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Prince of Underwhere
It's tough to be ZeKe. He's got his hands There is his prissy, know-it-all twin sister; his mean cousin Caitlyn, who's house-sitting for his missing parents; and a bully making life tough at school (as though it wasn't hard enough already). And now, thanks to a stinky, scruffy, good-for-nothing talking cat, he's also got to cope with zombies, midget freedom fighters, devious spies, superstar rappers, and a whole weird world beneath our own where people wear their underwear on the outside of their clothes.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published December 26, 2007
4 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Hale
120 books133 followersA serious book addict, Bruce wanted to be a children's book author since he was in 4th grade (right after he got over wanting to be a pirate, Tarzan, and Daniel Boone). Today he's the author-illustrator of over 70 seriously funny books for kids, so some dreams do come true.
The Malted Falcon, one of his Chet Gecko Mysteries series, was an Edgar Award finalist, and Murder, My Tweet won a Little D Award for Juvenile Humor Writing. Bruce has written everything from picture books and easy readers, to graphic novels and novels.
Bruce's recent Monstertown Mysteries series blends horror and humor, based on his childhood love of monster movies. His other series include Class Pets, about the secret lives of classroom pets, and the forthcoming Outerspace Mystery Pizza Club books, due in 2024.
A Fulbright Scholar (in Storytelling), Bruce is also a popular speaker, both in the U.S. and internationally. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and knuckleheaded dog Riley. When he's not writing or reading, you may find him hiking, kickboxing, or singing with a latin-jazz band called Mezcal Martini.
The Malted Falcon, one of his Chet Gecko Mysteries series, was an Edgar Award finalist, and Murder, My Tweet won a Little D Award for Juvenile Humor Writing. Bruce has written everything from picture books and easy readers, to graphic novels and novels.
Bruce's recent Monstertown Mysteries series blends horror and humor, based on his childhood love of monster movies. His other series include Class Pets, about the secret lives of classroom pets, and the forthcoming Outerspace Mystery Pizza Club books, due in 2024.
A Fulbright Scholar (in Storytelling), Bruce is also a popular speaker, both in the U.S. and internationally. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and knuckleheaded dog Riley. When he's not writing or reading, you may find him hiking, kickboxing, or singing with a latin-jazz band called Mezcal Martini.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 25 reviews
January 26, 2008
Okay so the writing isn't great but the idea of the book will appeal to a lot of boys and I'll be booktalking this come SRC time. Zeke has a lot of crazy stuff going on in his life. His parents are on a dig and his cousin is baby-sitting him and his sister. His friend's cat is acting weird, he's discovered a new world called Underwhere (that's underground), and there are spies, zombies, and a very weird rapper following him. Zeke has adventures above ground and in Underwhere which is under there. The chapters that occur in Underwhere are done in graphic novel style. There's a lot of humor based on underwear, wedgies, etc. It will appeal to kids who like that kind of humor...not as funny as Captain Underpants but a good book to give to kids who like Captain Underpants. This is the first in a series. Book 2 is called Pirates of Underwhere.
December 17, 2009
I am not a fan of potty humor in general, and this book was no exception. I enjoyed how the book goes between normal chapter book and graphic novel, depending on where the story is taking place. (When the children are in Underwhere, it is a graphic novel.) I would have enjoyed it more if I actually liked the illustrations in the graphic novel, but I found them hard to read and overall just plain strange. I also didn't really like the dialogue in the graphic novel sections. The "normal" chapters were rather enjoyable, and if the whole book had just been a normal chapter book, I probably would have liked it more. But the novelty of a half novel/half comic book was kind of fun.
The book is about Zeke and his twin sister, Stephanie, and his best friend, Hector. And Hector's cat Fitz. While trying to hide from some strange men who are pursuing them, they find themselves in another world, one in which the people wear their underwear over their other clothes. Zeke is hailed as the Prince of Underwhere (the name of this strange land), and the three children (and the cat, who is able to speak English in Underwhere) must figure out a way to help the Undies defeat the terrible UnderLord, who is also trying to take over our world. Add in a strange rapper, a couple of bizarre spies, a deceased great-aunt who was an archaeologist, and a crazy babysitter and it all makes for a fast-paced adventure that boys will probably devour.
This is the first book in a series about Underwhere. I might actually read more of the series - it was a quick read, and, although I wasn't crazy about it, there were plenty of unresolved issues at the end of this book that I would like to see resolved. I am not running over to the shelf to grab the next book in the series, but I am also not completely crossing it off my list.
The book is about Zeke and his twin sister, Stephanie, and his best friend, Hector. And Hector's cat Fitz. While trying to hide from some strange men who are pursuing them, they find themselves in another world, one in which the people wear their underwear over their other clothes. Zeke is hailed as the Prince of Underwhere (the name of this strange land), and the three children (and the cat, who is able to speak English in Underwhere) must figure out a way to help the Undies defeat the terrible UnderLord, who is also trying to take over our world. Add in a strange rapper, a couple of bizarre spies, a deceased great-aunt who was an archaeologist, and a crazy babysitter and it all makes for a fast-paced adventure that boys will probably devour.
This is the first book in a series about Underwhere. I might actually read more of the series - it was a quick read, and, although I wasn't crazy about it, there were plenty of unresolved issues at the end of this book that I would like to see resolved. I am not running over to the shelf to grab the next book in the series, but I am also not completely crossing it off my list.
November 26, 2008
I was disappointed in the first in this new series by Bruce Hale, who also writes the Chet Ghecko series. I thought this book was trying to be too many things by appealing to every boy interest imaginable (spies, zombies, potty humor, comics, etc.) and the story just wasn’t particularly captivating.
October 17, 2018
Zeke thinks he's nothing special and way too short. He's picked on by a bully at school and his annoying twin sister doesn't make life any easier. Yet when he, his twin, and his best friend (and his cat!) fall into a weird underground world, he might just be something special. And he'll only get to enjoy it if he survives!
I read this with my eight-year-old son. He liked that it had novel chapters and comics both in the book, and all the potty humor. I thought it could have been better if there hadn't been so much crammed into the pages. Zombies, spies, rappers, and a whole weird world. It didn't need all that to keep the reader's attention or create tension.
I read this with my eight-year-old son. He liked that it had novel chapters and comics both in the book, and all the potty humor. I thought it could have been better if there hadn't been so much crammed into the pages. Zombies, spies, rappers, and a whole weird world. It didn't need all that to keep the reader's attention or create tension.
March 19, 2020
It’s a book called underwhere, so of course it’s filled with potty humor. But, um, I actually found a lot of it funny. The Great Lump of Pu...what’s not to like?
Anyway, three kids follow their cat into a construction site and discover the land of Underwhere. They believe Zeke is their lost prince, returned to help them fight the zombies and save their lands. The story shifts between earth and underwhere, with the underwhere portions in comics. Definite recommend for readers of Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Anyway, three kids follow their cat into a construction site and discover the land of Underwhere. They believe Zeke is their lost prince, returned to help them fight the zombies and save their lands. The story shifts between earth and underwhere, with the underwhere portions in comics. Definite recommend for readers of Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
August 20, 2019
The story was a bit short, and the writing was okay, but overall it was an excellent book. I liked the comics mixed in with the text.
January 28, 2010
(I now maintain a blog just for my kid-lit reviews. Find it at http://kidlit4adults.blogspot.com .)
A friend has convinced me to try my hand this year at writing children's literature; but I don't actually know anything about children's literature, so am starting the process simply by reading a large selection of titles that have been recommended to me. I was told that Bruce Hale's "Underwhere" series is a good example of literature perfect for third-graders; and indeed, as I read this first volume myself, I saw that it matched up with a lot of common advice I've now been given regarding writing for this age group, including a strong sense of humor, a quickly-paced but not too complicated storyline, a concentration on the ways that boys and girls interact at that age, lots of action and mystery, many scenes set in a school environment, and sentences that average around ten words.
Of course, this differs quite a bit from the last series I read, Nancy Krulik's "Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo" books, even though they share nearly the exact same literary traits; the "Underwhere" books are designed specifically for boys, and rely on a steady concentration of gentle potty humor that I've seen many parents actually complain about now online, but that is apparently like catnip to eight-year-old boys. (I also find it interesting how both authors paint similar views of the relationship between boys and girls, but with competing looks at who's supposed to be the hero; in both series, for example, the boy characters are obnoxious and gross, but with it being a hinderance to our girl heroes in "Katie Kazoo" while being the key to the solution in "Underwhere.") I'm also told that this is a great title for the infamous "reluctant readers" of this age group, in that half the story (all the chapters that take place in the fantasy realm of "Underwhere") are done in comic-book form, in an abstracted, engaging heavy-line style by Shane Hillman. The book is around 10,000 words plus another 70 pages of comics, for a total of 165 pages, making it on the long side of the books I've now read for this age group.
By the way, my fellow aspiring authors would be wise to check out how proactive author Hale is with his career -- he's also a trained storytelling performer who appears at dozens of conferences and schools each year, with a website, lifestyle and even wardrobe that is almost entirely kid-friendly. Just like with adult literature, this is a highly important part now of how successful an author is, of how willing they are to really go out there and hunt down as many promotional opportunities as they can, and chances to directly connect with their audience.
A friend has convinced me to try my hand this year at writing children's literature; but I don't actually know anything about children's literature, so am starting the process simply by reading a large selection of titles that have been recommended to me. I was told that Bruce Hale's "Underwhere" series is a good example of literature perfect for third-graders; and indeed, as I read this first volume myself, I saw that it matched up with a lot of common advice I've now been given regarding writing for this age group, including a strong sense of humor, a quickly-paced but not too complicated storyline, a concentration on the ways that boys and girls interact at that age, lots of action and mystery, many scenes set in a school environment, and sentences that average around ten words.
Of course, this differs quite a bit from the last series I read, Nancy Krulik's "Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo" books, even though they share nearly the exact same literary traits; the "Underwhere" books are designed specifically for boys, and rely on a steady concentration of gentle potty humor that I've seen many parents actually complain about now online, but that is apparently like catnip to eight-year-old boys. (I also find it interesting how both authors paint similar views of the relationship between boys and girls, but with competing looks at who's supposed to be the hero; in both series, for example, the boy characters are obnoxious and gross, but with it being a hinderance to our girl heroes in "Katie Kazoo" while being the key to the solution in "Underwhere.") I'm also told that this is a great title for the infamous "reluctant readers" of this age group, in that half the story (all the chapters that take place in the fantasy realm of "Underwhere") are done in comic-book form, in an abstracted, engaging heavy-line style by Shane Hillman. The book is around 10,000 words plus another 70 pages of comics, for a total of 165 pages, making it on the long side of the books I've now read for this age group.
By the way, my fellow aspiring authors would be wise to check out how proactive author Hale is with his career -- he's also a trained storytelling performer who appears at dozens of conferences and schools each year, with a website, lifestyle and even wardrobe that is almost entirely kid-friendly. Just like with adult literature, this is a highly important part now of how successful an author is, of how willing they are to really go out there and hunt down as many promotional opportunities as they can, and chances to directly connect with their audience.
May 10, 2010
Filled with potty humor and adventure, this is for Captain Underpants and The Day My But Went Psycho lovers. When young Zeke, his twin sister, and his best friend are in the real world, the story is told in words. When they fall into Underwhere (a world beneath the Earth's surface with talking cats, revolutionary midgets, and an evil UnderLord) the story is told in comics. The black and white art reminded me a little of the Powder Puff Girls. This book is just the beginning of the Underwhere chronicles, expect many more installments in the future. Recommended for those who appreciate a healthy mix of world-saving and fart jokes.
June 4, 2011
A normal boy, his twin sister, best friend, and best friend's cat enter a mysterious underground world where people wear their underwear on the outside. There are spies, zombies, dinosaurs, magical items, and a creepy rapper who is secretly the evil UnderLord.
As you can tell from that plot description, this is a silly book. There are some laughs, much of them from potty humor, "bad" rapper talk, and nonsensical insults.
I fairly enjoyed the book, but it ended strangely with no closure. The events will likely pick right up in the second book, but I don't know if I will bother to read it.
As you can tell from that plot description, this is a silly book. There are some laughs, much of them from potty humor, "bad" rapper talk, and nonsensical insults.
I fairly enjoyed the book, but it ended strangely with no closure. The events will likely pick right up in the second book, but I don't know if I will bother to read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2010
A funny book for elementary kids. Lots of potty humor and butt jokes, but what did you expect form a book where in the land under ours, they wear their underwear on the outside of their clothes. A good series for kids and a good introduction to graphic stories for younger kids who might be new to them. The book is part graphic and part chapter.
September 8, 2009
This book is about a kid who loves to save the world more than doing homework. this book is also about if you dont wear clean undrwears you get attacked by a monster.I connect this book to the world because people like to save there own country.I gave this book 5 stars because its funny.
December 31, 2009
Kids love this series, but I found it too weird and at times hard to follow. It is a good sell for reluctant readers however b/c it is part chapter book and part graphic novel; in addition, there are references to underwear/underwhere and mooning throughout.
May 1, 2010
Well, if you like toilet humor then this might be a good choice. Good enough for what it is. What I really liked was how all of the scenes in Underwhere were illustrated comic-style to kind of help with the other-worldliness.
February 6, 2012
Cute, potty humor isn't over the top like many others said. I gave it a three instead of a four because I think the writing was pretty simplistic. I would have liked the characters to be more complex.
December 7, 2015
This has some interesting ideas in it and I love the structure of novel vs graphic novel. But it's dumb. Even for a book directed to prepubescent boys, there's no end of stupid fart jokes and butt jokes and dick jokes and stink jokes.
Also, don't use the word "midget." It's offensive.
Also, don't use the word "midget." It's offensive.
March 5, 2008
Half book half graphic novel with lots of puns and underwear humor. Great for Captain Underpants fans, boys, young graphic novel lovers (Babymouse fans).
December 15, 2008
Captain Underpants take-off, but better.
January 21, 2009
Fun. The humor was a bit one-track. I couldn't stand the artwork.
July 24, 2010
This is for fans of the Captain Underpants series. Alternates between comic book/graphic novel panels and regular prose.
August 9, 2010
Part chapter-book, part graphic novel a good story to give a 4th or 5th grade reluctant boy reader. Lots of potty humor!
November 4, 2013
A very interesting mix of prose and comic form, which I'm seeing more and more of. It's weird, but I'm all for experimentation of the form!
October 9, 2015
Fast paced read-a-like for Captain Underpants fans.
March 20, 2015
This is one of the books to hand to a child that loves potty humor. Interest mix of chapter book and graphic novel. Definitely surprising that it ended with a cliffhanger.
April 22, 2016
Underwhere? lol. Part novel, part graphic novel, the adventure moves quickly with lots of potty humor.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 25 reviews