Dav Pilkey
Writer and illustrator

At 39, Dav Pilkey is a prolific writer and illustrator of award-winning children’s books with more than 40 titles in print, including the Captain Underpants series — a remarkable achievement, particularly for someone with difficulty reading as well as ADHD and severe hypersensitivity.

In school, Pilkey was banished to the hallway so often that a desk was placed there just for him. But his parents loved his creativity, read his comics and “always laughed in the right places,” Pilkey says.

When his English professor at Kent State urged him to try writing children’s books, Pilkey complied — and never looked back. Today, he credits as keys to his success a vivid imagination, determination, belief in himself — and a talent for looking at the world with humor.