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January 9, 2026

Kevin Serna for The New York Times

	By Joumana Khatib

Dear readers,

I’m pretty sure the only time I saw blows exchanged in my elementary school library was over a copy of “The Adventures of Captain Underpants.” The author, Dav Pilkey, was basically a demigod among even my most squirrelly classmates. Now that I know he is still a kid-lit rock star some 20 years later, I am impressed by his staying power and creative reserve.

This week my colleague Elisabeth Egan writes about her time on Pilkey’s trail, including at a packed event for his latest book, “Dog Man: Big Jim Believes.” She communed with fans of all ages as he spoke about growing up with dyslexia and A.D.H.D.

And really, Pilkey has been communing with kids who predate even me: “I’m writing for the kid I used to be,” as he said in an interview.

The children in my circles aren’t reading yet, but if watching them fall in love with a new author is half as delightful as seeing a 2-year-old learn to pronounce “clavicle,” I expect to be regularly turning to mush.

See you next week.

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