In her new children’s book, Karyn Wills has crafted a delightfully absurd children’s adventure that reads like a cross between Roald Dahl’s mischievous humor and the zany cartoon logic of Captain Underpants. The Mozzarella Heist is the kind of book that will have children giggling uncontrollably while secretly making adults crave pizza.
At its heart, this is a buddy comedy about two unlikely heroes: Captain Spaghetti, a pasta-bodied superhero who “could zap boring teachers with his electronic eyes” and “wriggle his ears and cause cats to hiss and stretch,” and his best friend, the Well-behaved Princess, whose devotion to good manners is matched only by her love of cheese. When Captain Spaghetti becomes a soggy mess after overindulging in tomato sauce, and villains Dastardly Dave and Martha the Magnificent steal all the mozzarella in the city, our heroes must embark on a mission to save both pizza and joy itself. In short as one character puts it, “Think of the pizza!”
The plot is wonderfully ridiculous, involving invisible bikes, royal hairdryers that only obey royalty, and villains who get literally stuck together by melted cheese, but it’s grounded by genuine friendship and positive messages for children. Wills has a gift for the kind of gross-out, silly humor that children adore. Her descriptions are vivid and often wonderfully disgusting: Captain Spaghetti in his soggy state is “worse than seaweed touching her toes at the beach… even worse than when her brothers put slugs down the back of her neck.” The villain Dastardly Dave “always looks like a human sausage who’s been stuffed into clothes that are too tight.”
Despite the cartoonish premise, both main characters grow throughout the story. The Princess learns to bend rules when necessary, while Captain Spaghetti must confront his weaknesses. Their friendship feels genuine, built on shared conversations about “the charms of cheese and the thrilling joy of tomatoes.” The book’s central messages for children resonate without being heavy-handed or too moralistic. As Captain Spaghetti reminds us, “Everyone is allowed to have something that makes them happy… like tomatoes.”
The rhythmic prose, filled with sound effects (“tap-tap,” “clump-clump,” “tappitty-tap”), makes this perfect for classroom or bedtime reading. Wills clearly understands the oral storytelling tradition, and generally the words are all simple enough young children will be able to understand. Wills writes with infectious enthusiasm and a keen understanding of what makes children laugh. Her prose is conversational and energetic, with just enough exaggeration to feel magical without losing believability within the story’s own logic.
To sum up, Captain Spaghetti & The Well-behaved Princess: The Mozzarella Heist is a thoroughly entertaining children’s book that celebrates creativity. While it may not be exactly the next Cat in the Hat, it succeeds brilliantly at its primary goal: making children fall in love with reading through laughter and adventure. Perfect for reluctant readers who need something silly to hook them, children who love Dav Pilkey and food-themed stories, and anyone who believes that pizza—and friendship—can save the world.
You can get your copy of “Captain Spaghetti” here!
