The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future

by Dav Pilkey

Meet Ook and Gluk, the stars of this sensationally silly graphic novel from the creators of Captain Underpants! It's 500,001 BC, and Ook and Gluk's hometown of Caveland, Ohio, is under attack by an evil corporation from the future. When Ook, Gluk and their little dinosaur pal Lily are pulled through a time portal to 2222, they discover a future world that's even more devastated than their own. Luckily, they find a friend in Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who trains them in the ways of kung fu. Now all they have to do is travel back in time 502,223 years and save the day!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Childrens, Comics, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction

629 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

David "Dav" Pilkey (b. March 4, 1966), is a popular children's author and artist. Pilkey is best known as the author and illustrator of the Captain Underpants book series. He lives near Seattle, Washington with his wife, Sayuri.

Reviews

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confession. This book was nowhere on my radar until Scholastic decided to stop publishing it and revoke the unsold/library copies. Thankfully, I have my own copy because I have two crazzzyyyy Dav Pilkey fans in my house. This was my very first Dav Pilkey book and the experience was quite entertaining. But I’m going to add my disclaimer right at the start: if you get offended at portrayals of mischievous kids spewing out bad words and pranking others, stay away from this book. It is meant for those who approach life with humour, who believe that children can differentiate between good and bad with the help of their guardians, and who understand why children’s fiction needn’t always be moralising.

The story is simple yet complicated.

Simple version: Ook and Gluk are two friends whose village is lorded over and plundered by a corporate fiend. They decide to learn Kung Fu and fight him back.

Complicated version: Ook and Gluk are two friends living in 500000 BC whose village is lorded over and plundered by a corporate fiend from 2224 AD. They decide to learn Kung Fu and fight him back.

So yeah, there's cave men, dinosaurs, time travel, corporate greed, fights for justice, village chiefs, company head honchos, robots, Kung Fu,... All in the same book. It's very light-hearted, and I think I can see why kids love Dav Pilkey. His characters do the silliest things, say the funniest stuff, and get away with the stupidest actions.

This book is supposed to have been written by George and Harold, two creative little kids who are the protagonists of the Captain Underpants series. So you'll see a lot of spelling mistakes in the dialogues, courtesy the "authors" being school-going kiddos. While this could be a matter of concern for younger children, I feel that the correct target age group (8+) will be able to realise where the errors lie and find the goof-ups funnier. It can also be used as a game: find all the typos made by George and Harold in this book. So I'm going to treat all the misspellings and grammatical flaws in the book as "potential learning opportunities". 😄

Getting down to brass tacks now. Is the book racist? Scholastic claimed in its official statement that the book is "passively racist" in its portrayal of the two Asian characters. Well, unless you are aggravated by the slanting lines drawn to indicate their smaller, monolid eyes (and I was ok with this, just like I was ok with Gluk having an afro), there's nothing racist about the way they are drawn. As far as their role in the story goes, the elder character is shown to be a Kung Fu master and spouts aphorisms to bring enlightenment to Ook and Gluk. I'm still trying to figure out if that part can be perceived as racist; it appears fine to me because it isn’t written in an irritating or demeaning way. More importantly, none of the portrayals are offensive to the culture. In fact, there is a respect towards the teachings of the Kung Fu master. So I'm pretty much left scratching my head over this decision to withdraw the book for "passive racism".

When I told my children that this book had been banned, both of them were shocked. On hearing the reason for the ban, they were even more stunned and went on to tell me everything they had learnt from the Kung Fu master and the other characters of this book. A surprisingly long list! (Actually, I was taken aback at how many good ideas they had grasped from the book! I hadn’t even looked at this story as one that imparted morals.)

In all honesty, there is far worse material out there that still gets published and popularized. (To provide you just one instance, go through American Born Chinese, which is among the most racist books I've seen. It's outright offensive. And it still gets accolades.) And this funny little book, which talks of friendship, cooperation, sustaining natural resources and peaceful conflict resolution while being hilarious, will no longer be an option for children. Such a sad state of affairs...


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[Lars Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't understand how people can disparage books that get kids reading.

If the grammar and spelling aren't always correct, isn't that in character for Mssrs. Beard and Hutchins? Aren't young readers discerning enough to realize that? Furthermore, could it not even help them to distinguish bad syntax and orthographics from good?

If the humor is low-brow, isn't that enticing to a certain audience (like me)?

And haven't we gotten over the 1950s censorial and snooty view of comic books yet? Hey, it's an art form, man.

'Ook and Gluk' is fun, and funny! Really funny.

I'm not the only one who thinks so. As of this date, 'O & G' is a number one NY Times bestseller. Not on the Children's Books list. Graphic Books.

[Paula Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As grownup and former English teacher, I should be appalled by this latest Dav Pilkey atrocity, but...

Me like! Me give to boys in liberry. They laff to! (Excuse me while I practice my caveman language, aka Cavemonics.)

As with many a good cartoon work, this one has many layers, many which will only be understood and appreciated by the adult readers who give it a fair shot.

[Yasmeen Asha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ook and Gluk

If you are a fan of Captain Underpants, then you will love this little book! This book has action, drama, and romance.

There's stupid...and then there's stupid that works. 
But it's funny 😅

قصة مصور بسيطة مضحكة ولكنها قصة غبيه جدا
طبعا بالكتابه ما كانو يتبع قواعد الانجليزي يعني لقيت فيها العجايب بس كان بتعمدو انهم يعملو لغة تانيه بس
بالانجليزي 🤦‍♀️ .

يلي كتب هذه القصة المصوره طفلان بعمر 9-10 سنوات
طبعا محبي سلسلة "Captain Underpants" رح يعجبهم الكتاب .
انا لسا ما قرأت السلسله بس للامانه حبيت الغلاف وحبيت اقرأو .

طبعا الكتاب مناسب للمبتدئين والاطفال
لانو المصطلحات مش صعبه بس المشكله الخبايص باللغة الانجليزيه ليعملو لغة خاصه ، بس موضحين هدا الاشي آخر الكتاب .
بالنهاية كانت مغامره جديدة مختلفة.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: My ds read aloud to me as his reader.

I received this book as an *extra* from Scholastic, along with one I had requested to review. I was not entirely impressed, I'm sorry to say. Neither I nor my children (up to 21 yo) have ever read a Dave Pilkey book and there has been a reason for that. I admit I do have certain la-di-da standards when it comes to what books I allow to pass through my children's hands and yes, you could call me a "book snob" in that sense. One of the things that has always irritated me to no end is when parents, teachers, librarians, etc. will say about a child who consistently reads books with little to no literary merit is "At least they're reading!". My response to that has always been: You don't hand a child who won't eat his vegetables a box of cookies and say "At least they're eating!". It's the same thing, to me.

But I have to admit, publicly, here and now, that I WAS WRONG about Dave Pilkey! At first glance through this book, I cringed at the purposeful spelling and grammar errors. I thought the story was silly (stupid, even) but then told myself the book is for 10yo boys not *ahem*yo mothers; the boys would love it. Wait a minute, *I* have a 10yo boy! Then I began to actually read the text and realized my 10 yo son would be able to read a good portion of this book. My son is autistic with several learning disabilities and at this point is reading easy readers. Here was a book, a thick book, with chapters, that was aimed at his age group that might actually excite him about reading. So I gave him the book, and while he did need a lot of help, he *could* read much of the book and LOVED the story. Every morning when we started our routine, he would say "I can't wait to read my book!" You don't know what music that was to this readaholic mum's ears! I usually give him a break from reading from his reader on Fridays, as he reads a story from an easy reader Bible that day but he was so upset to find "Ook and Gluk" missing that first Friday that he stormed off to get the book and happily read twice on Fridays from then on, without even thinking it was a chore!

My son absolutely loved this book! Thought it was hilarious, loved the "flip-o-rama" pages and it is probably his favourite book *ever* right now. He was thrilled to see the page that said another Ook and Gluk book would be coming soon. Myself, I have to admit, it was funny and silly. I did laugh. The spelling and grammar errors were irksome but I got used to it and realize they made the book easier to read. My son was able to read some of the big words because they were misspelled, which gave him reading confidence. I don't intend to feed him a daily diet of Dave Pilkey but Dave is now welcome in our home and I intend to have him read the first graphic novel about the Diaper Baby in the not too distant future. Then I will finally go have a look at those darn Captain Underpants books! and check out the reading level. Thanks to OOk and Gluk, a mum learned a lesson and a boy found a book he was passionate to read.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT ME THINK?
ME LIKE, a lot... that is what me think! If caveboys read, this what them want! Them want something that make them laff. Me think this is great, me laff too. Lily was me favorite and I like that she barf in evil man's mouff. Laff and laff. Good pictures...

Me want more... read this and you will too!

5 stars

Happy Reading!

[Melanie Fair · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's stupid...and then there's stupid that works. Dav Pilkey* is a master of the second category. I read Captain Underpants back in the day (3rd grade, 4th grade, something like that)and loved it, so I tried out this spin-off book. The back of my mind picked up on the old cliches from that series (the maimed signs, "before we tell you that story, we have to tell you this story") and, while the artistic side of me was sad he wasn't more creative, it was like snuggling a much-loved teddy bear from childhood. Brilliant and tailored to kids, it was a good read, though I wouldn't give it the Nobel Prize or anything.
Heck, if a comic book can make a nineteen-year-old woman giggle at the line "Yeah, father of my BUTT!", it's a huge akomplushmint...er, accomplishment.

*with a name like that, you've got to have a sense of humor

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that came out of nowhere about two cavemen, ook and gluk featuring dinosaurs and time travel. I love this book for so many reasons. But this is already getting kinda long so I will just tell you some of the good parts. Ook and Gluk training, a running gag about names that sound familiar, and a sequel that will probably come out in the middle of nowhere hopefully because it's been a lot of years. Anyways it was a great book that I loved to read.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max (8) REAAAALLLLY wanted me to read this, a first for him, so I did. What can I say? It got a few lols which is more credit than I can give 9 out of the last 10 books I've read. There's time travel, Eastern philosophy, science, math, business and of course there's a baby dino that pukes into the mouth of the antagonist. All the elements of good high brow lit.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi hija, sabedora de mis preferencias por el capitán calzoncillos, me recomendó que me leyera esta historia 'para tener cosas de las que hablar'.

Y, como siempre, me he reído un montón con las aventuras de estos cavernícolas que viajan al futuro para aprender kung-fu y salvar el presente.

[Nick Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've always had an aversion to the works of Dav Pilkey, because everything he writes looks incredibly idiotic and juvenile. Not juvenile in the sense that the books are for children, but juvenile in the sense that I would be embarrassed to give Pilkey's works to a child for fear that they would think I was insulting their intelligence by handing them books written at level so low that the recommended age range is a negative number. I never anticipated buying a Dav Pilkey book for any reason, much less owning and reading a copy myself.

Well, here we are.

In recent weeks Scholastic and Dav Pilkey attempted to memory hole The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future because it allegedly contains "passive racism," which I guess means that author Dav Pilkey is a racist who tries to perpetuate racism in his racist books, and he also uses a lot of backhanded insults when meeting people at parties? I don't know, it's hard to keep up with the lingo these days. Unfortunately, I feel a need to possess copies of books that have been banned, suppressed, or challenged, and that includes trash like this only because Dav Pilkey and Scholastic are literally trying to get this pulled from libraries and bookstores due to Pilkey declaring that his own work is racist. Mein Kampf is in libraries and bookstores, but this text apparently has to go because of how dangerous it is. What planet are we even living on anymore?

Before I begin to attack this book for being garbage on entirely non-racist grounds, I need to pay it a single compliment: Cavemen traveling to the future to learn kung-fu and fight robot dinosaurs is a metal as hell premise. In the hands of a much, much better (and less racist) writer than Dav Pilkey you could wring a fun story out of that concept. Regrettably, in the hands of noted racist Dav Pilkey, the story ends up being as stupid as he thinks the kids reading his books are. The central conceit of the book is that it was allegedly written and drawn by children, but that device appears to exist solely to excuse the low effort put into the art, story, and jokes (though calling them jokes is giving too much credit, as self-described racist Dav Pilkey's idea of humor is using the phrase "poo poo" or having a character vomit). Words are deliberately misspelled throughout the entire book, which is probably intended to be funny, but made it difficult for me to read as an adult and would have to be horrendously confusing to an actual child. The characters have no depth beyond some dime store philosophizing in the middle of the book, yet another lazy aspect designed to be hand-waved away because of the pretense that it was written by children and not a balding (racist) manchild.

The "passive racism" in the book isn't immediately evident. I went in without actually knowing what it was supposed to be, but I couldn't actually come up with anything. The two main characters are a black guy and a white guy, and some very strange folks these days do seem to have a problem with the idea that people of different races can ever be friends, though there haven't been any attempts to remove Lethal Weapon from stores and I'd think that would be the bigger priority for them because there are guns in it, too. In investigating online, the objection actually seems to be that there are Asian characters in the book - the elder of whom is smarter and more well-rounded than anyone else - and that's apparently regarded as a bad thing now. Somehow. Jeez, first Dr. Seuss Enterprises was uncomfortable with the existence of Eskimos, now Scholastic wants to eliminate Asian people. It's unnerving that there are so many white supremacist publishers around that are uncomfortable with seeing non-white characters in their stories, pretty soon the only thing they'll be willing to publish is Mein Kampf.

Anyway, this book is trash, but it's not racist trash despite author Dav Pilkey being a self-admitted racist. If you're a connoisseur of banned books and suffer from the pathological need to collect them as I do, do so without bothering to read it because the constant crimes against spelling and grammar will probably give you a stroke. Also, get it used (and for that matter, never buy anything Pilkey writes ever again), because who would want their money going to a professed racist?

[Sarah]

This book is simply adorable. If you are a fan of Captain Underpants, then you will love this little book! This book has action, drama, and romance. It is written by two 9-10 year old boys who are best friends in elementary school. This book is funny and gives you a break from reality. If you are like me and find yourself bored, you can pick up this book to literally be able to time-travel.
In this book, the main characters are cavemen. Yes, you read that correctly. While you may be thinking about a Geico commercial right now, this is clearly not the case. Ook and Gluk are adorable and not really barbaric in anyway. As a matter of fact, they are pretty intelligent despite the way they talk.
While this book has plenty of misspellings, it is bound to keep you laughing or shaking your head at the stupidity. While I was reading this book, I found myself doing both things. But strangely enough, it works and works well. I wish that this series was more popular than what it is. It seems as if the Captain Underpants books are more popular and are more well-known. But believe it or not, this book was just as good if not better than Captain Underpants.
I found myself amused at Ook and Gluk trying to learn Kung-Fu. It seemed as if they really wanted a belt regardless of color, immediately. Ook and Gluk’s training for a year or so teaches patience and an ability to preserve regardless of circumstances. It shows that you must try in order to succeed.
This book also contains an adorable dinosaur. I love the dinosaur. Even though the poor dinosaur often gets sick from turning around, she is still adorable and helps Ook and Gluk to save the day. Plus, the dinosaur is a baby, which makes it even more adorable!
While this book may seem cheesy to some at first, it is really a great adventure. It has dinosaurs, cavemen, Kung-Fu, romance, and action. If you liked the Captain Underpants books (I did when I was growing up) then you are bound to love this book! My only wish for these books though, is colored pictures. I really want to see that sweet baby dinosaur in color! Awh!

[Meg Stolte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, “Ook and Gluk” has a lot of goofy pictures and entertaining dialogue. Ook and Gluk, two cavemen in 500,001 BC, find a time-traveler from the future that’s coming back and trying to steal their natural resources. They travel to the future and learn kung-fu, fighting off the bad guys with ridiculous and humorous situations, saving the day. This book is an example of a graphic novel, written in a style like a comic book, containing various elements like panels and sound effects. It’s recommended by the ALSC for grades 3-5, but I’ve known 2nd graders to also enjoy this book. The humor is more suitable for the younger end of the spectrum, and is similar to Pilkey’s other books, like “Captain Underpants.”

I would use this to encourage readers that might otherwise be intimidated by, or uninterested in, various types of books. Its structure is very different from other mediums, and for that reason it can help support reading with learners that struggle; research supports the use of a variety of reading materials to boost higher average reading scores.

[Dynamite101 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think da book is GREAT!!!Ot has fetures that r funny and a litte bit of...ROMANCE?!?But whoever is reading this review should exit this and read another review because this may upset you.*Whispering*This book has SPOILERS!!!


Ya done yet?
Ok.
This book has an evil dude a boy sister!Once the king(Evil Dude)wanted to married the boy's sister the boy went to a dinosaur to save the sis.(At the wedding)Evil Dude:U marry me now!!!
Sister:No way!Hozay!
Well see isn't that funny?Well not for everyone is funny.So my whole point of this book is its a GREAT book and I think all of you here should by da book and read it.Im not COMMANDING u guys to buy it I'm just saying if u want to.The book is about cavemans who travel to da future and learn Kung fu.Also to defeat the evil,small,grumpy caveman.So it's also a comic book and I know most of u guys like comics books so I recconmend U buy this book.

BYE BYE!!!!

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Punching, kicking, name-calling, misspellings, jokes at other's expense, and puking. Lots of puking. All await you in this, the first adventure of best friends Ook and Gluk from a fictional caveman past. Lest you think this story is bereft of any redeeming qualities, I will say there is a whole section of rhyming and one chapter about the spiritual benefits of kung-fu. I can't imagine a kid who would not find something funny in this book. At the same time, there is plenty to offend, and parents who object to the grammatical incorrectness of Junie B. Jones will want to steer clear. Everyone else: enjoy!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son really liked this and I thought some parts were quite clever. I liked the climax. (Not giving away spoilers!)

Did not like: The bad grammar and spelling. I know it is supposed to be written by a kid, but I am always trying to get DS to read good grammar.

Did not like: The plot involving Lan, especially the very end where she.... well, I won't give away spoilers. Let's just say this book has no "Girl Power."

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read this in response to all the kerfuffle recently about the book's "passive racism." Here are my thoughts:

1. I didn't find anything racist in this book. There is an Asian character who teaches the protagonists Ook and Gluk the art of Kung Fu and other bits of wisdom which they use to defeat the villains. I think that's what people are worked up about. Honestly, I'm more offended by the deliberately poor grammar-ha ha!

2. Cancel culture sucks.

3. Dav Pilkey-STOP APOLOGIZING!

[Nurul Huda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this before it gets pulled off the shelves. The spelling, as others have pointed out, is atrocious (atroshes?), but to a purpose. Still, it makes my English teacher nose twitch. The 'passive racism' here is the stuff stereotypical of Hollywood depictions of East/ Asian culture, but it's good that it's been finally called out.

[Diego Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked this book it is a bout two kids named ook and gluk they were left when they were babies and a man that had a karate dojo found them and raised them to be like karate masters i recommend this book to cristian

[Groundwood (MZ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous time travel combo of humour, cavemen and action. certainly a Graphic novel, and the tone of the book settles you into a time of wonder and crazyness. I would recommend this book.

[BenD_E1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read from the same writer as the Aventures of Captain Underpants.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spelling mistakes drive me nuts in these books.

[Brayan Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a preaty good boock because it talks about the future in which we are today

[Josh Yancick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sort of a spin-off of captain underpants with a great story line and has some really funny moments. If you liked captain underpants I would recommend reading this one too.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea…or whatever the caveman equivalent was…, but rather funny! Ook and Gluk are cave people who spell as badly as their future descendent, Dav Pilkey. Oh, sorry, the book doesn’t say that! In any case, Pilkey did write this book and it really is rather funny in a gross sort of way and I can see why the library book looks worn! However, I doubt I’ll read more. Just not for me. Me don’t like books that are…wait! I mean *I* don’t like books that are just what kids will giggle at and enjoy and learn some stuff all without realizing they are learning ethics and other things here and there! Oh very well! The book is just fine but it still isn’t my cup of tea! Highly recommended for grades 3/4 in particular and other grades as well.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it!

[Raine Villanueva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ook Schadowski and Gluk Jones, two cool cavemen from prehistorical Caveland, Ohio found out that Chief Goppernopper wants to marry Ook's sister, Gak, but refused. A few days later, their hometown is under attack by J. P. Goppernopper from the future. Ex-Chief Goppernopper meets his future self and hired, so the Goppernoppers from the Past and Future came along to destroy Caveland.

Meanwhile, Ook and Gluk, who are now slaves, hides at Master Wong's School of Kung-Fu and met their teacher, Master Wong and his daughter, Lan. He teaches not just academics, creativity and taking care of the environment, but also Kung-Fu to the boys. They learned for years and years until they grew up as men earning their black belts from him, and they taught about one important question - Who is the Greatest Man?

Ook and Gluk fights against the bad guys, including the Goppernoppers, all the way to save the past and the future.

With trademark misspelled words, sign gags, action packed Flip-O-Ramas and full of laffs, plus a guide to learn Cavemonics (Caveman Language), this is surely an awesome 3-star graphic novel from George Beard and Harold Hutchins.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas present for my little caveman. Unlike Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta and His MIghty Robot, this Dav Pilkey creation is entirely in graphic novel form. For us old fogies, that means it's a long comic book. One thing I noticed right away is the intentional misspellings that are supposed to make the book feel like two little boys wrote it. Well, it bothered me a little, and my Asperger's son some too. But not enough to not buy the book! We're just so happy Dav Pilkey wrote something else. Having said that, I must add that it's not as funny as the other two series. My son did lol a few times with this one but no seizure like fits of hysterical shrieking laughter like he does over his favorite, Captain Freaking Underpants. Sigh. We're all so jaded. At this point, if Pilkey wrote the text for toilet paper packaging, I'd buy it. My son reads anything by this Pilkey person and that means he's getting this idea filed away in his little boy brain that reading is cool, funny and worth the effort. Works for me.

[Amber Hurlbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The adventures of Ook and Gluk : Kung-fu cavemen from the future" is a graphic novel. I am not as into graphic novels, but this was a silly/fun book that students may like.

Text-self: I would ask students to think of their best friend that they like to have fun with. They can share their favorite thing to do with their best friend if they would like.

Text-world: I would ask the students to think what life would be like if there were two cavemen alive today and how they would react to the world we live in. I would also ask the students to think what life would have been like in 500,001 BC like in the book.

Text-text: Captain underpants is a book by the same author, so if students like this book, they would probably like those. I would find another book about cavemen to be a twin text, and compare it to this book. A non-fiction book, or a book about theories on real cavemen, would be fun for the students to read with this as well, so they can see what they think could be realistic.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never expected to read, much less review, a graphic novel about kung fu-fighting cavemen authored by fictional characters, but for a long time I did not expect to be a parent, either, and here we are.

The book is a spin-off of Pilkey's popular Captain Underpants novels, and its title sums up its plot pretty well. The lives of two cavemen who look remarkably like our Underpants protagonists are interrupted when a businessman from the future comes to steal all their resources. They travel through the time portal, learn kung fu, and take the matter into their own hands.

There is probably something worth saying about race in this book, which positions "ancient" Asian philosophy and martial arts as a future technology, but, really, the point of the story is to grab kids' attention, get them reading, and maybe develop some thoughts about social justice. My own kid, who is new to chapter books, loved having so many pictures on every page, and like I say of all his faves, I am sure we'll be rereading this one again and again.