Writer Denise Hamilton has written a funny, but true story for the Los Angeles Times about how she came to terms with Captain Underpants.Hamilton explains, "There are endless jokes about poop, wedgies, toilets, farts, boogers and diapers. Kids love these books; they sell by the millions. They're said to be a gateway book the way marijuana is a gateway drug, especially for the reluctant boy reader. The hope is that once kids get hooked, they'll branch out into Harry Potter and eventually graduate to the hard stuff, such as Charles Dickens and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It seems to be working — my 8-year-old is now happily working his way through the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. "
