Discussion Questions from Big Jim Believes Review and Discussion Questions written by Bill B. Published on Read Reel Reviews, 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
Book: Big Jim Believes: Dog Man 14
Age Suggestion: 8 and up
Length: 222 pages
Release Date: November 11, 2025
Author/Illustrator: Dav Pilkey
Warnings: Contains mature themes (see below)
Quick Summary of Big Jim Believes
Big Jim (aka Commander Cupcake) is back and so is his positivity! When the mischievous Space Cuties From Space return, Big Jim along with his friends Dog Man, Grampa, Li’l Petey, and Molly, must save the world from aliens. Will Big Jim’s positive attitude help save the day or will
Big Jim Believes Review
(contains minor spoilers)
In the prior book, Big Jim and Grampa (as Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles) had saved the Earth from an alien invasion by the Space Cuties from Space. From the prior book (and from prior appearances in the series), you may recall that Big Jim is relentlessly positive and Grampa (who is Li’l Petey’s grandfather) is relentlessly negative. The Space Cuties (whose heads pop off if hugged) have come up with a plan – spray themselves with Hug-Proof Space Stank so no one can get close enough to hug them. Armed with this, they re-invade the earth.
Pilkey notes that he is writing this to illustrate the concept of cognitive bias – we construct reality to fit our beliefs. Reality for Big Jim is positive; for Grampa, it is negative. Both have experienced good and bad incidents in their lives – they are perceived to be positive by Big Jim and negative by Grampa. This has some good thoughts, but it may be hard for some kids to wrap their heads around how this works. Pilkey is using humor to get his point across, but it may still be hard for some.
As usual, there are numerous references (which Pilkey explains at the end) and lots of humor (a variation on the Twelve Days of Christmas, for example). The artwork is distinctive and consistent with the prior books.
Note – while reading at least some of the prior books is recommended, it is not necessary to enjoy this book.
Big Jim Believes Discussion Questions
- Big Jim says, “You’ll see it…when you believe it”. We live in a world that says that you can only believe something when you see it. Why does Big Jim say this? Does it happen? Are there times when believing comes before seeing?
- What happens when Grampa decides he wants all the glory of beating the aliens by himself (hint – this is where the parody of the Twelve Days of Christmas comes in). Can we work better when we work with others?
- What would have happened if Grampa had stayed in his bed in cat jail? Can bad things lead to good things?
- How does Grampa try to ruin Big Jim’s day at the beginning? How does Big Jim respond?
- Which character do you like the most and why? What was the funniest part of the book?
Thanks for reading our Big Jim Believes Review and Discussion Questions. You can also check out our review of Dog Man: Big Jim Begins
This post: Big Jim Believes Review and Discussion Questions uses affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. We earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All images used in this post were either original designs from Canva. We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. Check out our other posts on movies, books, and other family related topics.