Author Dav Pilkey and Scholastic Donate Books to City Elementary Schoolers
Students received a copy of the latest book in Pilkey's Dog Man series.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Every 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade student at Fredericksburg’s Hugh Mercer and Lafayette elementary schools received a hardback copy of the newest book in the Dog Man graphic novel series earlier this month, thanks to a donation from author/illustrator Dav Pilkey and publisher Scholastic.
“The students have been over the moon about it, because they just love the Dog Man books,” said Christine Garman, librarian at Hugh Mercer.
The school division received 800 donated copies of Big Jim Begins, which was just released on December 3.
“It was kind of cool because they arrived in these boxes that said, ‘Do not distribute before December 3,’” Garman said.
According to Charisse Meloto with Scholastic, Pilkey read an article in September about Hugh Mercer Elementary’s book fair, which featured a 4th grader who said she buys two of the Dog Man titles each year at the book fair.
The donation arrived in early December and Garman distributed the books to students during their library rotations. She showed them a 2019 interview with Pilkey, who is also the author of the equally popular Captain Underpants series.
“He talks about how the Captain Underpants character really came from his struggles with reading,” Garman said. “He had ADHD and dyslexia, so I wanted to let the kids hear that story just to connect the dots on reading and how it can take many different shapes and forms.”
Big Jim Begins is the 13th book in the Dog Man series, and Garman said many kids have been following the characters since the first book was published in 2021.
Garman said the books are appealing because kids find the language and stories relatable and fun to read.
“I think they also aren’t intimidating to the challenged reader or to the English learner,” she said. “Sometimes for your more apprehensive reader, [a graphic novel] may be what they need to feel comfortable with a book.”
The series also captures the interest of budding artists, Garman said. In the back of each book, Pilkey includes a tutorial with step-by-step instructions on how to draw the characters, as well as a page of notes explaining some of the cultural references his drawings touch on.
“I’m looking in the back of the book now, and he’s written that there’s a foot on one page that’s a tribute to [British sketch comedy] Monty Python,” Garman said. In another place, there’s a reference to the 1979 Star Wars film A New Hope.
With this kind of reference, the books can also be appealing to older or more advanced readers.
Garman said she loves seeing students be so excited to read in a book, rather than on their tablets or computers.
“And it’s a nice, thick, hardback book,” she said. “That also appeals to a lot of kids.”
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