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But I probably should've checked the year the book was written before I wrote my letter. May 20th Dear Mr. Heffley, We regret to inform you that the author to whom you have written, Mr. Hawthorne, passed away more than a century ago. As such, he will not be able to respond to your questions. With regrets, Katrina Welker Publisher Most PARENTS don't like the Underpants Bandits books, either.

In fact, the PTA had a meeting that year where they decided parents' tax dollars shouldn't be used to purchase any of the Underpants Bandits books for the library. & Gandhi's Undergarments When we came back to school from spring break, all of the Underpants Bandits books in the library were GONE. I hope these adults are happy when a whole generation of boys grow up not knowing how to read.

When the school banned the Underpants Bandits books, it just made them more popular than EVER. Some boys snuck in copies from home and passed them on to OTHER kids. One kid even brought in a bootleg copy of an Underpants Bandits book from Japan. I couldn't understand a word of it, but it was pretty easy to figure out from the pictures what was going on.

I actually wrote to the author on my OWN just to tell him how much I liked his series. August 18th Dear Mr. Davies, I'm just writing to tell you, don't listen to these people who say your books are garbage, because they don't know what they're talking about. I know a bunch of kids (including me) who think your books are great. As far as the "rude humor" goes, I find that stuff hilarious, so please don't change a thing. In fact, I would encourage you to put MORE bodily functions and things of that nature in your books. Sincerely, Greg Heffley I'd never written a fan letter like that, and every day when I got home from school, I ran to the mailbox to see if Mik Davies had written me back.

I finally got a response almost a year later, and I was really excited. But when I read the letter, it was a HUGE disappointment. From THE DESK OF Mik Davies Dear friend, Unfortunately, I get so much fan mail that I'm not able to answer your letter personally. But I did want to tell you to be on the lookout for "Underpants Bandits 24: Lincoln's Longjohns," coming soon to stores near you! Lots of yuks, Mik

I couldn't believe I poured my heart out to this guy and all I got back was an AD. Even though that whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth, I still like his books. At least I get to read whatever I WANT this summer. Rodrick's school gave him a whole list for required reading, and some of the books look like a lot of work. Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte MOBY DICK Herman Melville A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens