I admit it; I had an ARC of the first title from a conference and didn't get around to reading it. But I did read this one! It was pretty easy to figure out what was going on, even having missed the first volume.

Cosmoe, boy from earth, is continuing his adventures along with Big Humphree (mostly ex-space pirate) and Princess Dagger (who has escaped from her evil queen and mother). Cosmoe has Goober, his....possibly sentient? booger-shaped companion to help him out, Humphree has big muscles, and Princess Dagger has unbounded confidence and all the sneaky lessons her evil mother taught her. Together they and their food stand, Galactic Hot Dogs, are having a great time. Until they run into Crostini's Cosmic Carnival. Cosmoe has some back history with circuses, but he doesn't want to talk about it, even when he becomes Cosmoe the Monster-Tamer, against his friends' advice. But there's something sinister going on in Crostini's circus.... will they get out alive and, more importantly, thwart Princess Dagger's evil mother, save the monsters and keep the wiener mobile running?

This notebook novel is generously illlustrated in wacky black and white pictures, comic panels, and includes more than enough cartoon violence. In fact, it's a non-stop whirl of action, puns, explosions, monsters, and hot dogs.

Verdict: This is just a little too silly for most of my readers. However, if you have a lot of really dedicated Captain Underpants fans they'll eat this up. Kids who like gross humor and nonstop action will also be fans.

ISBN: 9781481464840; Published May 2016 by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster; ARC provided by publisher at BEA