Scholastic Unpublishes 2010 Book By Author of Captain Underpants Series For Its “Passive Racism”
Evan James
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Book publishing giant Scholastic has unpublished a 2010 book by Dav Pilkey titled The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, citing its “passive racism.”
Pilkey is best known for illustrating and authoring the Captain Underpants series, a popular set of graphic novels beloved by many elementary school students since the late 90s and early 2000s. Scholastic said in a statement that Pilkey fully supported the decision to unpublish The Adventures of Ook and Gluk.
“Together, we recognize that this book perpetuates passive racism. We are deeply sorry for this serious mistake,” the statement read. “Scholastic has removed the book from our websites, stopped fulfillment of any orders (domestically or abroad), contacted our retail partners to explain why this book is no longer available, and sought a return of all inventory. We will take steps to inform schools and libraries who may still have this title in circulation of our decision to withdraw it from publication.”
“Throughout our 100 year history, we have learned that trust must be won every day by total vigilance. It is our duty and privilege to publish books with powerful and positive representations of our diverse society, and we will continue to strengthen our review processes as we seek to support all young readers,” it concluded.
The New York Times says that the graphic novel, “which purports to have been written and illustrated by characters from the ‘Captain Underpants’ series, follows Ook and Gluk, who live in the fictional town of Caveland, Ohio, in 500,001 B.C. The characters are pulled through a time portal to the year 2222, where they meet Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who teaches them kung fu.”
Wow. Such racism. Much evil.
Unsurprisingly, the price of the book has skyrocketed on eBay and Amazon. Many eBay users are selling copies between $50 and $150, while the Amazon listing offers a used hardcover for $541, a new hardcover for $810, and a paperback for $195.
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