishers Weekly|access-date=October 30, 2015|date=September 19, 2013}}</ref>

==Awards==
* 1986: The National Written and Illustrated by... Awards Contest for Students, ages 14–19 category, ''World War Won''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.landmarkeditions.com/scripts/winners.asp|title=The National Written & Illustrated by... Awards Contest for Students Winners|access-date=August 8, 2007|publisher=Landmark Editions }}</ref>
* 1997: Caldecott Honor Award, ''The Paperboy''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal|title=Caldecott Medal Winners and Honor Books, 1938–Present|access-date=May 14, 2019|author=Association for Library Service to Children|date=November 30, 1999 |publisher=American Library Association}}</ref>
* 1998: California Young Reader Medal, ''Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis'', published in 1994
* 2007: Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, The ''[[Captain Underpants]]'' series
* 2016: Milner Award, The favorite children's book author, http://themilneraward.org/
* 2019: Person of the Year Award from Publishers Weekly
* 2019: Comic Industry Person of the Year

== Further reading ==
* Interview in ''[[You Can't Say That! (Marcus book)|You Can't Say That! Writers for Young People Talk About Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell]]''. [[Candlewick Press]], 2021, a young adult non-fiction book about book censorship, edited by young adult author and literary critic [[Leonard S. Marcus]]. ISBN 9780763690366

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dav Pilkey}}
{{Portal|Children's literature|Ohio|Biography}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{LCAuth|n86066278|Dav Pilkey|62|}} <!--LCCN: George Beard and Harold Hutchins are fictitious characters that appear in statements of responsibility; per AACR2 21. 4C1 do not use as main entry or added entry; these names are not considered pseudonyms for Dav Pilkey. In RDA, as fictitious characters, they are treated as person entities. -->
* {{LCAuth|n93050039|Sue Denim|4|}} (''Dumb Bunnies'', 1994 to 1997)
* {{LCCN|nb2013020127|George Beard|long=yes}}
* {{LCCN|nb2013020119|Harold Hutchins|long=yes}}

===Interviews===
* {{cite interview |interviewer=Beth Nissen|title=Transcript of e-mail interview with Dav Pilkey, author, 'Captain Underpants' series|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/books/news/07/11/captain.underpants/transcript.html|publisher=[[CNN]] |date=July 11, 2000 }}
* "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130206014523/http://clubs-kids.scholastic.co.uk/clubs_content/1492 Interview with Dav Pilkey]." ''- Scholastic Kids' Club''. N.p., n.d.
* {{cite interview |interviewer=Andrea Sachs|title=A Hero In Briefs|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000654,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930062518/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000654,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2007|work=Time |date=August 27, 2001 }}
* {{cite interview |interviewer=Jennifer Ludden|title=The Man Behind Captain Underpants|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437841|work=[[All Things Considered]]|publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |date=September 20, 2003 }}
* {{cite interview |interviewer=Rita Braver, CBS Sunday Morning|title=Kids' book author Dav Pilkey| date=September 17, 2017 | url=https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-sunday-morning/video/aWSwB_2H2E_0uoKvTIgf7QpX5dBMpiUt/dav-pilkey-creator-of-captain-underpants/ }}

{{Captain Underpants}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkey, Dav}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American artists]]
[[Category:American cartoonists]]
[[Category:American children's writers]]
[[Category:American children's book illustrators]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:Artists from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Captain Underpants]]
[[Category:Writers with dyslexia]]
[[Category:American writers with disabilities]]
[[Category:People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]]
[[Category:Kent State University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Novelists from Ohio]]
[[Category:Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington]]
[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]