dav pilkey book review

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Cat kid comic club, book 1, common sense media reviewers.

Fun, irreverent characters share poop jokes, life lessons.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Some advanced vocabulary and information about dif

It's OK to fail. Be persistent. Offer sincere apol

Flippy tries to change when he sees how he overrea

Some characters call others "stupid" and "losers,"

Parents need to know that Cat Kid Comic Club , the start of a Dog Man spin-off graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey ( Captain Underpants ), has just as much potty humor and name calling as his other work, but includes some important messages about being authentic, trying your best, and owning up…

Educational Value

Some advanced vocabulary and information about different ways of storytelling.

Positive Messages

It's OK to fail. Be persistent. Offer sincere apologies when you've hurt someone. There are many ways to be creative.

Positive Role Models

Flippy tries to change when he sees how he overreacted.

Some characters call others "stupid" and "losers," and there's lots of potty humor (poop, farts).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Cat Kid Comic Club , the start of a Dog Man spin-off graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey ( Captain Underpants ), has just as much potty humor and name calling as his other work, but includes some important messages about being authentic, trying your best, and owning up to your mistakes. Subtlety isn't part of Pilkey's approach; messages are in clear language that's sometimes crass and sometimes complicated but always direct, and there's more kindness and cooperation on these pages than in other series. The illustrations are vibrant and brash, with step-by-step instructions for drawing a few of the characters. The end of the book has information on how to create different kinds of art.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (2)
• Kids say (6)

Based on 2 parent reviews

This book is trash for the sake of trash. Stay away! No substance!

Nuclear bombs and earth's destruction, what's the story.

In THE CAT KID COMIC CLUB, a spin-off of Dav Pilkey 's Dog Man series, Li'l Petey is starting a club for drawing comics. Joined by friends Flippy and Molly, the trio tries to teach 21 baby frogs to create comics using their own strengths and talents. Within the story are the frogs' comics, stories told using markers, pastels, photographs, sculptures, and more. Despite creative setbacks and frustration, the frogs learn about collaboration, individual work, persistence, and the importance of being themselves. The end of the book has facts about haiku and creative materials, and throughout the story there are step-by-step instructions for drawing characters.

Is It Any Good?

Author Dav Pilkey knows that kids can giggle about poop jokes while asking big, philosophical questions; he's created a funny, deep, wonderfully irreverent graphic novel to match that spirit. Cat Kid Comic Club is a quick read with enough advanced vocabulary words sprinkled in to offer a challenge, and the illustrations are fast, colorful, and fun. There's also real depth here, but never so much that the story takes too serious a turn. On one page, characters are coming to terms with the hypocrisy of judging kids' artistic content differently than adults' work while only a few pages earlier there was a barrage of fart jokes. The message of persistence is strong here, and applies to more than developing artistic talent.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Cat Kid Comic Club shows how you can use drawings to help tell stories. How do you think the storytlling in this new series sart compares with Dog Man and Captain Underpants ? What other graphic novels have you read?

Have you ever been scared to put your heart into something because you're new to it and think you might fail? What happened?

Think you might like to try making your own graphic novel? Would you have animals of people as the manin characters?

Book Details

• Author : Dav Pilkey
• Genre : Graphic Novel
• Topics : Adventures , Cats, Dogs, and Mice , Friendship
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Graphix
• Publication date : December 1, 2020
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 7 - 18
• Number of pages : 176
• Available on : Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : December 2, 2021

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Dav Pilkey: 10 books that shaped my life

Social Sharing

Dav Pilkey's mission in life is to get kids to read - a goal made even more admirable when you learn that the creator of the enormously successful Captain Underpants books and the just-released Dog Man Unleashed is dyslexic.

Dav shares with us 10 books that, from childhood to adulthood, have broken through the barrier of his dyslexia - and helped shape him into a kidlit rock star.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

"My mom and dad thought that Where the Wild Things Are would give me nightmares. There was a copy at church, and my mom was the organist. She would bring me there when she had to practice, and she would say 'Don't read that 'Wild Things' book, whatever you do.' And I would promise her I wouldn't, then run over and pick up the book. This was before I could read, but I would spend so much time on the pictures. I even tried to draw the monsters. There's a forbidden quality about it, even now - when I look at it, I get this wonderful sense that I'm doing something wrong."

George and Martha by James Marshall

"James Marshall's George and Martha series is just beautiful. The illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny. The emotion he can get out of two little dots for eyes - it's amazing. He really inspired me not only to be a good writer, but to be a good illustrator and to be as expressive as possible with as few lines as possible."

Round Trip by Ann Jonas

"When I first started creating children's books in college, I discovered Round Trip by Ann Jonas. It's full of black and white illustrations, and when you get to the end, you turn it upside down and you read it back to front. And the whole story changes. I'll never forget that book, because it had such a profound influence on me about what can happen in children's books. It shows me that books for kids can be real art, and be really inventive. That was a big, big book for me."

El Deafo by Cece Bell

"Cece Bell's El Deafo is a perfect book. It's a chapter book and a graphic novel at once, which I love because I have dyslexia and find large chunks of text difficult. El Deafo is about Cece's experience growing up as a deaf girl. She portrays herself and all the book's characters as rabbits, which makes her storytelling somehow even more sensitive. It's a page-turner of a story and there's so much warmth and humanity to her writing. When you read this book, you feel like you've lived a life, and that you could be best friends with her now."

The Peanuts Treasury by Charles Schulz

"As a kid, I went through a really intense period of reading The Peanuts Treasury by Charles Schulz, which encompasses a lot of the more well-known storylines of the strip from the sixties. Every night for a few years starting when I was about eight years old, I would pull it out from under the bed and read it until I fell asleep. Every night. When I reached the end, I would start back at the beginning. I often saw reading as something I had to do, but this is the first book where reading was a total delight. It made books come to life for me."

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

"Being dyslexic, I find that if I'm not engaged, I read the same sentence over and over and I cannot make any sense of it. It's so frustrating. That's why I veer so heavily toward graphic novels. But Stephen King is probably my favourite writer who does straight writing with no pictures. I've often thought that his books don't even need to be scary. The portraits he paints of his characters are so strong that they could stand alone. I was recently rereading Pet Sematary and the main character was having a beer and talking to some older guy who lived nearby. It was just this conversation sitting on the porch, and it was so engrossing to see these two lives unravelling. King creates characters who you would walk through anything with. They could just be stories of conversations, and I would still go along for the ride, they're that good."

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

"Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half is a fantastic book. It is just a scream. I loved that it would go from one thing to the next, but it still seemed like a complete and whole story. She would be talking about herself as a kid, then her dog - I don't know you could go from one random thing to the next like that, but she did it. In one bit, she's taking an online quiz to try to determine whether her dog has mental deficiencies and I'm just doubled over laughing. But I also love the part where she gets lost in the woods as a kid with her mom, and her mom is trying to make it seem like she didn't want the kids to worry, but they were getting more and more worried. It made me think of my own childhood, and it made me want to tell stories from my own childhood and be that good."

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

"Whenever I talk about Walden , people are like, Really? You've read an actual book? But I've always loved that book, and I've re-read it many times. There was a time that I had a very small pocket edition and I used to carry it around in my pocket every day. It inspires me to live and think simpler. It feels like it's always been a part of my life."

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

"We keep buying Dan Santat's The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend . It's a beautiful picture book about an imaginary friend who hasn't been imagined yet, and he goes looking for someone to imagine him. It's fantastic and simple at the same time. Every year when a book comes out that blows me away, I say, 'Oh, that's going to win the Caldecott Medal.' And I'm always wrong. But when I saw Beekle I thought that ,and I was actually right for once - it won the award this year. Dan illustrates my Ricky Ricotta series, and he's one of the best people I know. He's such a nice person and a great father. It's nice when an artist you admire is also a human being you admire."

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future by Dav Pilkey

"If someone had never heard of me or my books, or there was a time capsule and I could only put one of my books in it, it would be The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future . I remember Charlie Chaplin once said, If you want to know me, watch my films, and I feel that's true with this particular book of mine. The best part of me is in that book. I love kung fu and philosophy and dinosaurs and robots, and they're all in there. If there's any book that's a real reflection of me and who I try to be, that's the book."

Dog Man Mothering Heights

Dog Man Mothering Heights Summary

Dog Man Mothering Heights is book 10 of 11 in author Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series.

In this book, as in many others, Dog Man and his friends are put to the test by inanimate objects (the evil characters) that have grown to supersize and become animated. It’s also worth noting that while Dog Man plays an important role, he’s not the only hero who steps in to save the day.

Aside from the main conflict, Petey is interviewed by Sarah Hatoff (the investigative journalist) who spells out how he has changed from his previously shady ways to choose the path of goodness.

The storybook contains a lot of general humor, even more, potty humor, and a little romance, which is a first for Dog Man.

Everything appears to be dark and depressing. But there is still hope! Can love’s immense power win the battle?

Dog Man 10 Mothering Heights Reading Level

Reviewers have pointed out that there is toilet humor in the story; however, it is handled humorously rather than in a crass or inappropriate way. Most kids 7 and up will find it funny.

Overall, it’s a great story with a lot of heart and some important lessons. Based on the astounding 4.9-star rating on Amazon, it would seem that the vast majority of parents think it’s suitable for kids 7+ who can handle the humor and comprehend the meaning of the story.

You can listen to a read-aloud version of the story on YouTube if you’re a parent who isn’t sure if it’s age-appropriate for your child by scrolling down this page.

Dog Man Characters

The protagonist and namesake of the Dog Man series, Dog Man is widely regarded as the greatest police officer in the world. Dog Man is unable to speak, but he can communicate using hand symbols, like 80-HD.

Dog Man Petey

The primary antagonist of the Dog Man series, Petey, is now a tritagonist. Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers, which was canonized in Dog Man: Mothering Heights, featured him for the first time. Following his string of valiant deeds in Dog Man: Lord of the FLEAS, Petey’s initial status as the series’ primary antagonist was changed.

Petey’s Father

Grampa, also known as Crud, is the series’ primary antagonist. He is the unseen antagonistic force behind Dog Man, Dog Man: Unleashed, and Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kittens. He is the primary antagonist in Dog Man: Grime and Punishment, the secondary antagonist in Dog Man: Mothering Heights, and the series’ primary antagonist as Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls. He is both the father of Pete and grandfather of Li’l Petey.

Li’l Petey

Li’l Petey (aka Cat Kid), is the deuteragonist of the Dog Man series, and the main protagonist of Cat Kid Comic Club. He is a smart yet naïve orange kitten. He is Petey’s clone/”son”, the leader of the Supa Buddies, and president of Cat Kid Comic Club. He is the 23rd youngest character, after the 22 Psychokinetic Tadpoles.

Li’l Petey (aka Cat Kid) is the Dog Man series’ deuteragonist and the main protagonist of Cat Kid Comic Club. He is an intelligent but naive orange kitten. He is Petey’s clone/”son,” the Supa Buddies’ leader, and the president of Cat Kid Comic Club. After the 22 Psychokinetic Tadpoles, he is the 23rd youngest character.

80 Hexotron-Droidformigon (Referred to as 80-HD/Lightning Dude As His Supa Buddies Alter-Ego) is one of the tritagonists of the Dog Man series. He is a robot built by Petey.

80 Hexotron-Droidformigon (also known as 80-HD/Lightning Dude as his Supa Buddies Alter-Ego) is one of the Dog Man series’ three protagonists. This mechanical fellow was created by Petey.

Dog Man Chief

Chief is the leader of the police force and one of the main protagonists, later a supporting character in the Dog Man series. In Mothering Heights, he falls in love with Nurse Lady.

The Chief is the head of the police department and one of the primary protagonists in the Dog Man series. Later on, he becomes a supporting character in the series. During his time in Mothering Heights, he finds himself falling in love with Nurse Lady.

Genie S. Lady, RN, and BSN (better known as Nurse Lady) was originally seen in the first Dog Man book and has been seen in the prologue of every book so far with the Doctor. She appeared in Cat Kid Comic Club giving Flippy advice to let his kids do what they want with comics.

Genie S. Lady, RN, and BSN (better known as Nurse Lady) first appeared in the first Dog Man book and has appeared in the prologue of every book with the Doctor so far. She made an appearance in Cat Kid Comic Club, advising Flippy to let his kids use comics however they pleased.

Big Jim Dog Man

Big Jim, also known as Commander Cupcake and Snug, is a character who appears in multiple episodes of the Dog Man series.

Sarah Hatoff

Sarah Hatoff (also known as Purse Lady) is a series supporting character. She is a news reporter from Australia who appears in all of Dog Man’s books. She is known as “the world’s greatest reporter.”

One of the supplementary characters in the Dog Man series is a white poodle named Zuzu, who also goes by the name Supa Fang. Zuzu belongs to Sarah Hatoff.

Grampa made the Sippy Cups out of Living Spray and Cannery Grow in Petey and Son, which Big Jim grabbed and busted up.

They are filled with juice within. Grampa and Big Jim become trapped inside of it, and the malic acid in the juice corroded 80-HD and Dog Man’s Cone of Destiny.

Milly is a redheaded female who appears in Dog Man: Unleashed and plays an important role in Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas. At the C.O.P.S., Milly is the Chief’s second-in-command.

She later appeared in “Dog Man Mothering Heights” in Chief’s dream, as well as later in the book, when she informed Chief that Nurse Lady was on the phone.

Mean Officers

The Mean Officers (the female is named Maude and the male’s name is unknown) are police officers who work alongside Dog Man and Chief, the two main officers. In Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild, they have frequently been observed bullying and antagonizing Dog Man, as well as incarcerating him once.

A member of the Cool Officers Pooping on Security is named Buster. He was first identified as Buster after a lengthy appearance in Grime and Punishment’s Dog Man series. He is shown to be extremely courteous to Dog Man and his fellow law enforcement officers.

How To Draw Dog Man

About Dav Pilkey

Dav Pilkey is an American author and illustrator of children’s literature. He is best known for the Captain Underpants and Dog Man series.

Dav Pilkey was born on March 4, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in a working-class family and loved to read comics as a child. Dav struggled in school due to ADHD and dyslexia. In school, he was placed in special education classes as he was made to believe that he was stupid as a result of his reading problems.

Dav met a teacher in college who encouraged him to draw and write. In 1986, he won a national competition that resulted in the publication of his first book, World War Won. He wrote many other books before receiving the 1998 California Young Reader Medal for Dog Breath, which was published in 1994, and the Caldecott Honor in 1997 for The Paperboy.

Stories that explore universal themes like friendship, tolerance, and the triumph of the good-hearted are woven into Dav’s semi-autobiographical works.

You can visit Dav Pilkey’s website at https://pilkey.com/

Dav Pilkey’s Mothering Heights Landing Page: https://pilkey.com/book/dog-man-mothering-heights

Where to Buy Dog Man Mothering Heights by Dav Pilkey

Dog Man 10 is available on Amazon for Kindle and comiXology, as well as in hardcover and paperback. This link leads to the cheapest edition of Dav Pilkey’s book, which is the hardcover edition.

Product Details

Publisher: 1st edition published by Scholastic (February 3, 2022) Language: English ISBN-10 ‏: ‎ 0702313491 ISBN-13 ‏: ‎ 978-0702313493 Reading age: Customers’ reading ages range from 7 to 10 years. Item Weight: The item weighs 13.8 ounces. Dimensions ‏: ‎ 5.91 x 0.55 x 8.31 inches Best Sellers Rank: #118,254 in Books

Dog Man: Mothering Heights Dav Pilkey Reviews

Global ratings according to Amazon as of the end of October 2022 is 4.9 out of 5-stars with a whopping 22,992 reviews, Below are a couple of the top reviews of the book.

This book, along with the rest of the series is very funny reading and kids (and adults) will love it. It’s called a graphic novel. Think comic rather than anything more adult… There’s plenty of humor, I’d say toilet humor definitely features a lot – so some parents I could see perhaps wanting their children to avoid it, but on the whole, very harmless and very funny. the oldest daughter has read it 3 times, youngest had read it twice. I think that’s as good a recommendation as they come! – JC

My 7-year-old son LOVED this book. He laughed so much while reading it, and kept bringing me sections to read. It was indeed funny! It does contain quite a bit of potty humor (farting, diarrhea) so I probably wouldn’t recommend it for any younger of a child (who may not understand that this sort of humor is not appropriate in certain situations….such as, at school!). I’m not even sure I should have let my son read it since he sometimes forgets his filter. But, oh well – it was super funny and he loved it. We are looking forward to the next Dog Man! – Freyja303

Dog Man Mothering Heights Read Online Free Video

This first video is an excellent read-aloud version of the story, and it is followed by a brief video trailer and a link to Dav Pilkey’s YouTube page, where you can view additional examples of Dav’s work and learn more about what he has to offer.

Book Read Aloud

Dog Man: Mothering Heights Trailer | Dav Pilkey

Dav Pilkey’s YouTube Page

https://www.youtube.com/user/PIlkeyDotCom/videos

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Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #5): From the Creator of Captain Underpants (5) Hardcover – August 3, 2021

Purchase options and add-ons.

When a fresh bunch of baddies bust up the town, Dog Man is called into action -- and this time he isn't alone. With a cute kitten and a remarkable robot by his side, our heroes must save the day by joining forces with an unlikely ally: Petey, the World's Most Evil Cat. But can the villainous Petey avoid vengeance and venture into virtue?

Dav Pilkey's wildly popular Dog Man series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence, and the importance of being true to one's self.

• Book 5 of 12 Dog Man
• Print length 256 pages
• Language English
• Grade level 2 and up
• Dimensions 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
• Publisher Graphix
• Publication date August 3, 2021
• ISBN-10 0545935172
• ISBN-13 978-1338741070
• See all details

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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Everyone Digs Dog Man!

★ "Striking color, interactive pages, drawing tutorials, and a plethora of laugh-out-loud moments all work to keep readers’ attention on a tight leash." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review

★ "High-intensity, heartwarming, and, above all, hysterically funny." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review

★ "Riotously funny and original." -- School Library Journal , starred review

★ "An utter, unfettered delight." -- Booklist , starred review

★ "Readers (of any age) will be giggling from start to finish." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review

★ "Action-oriented cartoons... Laffs aplenty." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review

About the Author

When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories. He spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books -- the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. In the second grade, Dav's teacher ripped up his comics and told him he couldn't spend the rest of his life making silly books. Fortunately, Dav was not a very good listener.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1338741071
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Graphix (August 3, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0545935172
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338741070
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9 years, from customers
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 2 and up
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.36 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
• #9 in Children's Superhero Comics
• #13 in Children's Action & Adventure Comics & Graphic Novels
• #14 in Children's Humorous Comics & Graphic Novels

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About the author

When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories. He spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books - the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants.

In college, Dav met a teacher who encouraged him to illustrate and write. He won a national competition in 1986 and the prize was the publication of his first book, World War Won. He made many other books before being awarded the 1998 California Young Reader Medal for Dog Breath, which was published in 1994, and in 1997 he won the Caldecott Honor for The Paperboy.

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, published in 2002, was the first complete graphic novel spin-off from the Captain Underpants series and appeared at #6 on the USA Today bestseller list for all books, both adult and children's, and was also a New York Times bestseller. It was followed by Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers, also a USA Today bestseller. The unconventional style of these graphic novels is intended to encourage uninhibited creativity in kids.

His stories are semi-autobiographical and explore universal themes that celebrate friendship, tolerance, and the triumph of the good-hearted.

Dav loves to kayak in the Pacific Northwest with his wife.

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An unnamed paperboy and his faithful dog wake up early each morning while it is still dark and cold outside and his family is still asleep. After breakfast, the paperboy folds and delivers newspapers, accompanied by his dog; they both find happiness and comfort in the familiar routine. They finish at sunrise as the rest of the world begins to wake up, and they return home to fall asleep and dream.

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Dav Pilkey to Ring in the New Year with Next 'Cat Kid' Book

Mega-selling author Dav Pilkey will claim another slot on bestseller lists this week with the November 30 release of Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives , the second book in the Cat Kid Comic Club series. And there’s more good news for young readers—publisher Scholastic has announced the title for book three in the series: Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose . The book will drop on April 5, 2022.

A spin-off to Pilkey’s blockbuster Dog Man series, Cat Kid Comic Club follows Li'l Petey, Flippy, and Molly as they introduce a group of baby frogs to the art of comic making. And with Pilkey’s trademark humor and innovative artwork, the Cat Kid graphic novels offer a number of valuable lessons for young readers . In the first book, for example, the baby frogs learned how failure is part and parcel of the creative process, and about the importance of practice, and persistence. In Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives , the baby frogs explore different ways of seeing the world and find new ways to collaborate. And in the forthcoming Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose , the baby frogs will learn to face rejection, navigate sibling relationships, and ultimately to follow their own creative paths.

The Cat Kid series debuted in December 2020 to rave reviews— including a starred review from PW , which called it “irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny” and “a heartfelt celebration of coming into one's own as an artist, with all its frustrations and joys.” And the series is clearly resonating with readers: since its launch in December 2020, Scholastic reports more than 4.5 million copies in print in North America alone.

“My hope is that kids find joy in reading, appreciate different ways of thinking, and find their purpose as they dream up their own stories,” Pilkey said in a statement.

“Dav Pilkey’s books explore themes with universal resonance including friendship, family, empathy, creativity, and imagination,” added Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade. “As his longtime publisher, we have witnessed Dav’s amazing ability to engage kids for more than 30 years, and we are thrilled to see the anticipation and excitement that his Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club books bring to children, parents, educators, and booksellers worldwide.”

Since the pandemic lockdowns began, Pilkey has been hunkered down working solely on the Cat Kid books from his studio in Japan—a stark contrast to 2019, when Pilkey hit the road for his sold-out Do Good arena tour , which helped earn him PW’s 2019 Person of the Year honors.

But this fall, Pilkey did find a way to connect with his readers through Scholastic’s “Bark to School” campaign. In an exclusive video, Pilkey offered students a virtual tour of his studio and a glimpse of the techniques he uses to create his graphic novels. And, as part of the campaign, Pilkey collaborated with Scholastic Book Fairs, indie booksellers, and the nonprofit literacy organization My Very Own Library to give away thousands of copies of Cat Kid Comic Club to students in underserved communities across the country.

Meghan Goel, children's book buyer for Austin, Tex.-based indie bookseller BookPeople, described an emotional, joyful scene in supplying copies to third and fourth graders in "high need" schools in Austin. “One of the librarians was moved to tears picking up the books, and talked about how the kids in her school have had such a hard year and this was going to make them all so happy,” Goel said.

Angie Tally, children's manager at the Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, N.C., echoed Goel’s sentiments. “An event like Bark to School can be life-changing for some students,” Tally said—adding that one school even got their principal to dress as Li’l Petey for a staff reading of Cat Kid Comic Club . “Being a part of something like this can really make kids into lifelong readers, which is absolutely the main reason kids’ booksellers go to work every day."

Meanwhile, despite not being able to get out and meet young readers and their parents during the lockdowns, Pilkey says he still found ways to learn and grow. “During the pandemic, I had to adapt and I started watching videos that children have posted online ,” Pilkey told PW . “Most of the videos are of kids reading my books out loud, and I've been listening carefully to how they read. This has helped me immensely, and has especially influenced the way I use complex words and themes in my books.”

For Pilkey, the Cat Kid Comic Club series is yet another big success in his 34-year career, which includes 12 main books in his Captain Underpants series (not including movies, TV shows, and activity books), and 10 books in his Dog Man series, which launched to multiple starred reviews just five years ago, in fall 2016.

The Dog Man series now counts more than 40 million copies in print in 42 languages, with all 10 books in the series landing in the #1 overall spot on various bestseller lists. So far in 2021 alone Pilkey has sold 3.3 million books across all of his titles—for perspective, that’s more than other bestselling authors like James Patterson (2.8 million), Stephen King (1.4 million) and J.K Rowling (1.3 million), according to NPD Bookcan. Meanwhile, Dog Man is also reportedly headed for the big screen. According to the Hollywood Reporter , a Dog Man movie is said to be in the works from Dreamworks Animation, although no release date has been set.

And while it is still too early to know when life will return to a place where Pilkey can get back on the road and meet his readers, that day is clearly on his mind.

"I miss being able to interact with children and families in person," Pilkey told PW . "For me, it's the most important part of my job, not only because it inspires and motivates me, but because it helps me to see where my books have been impactful, and where I need to improve."

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

INVESTIGATORS

From the investigators series , vol. 1.

by John Patrick Green ; illustrated by John Patrick Green ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 25, 2020

Silly and inventive fast-paced fun

A zippy graphic-novel series opener featuring two comically bumbling reptile detectives.

As agents of SUIT (Special Undercover Investigation Team) with customized VESTs (Very Exciting Spy Technology) boasting the latest gadgetry, the bright green InvestiGators Mango and Brash receive their newest assignment. The reptilian duo must go undercover at the Batter Down bakery to find missing mustachioed Chef Gustavo and his secret recipes. Before long, the pair find themselves embroiled in a strange and busy plot with a scientist chicken, a rabid were-helicopter, an escape-artist dinosaur, and radioactive cracker dough. Despite the great number of disparate threads, Green manages to tie up most neatly, leaving just enough intrigue for subsequent adventures. Nearly every panel has a joke, including puns (“gator done!”), poop jokes, and pop-culture references (eagle-eyed older readers will certainly pick up on the 1980s song references), promising to make even the most stone-faced readers dissolve into giggles. Green’s art is as vibrant as an overturned box of crayons and as highly spirited as a Saturday-morning cartoon. Fast pacing and imaginative plotting (smattered with an explosion here, a dance number there) propel the action through a whimsical world in which a diverse cast of humans live alongside anthropomorphized reptiles and dinosaurs. With its rampant good-natured goofiness and its unrelenting fizz and pep, this feels like a sugar rush manifested as a graphic novel.

Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-250-21995-4

Page Count: 208

Publisher: First Second

Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019

GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

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by John Patrick Green ; illustrated by John Patrick Green

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DOG MAN AND CAT KID

From the dog man series , vol. 4.

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2017

More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.

Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).

The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamilton and Mary Poppins . The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).

Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018

GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | MYSTERY & CRIME

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi

More by Dav Pilkey

From the Dog Man series , Vol. 1

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016

What a wag.

What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.

Finding a stack of old Dog Man comics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.

Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8

Page Count: 240

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016

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