Dog Man Books in Order

Dog Man is a massively popular children's illustrated novel series created by Dav Pilkey, the author of the equally beloved Captain Underpants series. Presented as a comic book created by two young boys named George and Harold (characters from the Captain Underpants universe), the series follows Dog Man — a police officer whose head was replaced with a dog's head after a freak accident, creating a crime-fighter with human intelligence and canine loyalty, instincts, and love of belly rubs. Dog Man battles a succession of increasingly elaborate villains, most notably Petey the Cat, whose journey from villain to reluctant good guy forms one of the series' most satisfying character arcs.

Pilkey's visual storytelling is intentionally crude — the art is designed to look like it was drawn by children, complete with spelling errors and wobbly lines — which is both part of the joke and a stroke of genius: it makes the books feel like something kids could create themselves, democratising the idea of storytelling. The humour is relentlessly slapstick, the chapter breaks come every few pages, and the "flip-o-rama" animation sequences (where readers flip pages to animate the action) are a tactile delight. The books are extraordinarily effective at engaging reluctant readers.

Running to 14 volumes published from 2016 through 2025, with a spin-off series featuring Petey's adopted son Li'l Petey, Dog Man has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. A DreamWorks animated film was released in 2025. Ideal for readers aged 6–10. Each book is relatively standalone in terms of individual adventure, though the character arcs (especially Petey's redemption) reward reading in order from Book 1.