Dog Man: Big Jim Begins Book Review by Bill B. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Quick Information on the Dog Man Series
Books: Dog Man (13 books), Cat Kid
Author and Illustrator: Dav Pilkey
Categories/Genres: Graphic Novel; humor; adventure
Length: Most are about 250 pages
Date First Released: August 2016
Suggested Age Range: 8 and up
Warnings: Varies. Most warnings center on the relationship of Petey and Li’l Petey. See below for details.
Dog Man Books in Order
| Release Year | # in Series | Book Title | Page Numbers |
| 2016 | 1 | Dog Man | 240 |
| 2016 | 2 | Dog Man Unleashed | 224 |
| 2017 | 3 | A Tale of Two Kitties | 256 |
| 2017 | 4 | Dog Man and Cat Kid | 256 |
| 2018 | 5 | Lord of the Fleas | 256 |
| 2018 | 6 | Brawl of the Wild | 224 |
| 2019 | 7 | For Whom the Ball Rolls | 240 |
| 2019 | 8 | Fetch-22 | 240 |
| 2020 | 9 | Grime and Punishment | 240 |
| 2021 | 10 | Mothering Heights | 224 |
| 2023 | 11 | Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea | 240 |
| 2024 | 12 | The Scarlet Shedder | 224 |
| 2024 | 13 | Big Jim Begins | 224 |
The Beginning and Characters of Dog Man
Pilkey was already a successful kid’s author (Captain Underpants) when he published the first Dog Man book. The series has evolved since the initial book, primarily through the introduction of Li’l Petey.
We start, as we do with many superheroes, with an origin story. A police dog named Greg and his officer, Officer Knight, are on a dangerous mission and are severely injured. To save them they sew Greg’s head onto Officer Knight’s body – and Dog Man is born. In the first book, we are also introduced to Chief (the police chief) and Petey, “The World’s Most Evilest Cat”.
All of the Dog Man books are attributed to fictional authors George Beard and Harold Hutchins, best friends who attend fourth grade at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. Harold draws the art, and George writes the stories. This is Pilkey’s way of honoring the homemade comic books Pilkey created as a child. In the first book, the tension is between Dog Man and Petey. The first book introduces Flip-E-Rama, a set of pictures that the reader is expected to quickly flip through to simulate moving characters.
The 2nd book introduces Flippy, who is a villain but several books later becomes part of the cast of supporting “heroes” and is prominent in the Cat Kid spin-off series (as is Molly, who is associated with Flippy). The third book begins a string, broken only by book 4, of naming the book after a classical novel. This carries through book 11. In each, there is some tie-in to the novel. In book three Petey decides to clone himself so there will be two villains. Instead, the clone is Li’l Petery – a warm adorable kitten.
There is a strain through the next several books as Petey tries to make Lil Petey evil (Li’l Petey sides with Dog Man). And then there are many questions from Li’l Petey to his dad about why Petey is evil (by the time of the later books Petey has become a permanent supporting character who is slowly reforming into a hero). As noted above, this tension between what could be considered an adopted child and a villain for a father might not work in all situations.
Especially starting in book three, Pilkey throws in adult nuggets, which he explains in further detail at the end of each. The books have a distinctive graphic style and are loved by kids in the 2nd-5th grade range. Dog Man is highly recommended.
Other Characters from the Dog Man Series
–80-HD, a sentient robot
–Nurse Lady, who originally came up with the idea to save Dog Man (and later marries Chief)
–Sarah Hatoff & Zuzu, a reporter and her poodle
–Grampa, Petey’s dad
–Big Jim, Grampa’s cellmate in cat jail
We have mentioned that some of the villains – in particular Flippy and Petey – grow from villains to heroic during the series. There are some continuing villains (most of whom are very comic). However, one very positive aspect of the stories is the redemption of the villains.
You can check out the Dog Man Movie Trailer here:
Thanks for reading our Dog Man Series Summary. Check out our Review of the most recent Dog Man Book here: Dog Man: Big Jim Begins.
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