dog man grime and punishment summary essay

• Tree House Comix, Inc.
• Dog Man Books
• Books translated in American Spanish
• Books translated in Canadian French
• Books translated in German
• Books translated in Dutch
• Books translated in Norwegian
• Books translated in Danish
• Books translated in Polish
• Books translated in Brazilian Portuguese
• Books translated in Persian
• Books translated in European Spanish
• Books translated in Italian
• Books translated in Catalan
• Books translated in Slovenian

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

• View history

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment is the ninth book in the Dog Man series. It was released on September 1, 2020.

• 1 Synopsis.
• 2 Characters
• 3.1 George and Harold: Celebrities at Large
• 3.2 Chapter 1: Chief's Big Day
• 3.3 Chapter 2: The Saddest Chapter Ever Written
• 3.4 Chapter 3: The Chapter That's Totally Not as Sad as The Last One
• 3.5 Chapter 4: The Dog in the Hat
• 3.6 Chapter 5: A Buncha Stuff that Happened Next
• 3.7 Chapter 6: The Incorrigible Crud
• 3.8 Chapter 7: Cat Man
• 3.9 Chapter 8: Big Fight
• 3.10 Chapter 9: The Lunch Bag of Motorbrain
• 3.11 Chapter 10: 80-HD Power
• 3.12 Chapter 11: Love vs. Hate: Who Will Win?
• 3.13 Chapter 12: The Ultimate Showdown
• 3.14.1 The First Ending: Grampa's Story
• 3.14.2 The Second Ending: Dog Man's Story
• 3.14.3 The Third Ending: Li'l Petey's Story
• 4.2 Behind the Scenes
• 6 Trailer description
• 7 Amazon description
• 8 References

Synopsis. [ ]

The Supa Buddies bamboozled the baddies, but all's not right in the world. Dog Man has a new problem to pound, and he's going to need his entire pack to help him. Will he go barking on the wrong tree?

Characters [ ]

• Sarah Hatoff
• Petey's Father
• Petey's Mother (mentioned)
• The Baby Frogs
• Mean Officers

Summary [ ]

George and harold: celebrities at large [ ].

George and Harold are selling comics at the mall, when a mall worker George and Harold nicknamed Sherlock finds them, and calls the cops. When the cops come, instead of arresting George and Harold, they read their comics and love them. They buy the comics, and soon their popularity increases. The mall manager orders "Sherlock" to bring them free food and stuff, and George and Harold are making a new Dog Man comic…

Chapter 1: Chief's Big Day [ ]

City hall falls down.

It all starts at the city hall where the mayor congratulates Chief one day. He tries to get Dog Man to award him, but he was playing with his roses. After it was cleared up the mayor gets grime on his shirt and one of the lenses of his glasses crack. He tells Chief that if he messes up again, he'll take away his badge. Then Dog Man gets ahold of his hat and the mayor tries to get it back to him. But it crashes on one of the pillars and the whole building crashes down, with all of them safe. But Dog Man still has his hat and they chase him.

Chapter 2: The Saddest Chapter Ever Written [ ]

The mean officers angrily drive Dog Man out

Chief and Dog Man are at the mayor's house in the middle of the night, and try to comfort him with flowers. Instead the mayor decides to fire Dog Man and takes away his badge, walking away telling his stuffed bear Mr. Snookums how great he is.

Chief helps Dog Man pack, but starts to cry, blaming it on his allergies. Soon, all the cops get ''allergies'' too and start crying, flooding the entire building. However, the Mean Officers drive Dog Man out and scold him for getting fired. Dog Man then walks sadly out, howling at the moon.

Chapter 3: The Chapter That's Totally Not as Sad as The Last One [ ]

Grampa finishes his invention, called "The Mighty Motor Brain."

Dog Man comes home to Li'l Petey and 80-HD working on a story for Dog Man. Li'l Petey says to 80-HD, "It's our story. We can color it anyway we want!". Dog Man tells what happened that night, and Li'l Petey and 80-HD decide to cheer him up with their bedtime story. After Dog Man falls asleep, they both start to work on a new invention. Meanwhile, at Cat Jail, Petey's Father (aka Grampa) is working on a new invention called the motorbrain, that makes you large and very powerful. Big Jim starts to get annoying, and Grampa shouts at him, hurting his feelings. Big Jim cries and Grampa decides to test the motorbrain on him. Big Jim puts the helmet on, and becomes gigantic. He now calls himself "Snug", and starts to cuddle with Grampa. Grampa manages to escape, and falls through the "Hang in There!" poster. Grampa soon discovers that it's an escape tunnel, and smiles evilly.

Chapter 4: The Dog in the Hat [ ]

Dog Man (Cat Man), Li'l Petey, and 80-HD starts patting and slurping on Petey.

Li'l Petey and 80-HD have done the finishing touches to their new invention: a helmet for Dog Man to be disguised as "Cat Man". Soon after Dog Man tries on the helmet, Petey arrives to take Li'l Petey to get some gelato. He notices that Dog Man is wearing a cat disguise, and Li'l Petey explains why. Petey gives some advice just to not stick his tongue out, and don't roll in any dead fish. Dog Man heads to the police force, while Petey and Li'l Petey go get some gelato.

Chapter 5: A Buncha Stuff that Happened Next [ ]

"Cat Man" arrives at the police force.

Dog Man arrives at C.O.P.S, and the whole building has been flooded by tears. He finds Chief crying with a picture of him, and starts to grab it, then rips it. The helmet pops off, and Chief worries that the mayor will see him. Suddenly, the mayor comes, and Chief quickly puts the helmet back on. The mayor asks if he's found a replacement for Dog Man. Chief is about to answer, but the mayor notices Dog Man disguised as a cat and decides to hire him. The mayor quickly runs off to tell Mr Snookums, and Chief exclaims "Oh boy, this is gonna be great!" Meanwhile, Petey tells Li'l Petey that he wants to work on a robot with him, but Li'l Petey says he has a comic club meeting. Petey feels dismayed, and Li'l Petey asks why they can't visit Grampa, and Li'l Petey just asks "Why?", until Petey is fed up. Petey asks Li'l Petey not to spill his gelato on him, but it happens anyway. At Cat Jail, Grampa is happy to have found Big Jim's secret tunnel. He asks Big Jim for the Motorbrain, and he obeys. Grampa puts it on, and gets bigger, bigger, until he is Crud.

Chapter 6: The Incorrigible Crud [ ]

A typical Sarah Hatoff news report

Petey's Father runs out of the tunnel and starts smashing buildings and terrorizing the city. Meanwhile, Petey is very angry at Li'l Petey for spilling the gelato on him. He rinses himself off and says he forgives Li'l Petey though Grampa doesn't deserve forgiveness. However, Li'l Petey says he forgave him a long time ago, tormenting Petey. Petey blabs about how Grampa doesn't deserve forgiveness, until Li'l Petey changes the subject to catching worms. Grampa has finished robbing a bank, and Sarah Hatoff interviews him, asking how it feels. Grampa says he likes it, but feels lonely and wants a sidekick. Chief and Dog Man see the report through the television at the cops station and decide that Dog Man should go undercover as Grampa's evil cat buddy.

Chapter 7: Cat Man [ ]

I'm a BaD cat.

Meanwhile, Li'l Petey is still asking ''why'' over and over, and Petey answers that sometimes you couldn't forgive someone, and all you had left was hate. Li'l Petey asks about love, and Petey tells him that love was for happy people like Li'l Petey. He tells Li'l Petey had he lived an easy life, but he didn't. saying that Grandpa was extremely abusive to him, and even more to his mom. Li'l Petey then asks why he hasn't got to see his grandma, and Petey responds in silence.

Meanwhile, Sarah is still interviewing Grampa. Grandpa is telling her that the only reason he was so evil was that he didn't have a friend, and Sarah suggests that he finds one. Dog Man arrives, disguised as Cat Man. Grampa is filled with joy, grabs Dog Man, then stops at a bookstore to smash. Dog Man then ties Grampa's tail to a fire hydrant and cuffs him. The mayor is watching the news report and tells Mr. Snookums how he hired "Cat Man", and how he's the greatest. Grandpa gets angry that he's been captured, and throws Dog Man onto the ground, causing his helmet to fall off, revealing his identity to the Mayor. Sarah wants to help him, while the mayor runs out of his house, wanting to destroy him.

Chapter 8: Big Fight [ ]

Mayor arrests the good guys.

Back at the Lab, Li'l Petey is still asking why he's never met his Gramma. Petey tells him that Grampa abandoned him and his mom when she was sick. Li'l Petey asks if she got better, but he does not answer. Petey explains to Li'l Petey: ''Look, kid... Sometimes bad things happen... And you just can't forgive... And you can't forget! Sometimes all you have left is Hate!''. Li'l Petey answers " I don't know, Papa. Hate has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it hasn't solved one yet".

Meanwhile, Grampa is about to destroy Dog Man, but Sarah jumps in to stop him They both start attacking Grampa. Cheif tries to join in, but is stopped by the mayor. The mayor tells him that Dog Man impersonated as a cop, and if he helped him, Chief would get arrested, alongside Dog Man. Despite hearing this, Chief happily agrees to help Dog Man and runs to join the fight. The mayor becomes outraged that they are helping Dog Man and orders the cops to arrest them. The cops cuff all of them, but they let Grampa get away, and the mayor says it's their fault because they helped Dog Man. They are loaded into a cop truck, are driven away, but the cops left the mayor behind. Grampa runs to find a gift shop selling living spray, with a giant lunch bag on display. This gives Grampa an idea...

Chapter 9: The Lunch Bag of Motorbrain [ ]

Flippy teaching the frogs and Molly

Grampa decides to spray living spray on the lunch bag, making it come to life as "Munchy". Munchy starts smashing buildings, but gets thirsty. He starts to drink nuclear juice, but Grampa warns him to stop, or it could give him a stomachache. Munchy starts to run to the pond, where Flippy is teaching the 21 frogs and the one tadpole ( Molly ) about adverbs. One of the frogs named Melvin (a know-it-all) keeps on answering the questions, until all the frogs start to run away. Flippy is grabbed by Munchy, while the frogs and one tadpole hide in the grass.

Chapter 10: 80-HD Power [ ]

80-HD's show

80-HD is watching TV at home and discover that Munchy is on the loose, and the good guys are heading to jail. 80-HD flies to Petey and Son, and crashes through the wall. He puts on a stop motion show for Petey and Li'l Petey about the situation, and they crash out through the wall. Petey gets angry that 80-HD didn't use the door, so 80-HD crashes through the wall again, and goes out the door. They arrive at the pond meeting Molly, and Li'l Petey decides to get out the Superhero costumes. Petey says that Li'l Petey uses love when everything's well, but when there's danger you can only fight hate with hate. Li'l Petey doesn't know if he's right or wrong, but he decides to find out.

Chapter 11: Love vs. Hate: Who Will Win? [ ]

The frogs drawing on Munchy.

Molly, 80-HD and Li'l Petey all think of what they love. They all agree they love to draw. Molly shows them how to draw a squid on Munchy's butt, and soon Li'l Petey and 80-HD join in. Munchy finds out and feels embarrassed that he has drawings on his butt, dropping Flippy, who calls out the frogs. All the frogs join in drawing the things that they love on Munchy. Soon Munchy is covered with drawings and runs away in embarrassment. Petey decides that "Love got lucky". Suddenly Grandpa comes with the cop truck, and Li'l Petey tells Petey that it's his battle to fight.

Chapter 12: The Ultimate Showdown [ ]

Petey faces Grampa.

Petey is hesitant that he can do it. Li'l Petey answers "It's your story, Papa. You can color it any way you want." Grandpa throws the truck, and Flippy and Molly fly to catch it, while Big Jim searches for Grandpa. Petey exclaims he couldn't just love his father, but Li'l Petey says that he didn't have to, he just had to let go of the hate and pain Grandpa caused. Petey goes up to Grandpa and confronts him. He says that he was done hating him, but didn't love him, and instead, he forgave him. Petey starts to walk away, while Grandpa takes the helmet off and shouts at Petey to come back, slowly turning back into his original form, Petey walks Li'l Petey back home while Dog Man and the cops are saved by Flippy and Molly.

Chapter 13: Three Endings [ ]

The first ending: grampa's story [ ].

Grandpa is angry that Petey didn't fight, and kicks the motorbrain away. The motorbrain lands near Big Jim, and he puts back on, and becomes Snug. Big Jim starts to chase Grampa so he can cuddle with him, much to Grampa's horror.

The Second Ending: Dog Man's Story [ ]

Chief, Sarah, and Dog Man jump off the cops truck, but are confronted by the mayor. The mayor starts shouting but is soon interrupted by a cop who tells him his house is on fire. The mayor runs into the burning house to get Mr. Snookums, but Dog Man jumps in and saves the mayor from certain death. The mayor gets mad at Dog Man for leaving Mr. Snookums, but Dog Man barfs Mr. Snookums out. The mayor is so happy, that he re-hires Dog Man.

The Third Ending: Li'l Petey's Story [ ]

Petey and Li'l Petey visiting the grave.

Petey and Li'l Petey arrive home, but Petey only walks in and gets some flowers. They walk until they get to a gravestone. Petey says he hadn't been there since he was a kid. Li'l Petey asks if his Gramma is in the gravestone. Petey says that she's in his heart, and in Li'l Petey's heart. A leaf falls into Li'l Petey's hand, and he asks if his Gramma is in there. Petey replies "Well... It's your story, kid. You can color it any way you want."

Gallery [ ]

Behind the Scenes [ ]

• There is also a chapter title in a Captain Underpants book called Crime and Punishment.
• This is the first time Dav Pilkey illustrated the cover digitally while he's on Dog Man's Do Good Book Tour in 2019. [1]
• Chapter 4's title is based on The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss.
• Chapter 6's title is a reference to the Marvel superhero character "The Incredible Hulk".
• Chapter 7's picture is similar to the book cover from the first Dog Man book.
• Chapter 9's title is based on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.by Victor Hugo.
• When George and Harold are selling comics, their stand has the same design to Lucy's psychiatrist booth from Peanuts.
• In the recap, when Grampa says "Petey, I am your father!", this is a reference to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
• Li'l Petey's words on page 130 were taken from the following quote:
• Chapter 12 was based on this precept:
• Part 3 of the final chapter was inspired by this poem:
• Coincidentally, all three poets\actress are deceased.
• In page 128, the pot of flowers that Petey put on his mother's grave, is seen on the cupboard when washing the plates.
• When Molly was trying to explain what an adjective is, Melvin's arm is light green instead of orange.

Trailer description [ ]

Dav Pilkey's Dog Man is back! Part dog, part man, and all hero! This time, Dog Man's digging drives the meanie mayor mad! Luckily, the Supa Buddies gave the purr-fect plan to help the hound! But their plan backfires when Grampa turns into the crazed Crud, a giant lunch bag comes to life, and the mayor sends the good guys to jail! Now, it's Petey's story to tell as he faces his own father to save his frenemies!

Amazon description [ ]

Dog Man's really done it this time! He hands over his badge and clears out his desk, but while he may be out of a job, he's not yet out of hope. With his friends at his side, can Dog Man dig himself out of this hole and paw his way back onto the force?

References [ ]

• ↑ https://oomscholasticblog.com/post/always-be-creative-special-new-dog-man-sneak-peek-dav-pilkey
• 2 Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment Review & Discussion Guide

Grime and Punishment Discussion Questions and Dog Man Parent Review written by the Elf on 9/2/2020 This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.

Know Before You Read Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

Book : Dog Man: Grime and Punishment Author and Illustrator : Dav Pilkey Genre : Superhero; Graphic novel Pages : 226 (234 with extra material on drawing) Published : September, 2020 Age Suggestion : 8+ Themes :  Love, Family, Grief, Forgiveness Warnings : Loss of a parent and parent abandonment are dealt with in the story.

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment Quick Summary

Oh no! The mayor has fired Dog Man! And Petey’s dad has come up with a new evil invention! Will Dog Man redeem himself and save the day again? The Dog Man novels are loved for a reason! And every one keeps getting better! This is our favorite one so far! Graphic novels engage your kiddos brain in the same and different ways as reading just text. If you’ve got a hesitant or a voracious reader, try the Dog Man graphic novels!!

*Keep reading to find our Dog Man Discussion Questions & Dog Man Parent Review!*

Dog Man Parent Review: **Light Spoilers**

 After another embarrassing incident where Dog Man acts like – a dog,  the mayor forces chief to fire him. Meanwhile, Petey’s dad has come up with a new evil invention. Li’l Petey and his robot 80-HD disguise Dog Man as a cat, and as Cat Man he is hired by the police. All of this falls apart as Petey’s dad starts to wreak havoc on the city by bringing a giant lunch bag to life. We know that Dog Man will save the day – but the odds are stacked against him.

The story goes into the backstory of Petey. We find out that Petey’s father abandoned he and his mother when his mother was sick and dying. Petey is having a very hard time dealing with this, and must learn how to forgive his father.

The book acknowledges the use of several sources. While none of these are Crime and Punishment, it is obvious that Pilkey knows the source material and choose his title well, as one of the main themes in both books is why we should choose compassion.

– Why Read It:  

The series is incredibly popular. It is funny, enraging, and it teaches valuable moral lessons in an unobtrusive way. It is a book kids will read multiple times. This book will be of particular help in dealing with some issues such as parental death or abandonment.

In our divisive time, reading books that teach love and compassion is almost counter-cultural. The book is completely consistent with genuine Judaeo-Christian values. I highly recommend the book .

-Plot/Story:

The story is, as said above, funny and engaging. The story wraps in its themes without ever hitting you over the head. The story teaches about love as opposed to hate. It is a costly love, as it means being able to forgive,even when there has been an extreme wrong done.

-Characters:

There are several characters from prior books deftly woven in (you do not need to have read the prior books but it makes it more fun).  in the past few books, the major character development involves Petey. l would like to see some other characters develop more going forward, but the story arc with Petey going from bad to good has been powerful.

-What we loved about it:   

Maybe everything?

– Favorite Quote:

Petey: “Sometimes all you’ve got left is hate.”

Li’l Petey: I don’t know, papa. Hate has caused a lot of problems in this world…but it hasn’t solved one yet.”

Dog Man Discussion Questions :

1. Is there someone you are having a hard time forgiving? Who is it? Would talking to a friend about it help?

2. Why is love better than hate?

3. If you had a super powerful robot, what adventure would you go on?

4. Who is your favorite character? What about in this book specifically?

5. What was the best part of this book, why?

Final Thoughts on Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

This book could be taken directly from the words of Jesus – Luke 6: 27-28.  “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” A wonderful lesson that not only kids but adults need to listen to.

Pilkey once again does what he has done before. He teaches some complex moral themes in a fun, engaging way. Most kids are going to read this and not even know they are being taught forgiveness and compassion. The past few Dog Man books, in particular, have been impressive, and are going to be around for a long time.

Check out our other Dog Man Reviews & Similar Posts Here! – Dog Man Fetch 22 – Dog Man For Whom The Ball Rolls – Dog Man Lord of the Fleas – Dog Man Brawl of the Wild -Review of the Animal Crackers movie on Netflix -Review of the movie Arctic Dogs -The One and Only Ivan book and movie review – Percy Jackson book review

Get the Book Here!

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and this Grime and Punishment Discussion Questions use affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like . So, y ou are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. This allows us to keep writing discussion questions and telling ridiculous dad jokes.   Also , f ind our other  reviews  with discussion questions here. Our posts about  faith  here.  Lastly,  our posts about  family  stuff here .

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Book Review

Dog man: grime and punishment.

• Adventure , Comedy , Graphic Novel

Readability Age Range

• 8 to 10 years old
• Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Press

Year Published

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment reveals a series of cartoons purportedly drawn by the main characters (George and Harold) of the Captain Underpants series. Those colorful drawings feature a crime-fighting human with a dog’s head; his arch rival, Petey the Cat; Petey’s evil villain dad … and a tale of friendship, loss, grief and forgiveness.

Abandonment and the death of a parent are lightly touched on here. But they’re both subtly addressed only in the sense of how those things can make you feel, and how you can deal with those feelings.

This is a funny, engaging and sometimes downright silly graphic novel that talks about doing good and being a good friend, too. And it also gives kids a few lessons on how to draw cartoons like George and Harold’s. There’s even a fun English lesson on adverbs.

Plot Summary

George and Harold—two comic book-drawing pals of Captain Underpants fame—have a new set of comics to share about a favorite character of theirs: Dog Man!

This hero is the result of an explosion that nearly killed a hard-working policeman and his loyal police dog. But instead of letting both perish, the fast-thinking medical professionals stitched the uninjured head of the loyal pup to the hard-working body of the good-guy cop, and Dog Man was born. And he has continued fighting crime and keeping the city safe from evildoers ever since.

Dog Man does have one little problem, however. He tends to act a little too much like a dog sometimes. And after yet another incident where his doggy actions embarrassed the mayor, he is unequivocally fired from the police force. Thankfully for Dog Man, though, his good buddy Li’l Petey and creative robot 80-HD come up with a perfect plan to get him rehired: disguise him as a cat.

Meanwhile, Li’l Petey’s dad, Petey, (who used to be the world’s most evil cat) is still trying to live a life of doing good. But that’s not easy, because he has all this anger and hate down deep inside. And it’s all aimed at his father, a guy who abandoned Petey and his mother in the past when she was sick and dying. Petey is having a tough time dealing with all this past hurt, but he’s trying for the sake of his beloved Li’l Petey.

And meanwhile again , Petey’s dad (Li’l Petey’s grandpa) is out in the world doing bad stuff. He brought a giant lunch bag to life to terrorize the city. And he used a new invention to turn himself into a powerful supervillain named CRUD.

Can Dog Man a.k.a. Cat Man figure out how to scratch out this CRUD-dy crime wave?

Can Petey keep doing good?

Can Li’l Petey help his father forgive and maybe heal a little, too?

It’s all spelled out here.

Christian Beliefs

Actually, there are quite a few Christian values at play here, even if they’re not specifically spelled out in a biblical context. One of those is the need, for our own sake as well as the sake of others, to find a way to forgive someone who’s wronged us.

For instance, when Petey tries to explain to his son why he struggles so with his deep-seated feelings, as well as dealing with the mean-hearted, hurtful things his father did, he gently says: “Look, kid … sometimes bad things happen  … and you can’t just forgive … and you can’t forget! Sometimes all you’ve got left is hate! ” Li’l Petey hugs his dad and replies: “I don’t know, Papa. Hate has caused a lot of problems in this world … but it hasn’t solved one yet.”

The comics also point to the fact that loss and grief can sometimes go hand in hand and impact us in ways that we don’t even recognize. And it’s only through love, tenderness to loved ones and, sometimes, purposely chosen forgiveness that we find a way to let go of heavy emotions. The book also touches on the idea of believing in an afterlife.

Other Belief Systems

Authority roles.

If you look closely enough, you see that author Dav Pilkey is exploring the ramifications of emotional abuse in family situations, and the fact that abuse can potentially lead to a cycle of ongoing abuse through subsequent generations. It’s all handled subtly and woven into broad, colorful cartoons, so it’s not dark-feeling at all. In fact, those topics are handled very well here and are resolved with an uplifting feeling of family love and unity. The book also offers more than simple declarations that you should love and be kind to others. It also suggests that’s it’s OK to not necessarily like the people who have hurt you. But forgiveness, it says, is about absolving someone of the harm they’ve caused and letting go, moving on, for your own sake.

Profanity & Violence

No foul language here. Just one use of “Darn it!” and a reference to someone’s “butt.”

There’s quite a bit of comic thumping in the comic book mix. (Hey, Dog Man makes a lot of mud-splashing, grimy messes.) And there is some monstery destruction of buildings, too. But it’s all very cartoony.

Sexual Content

Discussion topics.

Get free discussion questions for a variety of books, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

At one point in the book Petey says: “Only hate can defeat hate!” Do you think that’s true? Why do you think it was important for Li’l Petey to try and deal with his Grampa’s destructive choices without being mean and hateful? Why did he want his dad to forgive his grandpa?

Do you know someone who has lost a loved one? Or who’s been hurt by someone? How would you help them with their sad feelings? Would you need to say anything at all? What can you do?

Do you think being mean to someone can hurt them in other ways than just making them sad? When someone is mean to you what does it make you want to do? Do you think we can be destined to be good or to be evil? Deep down, are we essentially good or bad?

What was going on when Petey and Li’l Petey went for their walk at the end of the book? When Petey said, “It’s your story, kid. You can color it any way you want,” what do you think he meant? When you finished this book how did it leave you feeling?

Additional Comments

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

Review by Bob Hoose 

Latest Book Reviews

The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor

The Eyes and the Impossible

Castle Reef 2: Bloodlines

Compass and Blade

Dog Man (Dav Pilkey) Summary & Study Guide

Dog Man (Dav Pilkey) Summary & Study Guide Description

The following versions of the books were used to create this study guide: Pilkey, Dav. Dog Man. Graphix, Scholastic, New York, 2016. Kindle AZW file. Pilkey, Dav. Dog Man Unleashed. Graphix, Scholastic, New York, 2017. Kindle AZW file.

Dog Man, the first novel of the series, introduces George Beard and Harold Hutchins. These fictional characters have been friends since kindergarten. They are now fourth graders. George is the writer of the Dog Man comic series, and Harold Hutchins is the cartoonist. They have been in trouble many times for creating the comics, especially when they are supposed to be doing school work.

The first chapter of Dog Man explains that an evil cat named Petey is watching a cop named Officer Knight and his dog Greg. Petey says Officer Knight has a strong body for fighting, but he is not very smart. Greg is smart, but his body is not good for fighting. Petey sets off a bomb, planning to kill both Officer Knight and Greg. In the hospital, the doctor says that Officer Knight's head is dying and Greg's body is dying. A nurse comes up with the idea to sew Greg's head on Officer Knight's body, saving them both. When Petey hears the news, he realizes he has accidentally created Dog Man, the perfect crime-fighting cop. Petey then makes a giant vacuum, planning to suck Dog Man up. When Dog Man runs to the ocean, the vacuum bag sucks up so much water that it explodes, creating a huge wave. Dog Man surfs out on a surf board that the vacuum also sucked up, saving Petey from being washed away and then arresting him.

Over the course of the comic book, Dog Man shows that he has a strong bond with the police Chief, though Dog Man is often in trouble for acting inappropriately, such as peeing on the floor in the Chief's office. However, when an evil Mayor fires the Chief, Dog Man puts an end to her plan and helps the Chief get his job back.

Petey constantly escapes from Cat Jail, so Dog Man repeatedly captures him. Petey is at the heart of many of the problems, including bringing hot dogs to life so that they begin a rebellion. In every case, Dog Man puts an end to the plots, saving the day and proving that good always wins over evil.

While Dog Man is always battling Petey's plans, he faces other villains as well. Petey uses a paper cut-out of himself to escape jail. The cut-out comes to life, creating Flat Petey. Flat Petey is just as evil as normal Petey. Flat Petey forces a witch doctor to obey his every command. Flippy the fish becomes another of Dog Man's opponents. Flippy is naturally evil. When he gets an overdose of Brain Dots, he develops telekinetic abilities that allow him to rob stores and battle with Dog Man. At every turn, Dog Man triumphs, making it clear that good always wins over evil.

Read more from the Study Guide

FOLLOW BOOKRAGS:

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

33 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Fore-Foreword, Foreword, and Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-10

Chapters 11-13 and Afterword

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Chapters 5-10 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 summary: “a buncha stuff that happened next”.

The Police Station is filled with water; Chief and some of the other cops have been crying since Dog Man got fired the previous day. Dog Man enters. He sees Chief holding a photo of Dog Man as he cries. Dog Man grabs the photo in his teeth and tries to wrestle it from Chief. The photo rips in half as they wrestle with it. Chief recognizes Dog Man despite his cat mask. Chief removes the mask and hugs Dog Man but cautions him that Mayor cannot see him there.

Suddenly, Mayor arrives at the station. Chief quickly puts Dog Man’s cat mask back on. Mayor sees Dog Man, disguised as a cat, and suggests that Chief should hire him. Chief excitedly agrees, and Mayor presents the badges, which he had taken from Dog Man the previous night, to the disguised Dog Man. Mayor rushes home to tell his teddy bear, Mr. Snookums, of the news.

Get access to this full Study Guide and much more!

• 7,550+ In-Depth Study Guides
• 4,900+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
• Downloadable PDFs

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Dav Pilkey

Captain Underpants

Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas

Dog Man: Mothering Heights

Featured Collections

Action & Adventure

View Collection

Animals in Literature

Juvenile Literature

Laugh-out-Loud Books

The Slings & Arrows

Graphic novel guide, dog man: grime and punishment.

Alternative editions:

• North American Publisher / ISBN: Scholastic – 978-1-3385-3562-4
• Volume No.: 9
• Release date: 2021
• UPC: 9781338535624
• Contains adult content?: no
• Does this pass the Bechdel test?: no
• Positive minority portrayal?: yes

Review by Woodrow Phoenix

Dav Pilkey makes sure every book in the Dog Man series is accessible to new readers who might never have read one before, so every book begins with an intro from the authors George and Harold giving a summary of what has gone before. After nine volumes, though, that summary has become quite extensive.

Dog Man is a combination of police dog and police man. He keeps the city safe from evildoers, especially Petey the world’s most evil cat. Recently Petey was transformed by the love of his clone Li’l Petey and now he’s a good guy… more or less. Petey’s dad who’d abandoned him as a child (a big reason why Petey was evil) returned, stole all his stuff and got sent to Cat Jail. Dog Man, Li’l Petey and their robot friend 80-HD are also superheroes The Bark Knight, Cat Kid and Lightning Dude. They team up when necessary to fight crime as the Supa Buddies alongside their friends Chief, Sarah the TV reporter, her poodle Zuzu. Fetch-22 added Flippy the bionic fish, Molly the psychokinetic tadpole and there’s the always hungry Commander Cupcake – who is secretly Big Jim, another criminal cat who shares a cell in Cat Jail with Petey’s dad. Phew!

This time around Dog Man, following his ordinary canine impulses, gets himself into big trouble when he digs up the mayor’s rose garden, and slobbers on the mayor’s glasses, making him so angry that the mayor fires him from his job. Oh no! But although the mayor hates dogs, he loves cats. Could it be that a disguised Dog Man could sneak back onto the police force as Cat Man? Meanwhile, Petey’s terrible terrible dad has found a way to escape Cat Jail and his plans to revenge himself on everyone and everything involve the use of Living Spray and also a brain-altering helmet. It’s a very powerful plan – can the assorted might of the Supa Buddies stop him from carrying it out?

Grime and Punishment is as cleverly plotted, ridiculous and unpredictable as the other books in this series. There is a lot more emotional development, along with a certain amount of pathos and an ingenious use of plasticine modelling clay as HD-80 tries to communicate with his friends. Kids will be on the edge of their seats, trying to figure out just how Dog Man is going to save the day when he’s not allowed to be a cop anymore. Next in the series is Mothering Heights.

Other books in this series

Dog Man: Mothering Heights

Dog Man Unleashed

Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties

• Appearances

The Supa Buddies bamboozled the baddies, but all's not right in the world.

Dog Man has a new problem to pound, and he's going to need his entire pack to help him. Will he go barking up the wrong tree?

Available now!

Check out the other books in the Dog Man series!

Check out these fun activities!

Or Just Keep Exploring

Media Manager

Item successfully added to your cart, cart summary.

Mostly English

Online English Lessons and Resources

Review – Dogman: Grime and Punishment (Dav Pilkey)

Keywords: Year 1+ (ages 6 and up), fiction, comic book, humour, adventure.

Okay, so it took me a while to finally get into the Dogman series. In my ignorance, the first Dogman book I ended up reading was actually the 9th in the series: Grime and Punishment . So, yeah, not exactly the best place to start a series but I actually enjoyed it. A LOT!

I confess that I was reluctant to read the book. It looked a little too silly for me. (And I can be quite silly, so that’s saying something!)

So my expectations weren’t very high when I first dove into Dogman . The only reason I even began reading it was because there was a group of Year 1 students in my last class who loved – and I mean loved – this series. They’d even take their whole collection outside with them to read during recess and lunch! Now THAT is dedication!

“Just because lots of people like this book doesn’t mean I will too!” I said to myself. And that’s true! A book being popular doesn’t automatically mean that absolutely everyone will like it.

So imagine my surprise, my complete shock , when I actually read the book and absolutely loved it .

Sure, the story is a bit silly, but it’s a good kind of silly. It’s the type of silliness that has a meaning behind it. Silliness without a purpose can get tiring after a while, but silliness that has a clear role in the story? Now that I like! The humor isn’t always my cup of tea. (That means that I don’t always find it funny.) But there aren’t any jokes that I find stupid or weird in a bad way. My absolute favourite joke in the whole book was this one about an English teacher fish teaching adverbs:

As for the characters, I adored Petey! (And not just because he’s a cat!) He’s my favorite character for two reasons:

1. He’s the classic ‘bad guy turned good’ that I love so much in stories.

2. His relationship with Lil Petey/Cat Kid is so gosh dang adorable!

I was blown away by the depth and significance of Petey and Cat Kid’s familial relationship. The main idea of this book – Love vs Hate – is illustrated best by Petey and Cat Kid’s conversations. Petey represents ‘Hate’, because he was fueled by hate for most of his life. Then Cat Kid, to nobody’s surprise, represents love. I mean, just look at him! He radiates love and compassion!

Something that completely knocked my socks off was a note at the very end of the book. George and Harold (the authors of the book even though it’s actually Dav Pilkey) say that a part of Chapter 3 was inspired by a poem. This poem (‘Do not stand at my grave and weep’) is by Mary Elizabeth Frye and it is one of my all-time favourites! I reckon I’ll even publish a reading comprehension exercise for it soon (*wink wink*). You can check the full poem out here !

There are other references too! For example, the title ( Grime and Punishment ) references a classic book by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment . So, this book’s title is actually an excellent example of a pun. A pun is a play on words to change the meaning in a funny way (like saying ‘What do you call two dinosaurs in a car crash? Tyrannosaurus wrecks !’). I think in Dogman ‘s case, the title ‘Grime and Punishment’ refers to ‘Crime and Punishment’ just for the silliness of it! After all, Crime and Punishment is about a man who commits a serious crime, thinks about whether or not he should go to jail, then decides to go to jail. Dogman ‘s story does involve crime and punishment, but it doesn’t follow the same plot as the original classic. (And it’s not quite as serious or scary!)

One last thing that I loved about this copy of Dogman : there are step-by-step drawing tutorials at the back! Apparently this is something every Dogman book has, but with different characters each time. It was so much fun drawing them! What a wonderful way to engage with the story! I think I had the most fun drawing Snug (the muscular cat with the ‘J’ shirt). Let me know if you drew him too!

As this is a funny, light-hearted comic book, Alfie absolutely loves Dogman: Grime and Punishment ! Jun loves it too. He thinks that the story is easy to follow and that it’s perfect to read when you just want a laugh. Both cats recommend this book!

Share this:

Author: mostlyenglish

A teaching student whose goal is to become a primary-school teacher! I'm currently working as an English tutor to almost 100 students (they're all wonderful!). View All Posts

2 thoughts on “ Review – Dogman: Grime and Punishment (Dav Pilkey) ”

• Pingback: Review – A Man and his Cat (Umi Sakurai) – Mostly English
• Pingback: Review – Real Pigeons Fight Crime (Andrew McDonald) – Mostly English

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Grime and Punishment

Buy from other retailers, what's this book about.

The next great Dog Man adventure from the worldwide bestselling author and artist Dav Pilkey. You’ll howl with laughter!The Supa Buddies bamboozled the baddies, but all’s not right in the world. Dog Man has a new problem to pound, and he’s going to need his entire pack to help him. Will he go barking up the wrong tree? 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 doing good.

What Kind of Book is .css-1msjh1x{font-style:italic;} Grime and Punishment

Book lists that include this book.

The Creative Behind the Book

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 The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung Fu Cavemen from the Future and Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers, both USA Today bestsellers. 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.

What Has Dav Pilkey Said About This Book

Nothing yet! Let Dav Pilkey know that you want to hear from them about their book.

More Books by Dav Pilkey

Discover All the Books in the Dog Man Series

Other Books You Might Enjoy If You Liked This Book

Book Details

Contribute to this page.

More than halfway there—keep going!

Just the barebones.

• Help Center
• Gift a Book Club
• Beautiful Collections
• Schedule Demo

Book Platform

• Find a Book
• Reading App
• Community Editors

Authors & Illustrators

• Get Your Book Reviewed
• Submit Original Work

Follow Bookroo

• Everything Advanced Search

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

Part of the Dog Man series

Find similar titles by category

Similar artists.