Cats and Dogs ... Playing Together? Another Pleasing Graphic Novel by Pilkey

Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey

Hello, Readers!

This week, 2nd and 3rd grade book club members are discussing Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey. This graphic novel is full of humorous puns, heartwarming characters, and page-turning adventure. If you have never given graphic novels a try, I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and read the Dog Man books. Before young readers have time to realize what just happened, Pilkey will subliminally "illustrate" how to be humans of character through his stories.

He was the best of dogs... He was the worst of dogs... It was the age of invention... It was the season of surprise... It was the eve of supa sadness... It was the dawn of hope...

Dog Man, the newest hero from the creator of Captain Underpants, hasn't always been a paws-itive addition to the police force. While he can muzzle miscreants, he tends to leave a slick of slobber in his wake! This time, Petey the cat's dragged in a tiny bit of trouble—a double in the form of a super-cute kitten. Dog Man will have to work twice as hard to bust these furballs and remain top dog!

(Source: http://www.pilkey.com/book/dog-man-a-tale-of-two-kitties-dog-man-3)

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. At the beginning of the story, Chief gives Dog Man a job to do. Why might it be a bad idea for Dog Man to take that job?
2. How does Petey break out of jail?
3. Is Li’l Petey a clone of Petey? How do you know?
4. When did Dav Pilkey use foreshadowing (a hint that something is about to happen) in this story? See page 51.
5. How did it both hurt and help Li’l Petey to constantly ask, “Why?”
6. Do you like the Flip-o-Rama pages? Do you make sound effects when you do the Flip-o-Rama?
7. Which characters in this story were mean and grumpy? Why do you think they acted that way?
8. Which characters were heroes in this story? How do you know?
9. There are tons of puns (jokes using a word that has multiple meanings or two words that sound similar) in this story. Find an example of a pun you thought was funny.
10. Which characters changed the most in this story?
11. What lesson or message did you learn by reading this story?
12. Do you think Dav Pilkey has pets? What type of pets do you think he has?

Curriculum Connections:

• Visit Dav Pilkey's web site to learn more about him and the other books he has written and illustrated.
• Character Development (friendship, problem solving, working together)
• Art (how to draw characters, how to animate drawings using flip-o-rama)

What 2nd and 3rd Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• Our rating: 4.6 out of 5 - We loved this book, and it made us laugh.
• "My favorite part was the cloning machine." --Caleb
• "My favorite part was Li'l Petey saying, 'Why?' It was weird! And the 'Supa Awesome Science Center Over There'." --Sanika
• "My favorite part was when Li'l Petey made Flippy good." --Boris
• "I wondered how strong was Dog Man to break a chair?" --Rivian
• "My favorite part was when they went into Dog Man's house. On the outside it was small, and in the inside it was big." --Jake
• "How did Li'l Petey do the same 'Grrr ruff ruff' noises like Dog Man?" --Boris
• "My favorite part was when Chief fell down on his back because of Dog Man." --Valeria

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