Captain Underpants is back! We’re teaming up with Dog Man and Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey and Scholastic to spark book joy and expand access to reading across the United States.
100 custom-designed Little Free Libraries featuring Dav Pilkey’s beloved characters will be installed in schools, public libraries, and communities in book deserts, bringing books directly to children and families who need them most. The initiative, which launched on the much-anticipated April 7th publication of Pilkey’s Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga and to celebrate National School Library Month, is an expansion of the successful “Power Up with Reading” collaboration which brought Little Free Libraries to all 50 states. The April rollout of these 100 Little Free Libraries will continue through July in time for summer reading.
Designed with Pilkey’s signature bold, playful illustrations and painted in a striking red, the Little Free Libraries will serve as instantly recognizable beacons of fun and literacy. Funded by Dav Pilkey, this impactful initiative will deliver not only eye-catching book-sharing boxes but also thousands of books to communities where access to reading materials is limited. Each library will be stocked with a curated collection of kid-friendly titles, including copies of the new Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga, written and adapted by Pilkey and illustrated by Japanese manga artist Motojiro, ensuring every location offers an engaging reading experience for children.
“Every child deserves access to books,” said Dav Pilkey. “With this initiative, we hope to spark curiosity, imagination, and a lifelong love of reading. I’m truly grateful to all the librarians, teachers, reading specialists and volunteers, and the teams at Little Free Library and Scholastic who dedicate themselves to make literacy their mission.”
“Dav Pilkey’s stories have inspired millions of kids to fall in love with reading,” said Little Free Library’s CEO Daniel Gumnit. “Together with Dav Pilkey and Scholastic, we’re turning that inspiration into action—placing books directly into communities and inviting kids to discover the joy of reading right outside their doors. By combining Dav Pilkey’s signature humor with a shared commitment to literacy, Little Free Library and Scholastic are helping ensure that more kids can discover the transformative power of books. As these colorful libraries appear in neighborhoods across the country, they stand as lasting symbols of imagination, access, and the simple joy of reading—inviting kids everywhere to open a book, laugh out loud, and keep coming back for more.”
Enter to win Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga
In tandem with the Little Free Library installations, LFL is hosting a nationwide book giveaway in collaboration with Scholastic and Pilkey. All Little Free Library fans in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to enter to win one of 200 copies of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga. Priority will be given to school and libraries that enter to win. To enter, click HERE.