Jonah's Hero

Jonah sat in the back seat of the family minivan, his older sister beside him, and wondered what new adventure awaited him.

Soon, they arrived in a city much bigger than the town he came from, that seemed to have more cows than humans. Tall buildings nudged the sky on either side of their car. Jonah had been here before a few times. The Boise traffic always made his mom nervous.

They pulled into a parking lot, then the family walked several blocks. His dad said something about parking garages being expensive, and that it was a nice night for a walk. In the distance, Jonah could make out a strange looking character bouncing around on the sidewalk before a large crowd.

When they drew closer, Jonah could see the person jumping about in a comical Captain Underpants costume. The giant pair of white briefs and long, red cape made him laugh. People were lined up in front of a building that looked like a movie theater. As they filed passed the caped, underwear-clad figure, kids and adults posed for pictures with him and slapped high fives.

Inside, his dad purchased tickets. As they made their way into the auditorium, a woman in the doorway handed him a red cape, similar to the one that Captain Underpants wore. He noticed all the other children wearing their capes, hooked to the back of their shirts. His dad fastened his on for him and they found their seats.

Soon, a big screen that took up the whole stage area lit up with pictures of Dog Man, Captain Underpants, and Ook and Gluk, popular characters from one of Jonah's favorite authors. Would they play cartoons on the screen? Was it a movie?

A man walked onto the stage and picked up a microphone at the podium. Jonah didn't recognize him, but he hoped he didn’t talk too long, he wanted to watch his favorite characters on the big screen.

He introduced himself.

"I'm Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants books." The crowd erupted with applause. Jonah too. Could this really be his favorite author in the whole world, the Dav Pilkey?

Dav told stories and jokes, mesmerizing the young crowd for nearly two hours. Afterward, the children formed a line in the lobby, and Dav signed their books. Jonah noticed that he didn't just scribble his name in the books, he took his time and drew a picture in each one. Jonah gave him two books to sign. In his Ook and Gluk book, he drew a picture of Mog Mog, the dinosaur. In his Dog Man book, Dav drew a picture of Dog Man himself.

Jonah stood close to Dav, so his mom could take pictures. Mr. Pilkey thanked him for being a fan, then Jonah and his family began the long walk to their car. It was nearly dark, but Jonah was sure that the passersby could see his brilliant smile glued on his young face. What a night!

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

499 Words

Author's Note ▼

The cover photo shows my son, Jonah standing next to Dav Pilkey while wearing his Captain Underpants cape.