Dog Man

Dog Man

by Dav Pilkey

Published: 2016

Dog Man is an eight-book graphic novel series that tells of the adventures of a crime-fighting dog named Dog Man. As an extension of Dav Pilkey's famous Captain Underpants books, Dog Man is framed as the next product of the two students who created Captain Underpants, George and Harold. Dog Man is the product of two different police workers within the town, one police dog, named Greg, and one man. When they are both injured, doctors combine the legs of the human, with the top of the dog, to create Dog Man. In the first book of the series, Dogman fights many crimes within his community. Dog Man is in a constant battle with Petey the Cat as he tries to take over the town. With bright illustrations, and engaging humor, Dog Man is a great first reader for any young student looking for a graphic novel.

Response: 

Graphic novels are a huge hit within lower elementary classrooms, and Dog Man is no exception. Students become invested in the handwritten graphics, and humor found within the Dog Man books. The use of graphics and multimodal text enhances understanding and comprehension within students, and the different characters and emotions portrayed within this text support this concept greatly. First, the text is designed in parts and chapters, that each tells of a different adventure Dogman experiences. From these easy to recognize headings and labels within the gutters, students are able to separate each plot point from the others. This layout also makes the text more approachable to readers because it is split up into equal sections with different storylines to keep readers engaged and wondering what Dog Man's next mission will be. The bright colors and zoomed-in illustrations within each panel are a great tool to guide students in reading visual images. Dog Man is filled with humor, which keeps students engaged and interested in reading. This text is a great book to utilize for reluctant readers because it is reader-friendly, while also filled with content young readers will enjoy reading. Another way students become engaged is through the balloons. The balloons are used to show voice, emotion, thoughts, and enhance an understanding of point of view. From balloons, students are able to experience characters in a new hands-on way by their constant interaction and clear voices.  

Another aspect of Dav Pilkey's work that enhances his graphic novels is the concept of a "Fip-O-Rama". A "Fip-O-Rama" is an interactive sequence of visuals and events within the story. Pilkey guides readers where to place their hands, and how to use a "Fip-O-Rama". The "Fip-O-Rama" reflects something similar to a flipbook, where it appears like the characters or scene is moving. This approach is loved by all readers, as well as entertaining for readers to create their own stop motion sequence. When introducing graphic novels to students, it is imperative to recognize the importance of using illustrations to gain more understanding. My teaching multimodal reading, readers will be able to recognize that reading is not solely text, and information can also be gathered from the illustrations within each panel. Readers should be instructed to pay attention to the illustrations to gain more information on setting, characters, plot, as well as changes in time and progression of the story. The only area of note which could be problematic for students, is that this text is published as if it were written by children, so there are spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as cross-outs, and messy writing sections. Students will enjoy being able to connect to the text because it becomes more approachable and relatable, however, it could provoke confusion for early readers and spellers. Overall, Dog Man is a great graphic novel to implement and instruct multimodal reading in elementary classrooms due to its' engaging and humorous text, and bright illustrations.