The potty humor of "Captain Underpants" children's books and the mature exploration of race and family violence by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison in "The Bluest Eye" would seem to have little in common.

Captain Underpants books – the bestselling toilet-humoured tales, aimed at 7-year-olds, about a headteacher who fights crimes in his underpants – are the most complained-about books in the US. Parents ...