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Parent reviews of, dog man: dog man, book 1.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 31 Reviews
Kids Say 46 Reviews

Parents Say

Based on 31 parent reviews

Parent Reviews

Crosses the line, report this review, great if you want your kids to act like jerks, really poor language quality, unwanted behaviors as a result, thoughts of a teacher, these negative reviews helped me decide that the books are awesome, educational value.

This title has:

Too much violence

Hilarious, just don’t read it as a bed time story

Educational value

Love ❤️ the books- Read before reading to your kid(s)

Great messages
Great role models

A little over the line

The 13-Story Treehouse: The Treehouse Books, Book 1

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

Little Robot

Graphic novels and memoirs, graphic novels that teach history, related topics.

Cats, Dogs, and Mice

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PERSPECTIVES

From the cat kid comic club series , vol. 2.

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 30, 2021

Mind-bending, in the best possible way.

Li’l Petey and the young frogs of the Cat Kid Comic Club return for a second session that intersperses classroom and family drama with the froglets’ own comics.

This week’s lesson is perspective, both the graphical kind and the broad concept. The latter is perhaps best articulated by the froglets’ dad, Flippy, as he adjudicates Melvin and Naomi’s sibling bickering: “ PERSPECTIVE isn’t just about DRAWING!!! …It’s about seeing the world from someone ELSE’S point of view!!!” Indeed, lessons in perspective abound: Curly and Gilbert’s Time Wasters comic reveals the Great Chicago Fire to have been a crashing bore…to time-traveling frog-kids who spent it playing video games; Poppy’s Skelopup gently shows how a dead dog and a dead girl, both grieving the losses of their former companions, find comfort over time through sharing their feelings with one another; and Summer and Starla’s Shodo Gardens readjusts assumptions with a series of haiku paired with photographs. Melvin and Naomi’s journey to détente, which forms the volume’s narrative throughline, includes an examination of unearned male privilege. Sharing coloring duties with Garibaldi, Pilkey deftly applies his trademark sly mix of revelation and in-your-face zaniness in busy, froglet-filled panels that take advantage of the anthology format to showcase comics’ versatility.

Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-338-78485-5

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

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WRECKING BALL

From the diary of a wimpy kid series , vol. 14.

by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019

Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.

The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.

When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3

Publisher: Amulet/Abrams

Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019

GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney

More by Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney Receives France’s Order of Arts and Letters

THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the wild robot series , vol. 3.

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023

ISBN: 9780316669412

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

More by Aaron Reynolds

by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown

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The Dog Man Books: A Guide for Parents and Teachers

For whom does the ball roll, anyways? We're answering your biggest questions about the Dog Man book series by Dav Pilkey.

CJ Connor is a cozy mystery and romance writer whose main goal in life is to make their dog proud. They are a Pitch Wars alumnus and an Author Mentor Match R9 mentor. Their debut mystery novel BOARD TO DEATH is forthcoming from Kensington Books. Twitter: @cjconnorwrites | cjconnorwrites.com

View All posts by CJ Connor

If there’s anything Dav Pilkey is a master at, it’s creating chapter books that kids can’t get their hands on fast enough. I tore through the Captain Underpants books as an elementary schooler and, almost 20 years later, am overjoyed that he’s created a series for the next generation of young readers: the Dog Man books.

Parents and educators, we’re answering your most common questions about the series today. Read on to learn all of the essential lore and what you need to know to appreciate the series as much as your children or students.

What Are The Dog Man Books About?

How Many Dog Man Books are There?

As of 2019, there are seven published books in the series. For Whom the Ball Rolls is the most recent addition. The next book in the series, Fetch-22 , will be released on December 20th.

What is the Dog Man Series Reading Order?

Including Fetch-22 , the current series order is:

You may notice a theme in this list: many of the titles are allusions to classic literary works. And who said that comics couldn’t be educational?

Who Wrote the Dog Man Books?

The Adventures of Captain Underpants book cover

Pikley is also the writer behind The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby , Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot , and The Dragon Tales . Chances are that if you’ve known any elementary school students within the past decade-and-a-half, you’ve heard of at least one book by Dav Pilkey.

What is the Dog Man Reading Level?

The series’s official Lexile level is GN390L , which puts its reading level at around 2nd–3rd grade. The fun illustrations and engaging plot make it a popular series among early readers who are just starting to pick up chapter books.

Who Are Some of the Main Dog Man Characters?

Since the series is now seven books long and running, jumping into the series can be intimidating for a newcomer. Here’s a primer on a few important characters from the series to help you out:

When is the Next Dog Man Book Coming out?

Although Pilkey hasn’t yet announced any releases for 2020, the series is so beloved among elementary students that we imagine Fetch-22 isn’t the last we’ll see of this crusading canine.

Are There Any Dog man Games or Toys?

If you’re doing your winter shopping early, Dog Man toys could be a great choice for little readers. While Scholastic hasn’t yet released a board or video game, they do have plush dolls of many of the main characters available for purchase.

Once your children or students have read through the whole series, what should you give them next to keep their love of books alive? Check out these recommended reading lists to discover books perfect for little bookworms: