Riotous, silly fun with soft touch by Underpants creator.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a little
Cartoon violence including surgical creation of Dog Man after an officer and his dog are blown up, more explosions, slapstick accidents on a playground, and a battle involving a hot dog army getting eaten alive. A supervisor tends to yell at his employees.
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Dog Man's relationship with the police chief demonstrates kindness, loyalty, patience, and forgiveness. When all seems lost, creative thinking can point to a solution. Actions have consequences you can't always control. Strong support for kids who may not feel like they're a good fit for the classroom.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Dog Man repeatedly saves the day with creative problem-solving. He's devoted to the irascible police chief, who's infuriated by everything about Dog Man: licks, affectionate jumps, dog hair, sleeping on the couch, peeing on the floor. But Dog Man's persistent affection and empathy win the chief over, and he finally returns Dog Man's affection. The police officers are considerate of their boss and feel bad when things don't go his way.
Educational Value
some
Author's note encourages readers (and reassures adults) by relating how humor motivated him to work through challenges of dyslexia. Extols the value of reading and education through a story about people becoming "supa dumb" when their books are destroyed. Dog behavior and traits (such as limited color perception) are woven into story. Some great vocabulary words ("obsequious"!), but also some intentional poor grammar and misspellings. End pages show how to draw key characters.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Dog Man kicks off a new comic novel series by Dav Pilkey, creator of the popular Captain Underpants series. It's presented as a comic by George and Harold, fourth-grade characters from the Captain Underpants books. The first chapter details how Dog Man was surgically created after a dim-witted police officer and his dog were injured trying to defuse a bomb. There are some misspellings and poor grammar and a lot of juvenile humor involving bodily functions, explosions, and a drawing of a bare bottom. Pilkey shares how illustrated books and humor helped him work through early reading struggles due to dyslexia and led him to become a writer, and he lends cheerful support to kids who might feel out of step with teachers' expectations.
My husband and I made the mistake of buying a few of these books for our 8 year old son without reading the books first. The covers of the books make them seem innocent, fun, and like a perfect book to get kids to start reading. These books are truly disappointing because they're not entirely terrible. There are some good elements of humor and interesting stories, but the bad is not worth the good in my opinion. He just crosses the line as to what would be deemed appropriate to enter the minds of young children while over stepping the boundaries of what parents would agree to expose their children to. Because of these books my son thinks it's okay to write "cuz" instead of "because." Because of these books my son has quadroopled the amount of potty words he says and writes about. These books are squashing his creativity and filling his head literally with poop. No longer does he make up his own stories and plots but copies the mini stories from these books and passes them off as his own idea. He has started using phrases like "aint" instead of saying "I don't like peas anymore" he would say "I don't like no peas!" These books are causing regression in his intelligence vs progression. There is a difference between imagination and perversity. The behavior and character of George and Harold have zero respect, zero compassion or regard for others, and are down right rebellious. I also can't believe the number of times a naked butt appears in these books. What in the world is wrong with these people? They are truly trying to dumb us and our kids down. Skip this and go on a hunt for tasteful literature or even write your own stories for goodness sake. Parents, I am so sure you can write better stories for your children than this. Do not rely on the media to provide stories for your children. From Captain Underpants to Dogman I truly think that any parent who wishes for their child to contribute some value into the world should stay away from these books.
I want to start this off by saying that I am not a strict/clutch my pearls type of parent. I encourage silliness and imagination. I push my boys to get dirty and try new adventures and fail and make mistakes- but I cannot endorse this book.
My 1st grader picked this up from the school book fair and I was ECSTATIC because he was so immersed in the book, was cracking up, and wanted to read it at all times of the day. My preschooler (who can also read) would be doing the same, and eventually the two of them would argue about who gets to read which book in the series. My mistake was assuming that some parents (and authors) don’t care what their kid is reading and what it is teaching them. One day I sat down to read with my preschooler and got really upset with myself that I was allowing them to read this. I got caught up in their excitement over reading and wanting to write their own stories about Dogman and I didn’t realize what the characters were doing or saying. After their behavior started changing because they were mimicking the characters, we sat them down and explained that they wouldn’t be able to read them again until they started acting better. We collected the books into a box and put them on top of the refrigerator where they have stayed for over a year. They’ve asked about them every once in a while, but regardless of their improved behavior, I’d rather they learn this behavior on the school bus and not in my living room.
ETA: I’ve noticed that some of the 5star ratings are from parents who are insulting or attacking writers of the negative reviews. Just something to take note of.
What's the Story?
DOG MAN revisits the goofy comics created by Harold and George in the Captain Underpants series. This collection of four short stories begins by explaining how Dog Man was surgically created after a police officer and his canine companion were badly injured in an explosion. Subsequent chapters pit Dog Man against his nemesis, Petey the cat, as Petey participates in a nefarious plot to replace the police chief with a robot who'll follow the mayor's every command; erases all the world's books and makes everyone insufferably dumb; and tries to destroy all dogs while triggering the creation of an army of animated hot dogs. In each story, Dog Man's cleverness helps him cuff the cat.
The always cheeky Dav Pilkey stays true to form with this unapologetically giddy comic series start featuring a clever dog-hearted cop devoted to his job -- and his boss. Dog Man features typical bathroom humor (readers will solve the mystery of who pooped in the police chief's office long before the chief does), but it also has an unabashed sweet streak. When the chief feels he hasn't a friend in the world, Dog Man stays by his side, despite a history of being scolded by his boss.
The graphic novel is supposed to look as if it were drawn by fourth-graders for fourth-graders, and some parents will recognize their own children's sense of humor in this. Pilkey pokes fun at those who clutch their pearls over gross, goofy books, inserting a scolding letter from George's teacher denouncing his disruptive "comix" and urging his parents to consider "some kind of behavior modification drug to cure his 'creative streak.'"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about empathy in Dog Man. How does the police chief's relationship with Dog Man change, and why?
What makes stories with poop jokes and gross humor so appealing?
Pilkey's books are often challenged by parents and educators. Are you more interested in books adults find distasteful? Or do you think the critics have a point?
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
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Darienne Stewart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
