Well, George and Harold--surprise, surprise--are at it again. The cranky lunch ladies quit after George and Harold fool them into baking super-volcanic krispy kupcakes that flood the school with gigantic green globs o' goo. Mr. Krupp finds replacements and fast, but he unwittingly hires the tentacled alien trio of Zorx, Klax, and Jennifer in disguise! Will they turn everyone in school into evil zombie nerds? Can George and Harold save the world before it's too late? All seems lost until the diabolical Zorx snaps his... um, tentacles in front of Mr. Krupp, and the power of wedgies comes to the rescue once again.

Captain Underpants's third outing is better than ever, with patented Flip-o-Rama animation and wacky bonus comics like "Captain Underpants--Wedgie Wars" and "Captain Underpants and the Night of the Living Lunch Ladies." (Ages 8 to 12) --Paul Hughes

Pilkey is the superhero of boy humor, stuffing his heavily illustrated books with comic-book inserts, "flip-o-rama" animation, and all the gross-out jokes an elementary-school kid could stomach. Fans will want to get their hands on Captain Underpants and the Big Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers as well. (Ages 8 and older) --Karin Snelson

There's no doubt that Pilkey can be much funnier when he has more words to work with--witness any of the Captain Underpants books (and Ricky Ricotta is no George or Harold)--but this series at least gives younger readers something fun to do while working on their reading chops. And, of course, you don't have to read a single word to thoroughly enjoy Flip-o-Rama, Pilkey's "world-famous cheesy animation technique," which lets readers flip pages back and forth to animate the action. (Also includes step-by-step drawing tips from equally fun-loving illustrator Martin Ontiveros.) (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes