When it comes to choosing a series that will capture your child’s attention and boost their reading skills, Dog Man is a top choice — even if your child has already read several books in the series!
It's easy to see why: A favorite of children and teachers, this New York Times best-selling graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey (the creator of Captain Underpants) follows the hilarious adventures of a superhero canine crimefighter who is part dog and part man. But these graphic novels provide more than just laugh-out-loud fun for young readers! They also teach critical literacy skills and important life lessons.
“They’re an excellent tool to help students build up their reading stamina because they are pulled into the story, images, and characters,” says Samantha Bradshaw, a second-grade teacher in Wisconsin. “The pictures in the books help support readers in comprehending the complexities in the text.”
Dog Man appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes of empathy, kindness, persistence, and the importance of doing good. Here are five more reasons to line your child’s shelf with all of the titles in this hilarious series.
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1. The writing style boosts reading comprehension.
Pilkey’s writing style helps your child to easily understand what they’re reading, even as the storylines become more complex.
“The style of writing gives students context clues to boost their reading comprehension by providing readers with picture support,” says Bradshaw. “However, the texts are still quite complex because the reader must learn to navigate through the story like they would with any other text.”
The interactions between characters develop and become increasingly complex from book to book, she adds.
2. Authentic font improves fluency.
“Students like the Dog Man fonts because they look like they were actually written in the book,” says Bradshaw. “There are also instances where the texts change to enhance particular words and phrases to help readers improve fluency and comprehension of the text.”
3. Storylines teach responsibility, focus, and acceptance.
Though this series is filled with humor, it still teaches important life lessons. For example, Dog Man is easily distracted, and the police chief often complains, yet they work through their shortcomings to become more responsible, focused, and accepting of each other, says Bradshaw.
4. The series’ heroes and villains teach character development and story structure.
This series is perfect for teaching your child the basic structure of stories that feature heroes and villains. “Pilkey puts a lot of thought into making the characters look and act like the type of characters they are,” says Bradshaw.
He also touches on important themes like love and hate, says Bradshaw. In Dog Man #9: Grime and Punishment, Dog Man has to work his way back onto the force and learns many important lessons in the process, such as the power of kindness.
5. Your child will be inspired to write.
The Dog Man series not only builds reading skills, but it’s also a great way to support your child’s writing. Bradshaw suggests encouraging your child to illustrate and write their own graphic novel after reading a Dog Man book.
“This activity is fun and motivating for students because they can use pictures to develop characters and plot,” she says. “They are also able to incorporate many important writing skills, like writing dialogue, using onomatopoeia [words that resemble sounds, like “woof” or “sizzle”], and including punctuation.”
(If you're looking for more graphic novels with proven benefits, these graphic novel titles for grades 3+ will have every reader enthralled while improving vocabulary and reading levels.)
Shop all of the books in the Dog Man series below! You can find more books and activities at The Scholastic Store.
