Books Like Dog Man: 15 Series for Fans of Dav Pilkey
by Devon A. Corneal
Dav Pilkey, beloved author of the Captain Underpants series, has also delighted readers with the adventures of its part canine, part cop protagonist, Dog Man. If your child can’t wait for the next Dog Man installment, we have some suggestions for books and series we think they’ll love. All have laugh-out-loud plots and fun-filled illustrations to keep reluctant readers and the adults who love them engaged. These are books the whole family can enjoy!
Please note: retail buttons will direct you to the first book in a series. To see more titles in a series, click the link within the descriptive copy of each book.
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The Underdogs Series
Buy from:Animal and mystery lovers will get a kick out of this funny series featuring dogs (and one cat) as detectives! Whether they’re trying to catch an art thief or find out who is swiping all the tennis balls, these amateur investigators piece together the clues. Kids will be in stitches as the persistent animals bumble their way through each mystery.
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Real Pigeons Series
Buy from:In this highly illustrated series, a farm-dwelling pigeon named Rock gets recruited to fight crime in the city. From finding missing breadcrumbs to locating stolen jewels, these birds enthusiastically tackle each new challenge. Dog Man lovers won’t be able to resist this series!
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Steve L. McEvil Series
Buy from:Kids who like superheroes, supervillains, and laugh-out-loud humor will devour every book in this hilarious series. Steve L. McEvil is an aspiring supervillain, learning the tricks of the trade. However, other villains keep ruining his sinister plans, and Steve finds himself saving the world instead of taking it over.
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The Terribles Series
Buy from:Tap into your monstrous side and head to Creep’s Cove, an island for eerie creatures of all shapes and sizes. Readers will follow the misadventures of young monsters as they attend school and get into mischief. This scary-cute series is perfect for kids who love Hotel Transylvania, Halloween, and giggle-worthy stories.
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Lunch Lady Series
Buy from:The Breakfast Bunch — friends Hector, Terrence, and Dee — used to speculate about their Lunch Lady’s life outside of the cafeteria, but they never could’ve guessed the truth: that she’s actually a spatula-wielding superhero, and justice is on the menu. Lunch Lady knows whenever there’s something fishy going on at the school, and she’s on the case with her new superhero assistants, the Breakfast Bunch themselves.
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Max and the Midknights Series
Buy from:Max may be expected to become a troubadour, just like her Uncle Budrick, but she truly dreams of someday becoming a brave knight instead. Then villainous King Gastley takes Budrick captive and it’s up to Max to assemble a group of kids, a.k.a. the Midknights, to help her rescue Uncle Budrick. This graphic novel series is a delightfully silly and laugh-filled adventure set during the Middle Ages.
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Hilo Series
Buy from:Dav Pilkey calls this series “an action-packed page turner with heart!” And with good reason. It’s about D.J. and Gina, two kids who befriend a boy with superpowers after he crash-lands on earth. Between robot monsters, mysterious portals, and annoying siblings, this nine-book graphic novel series has enough humor and adventure to keep your kid reading for weeks.
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Dragonbreath Series
Buy from:So what if Danny Dragonbreath can’t breathe fire? He’s got lots of other talents, like, ummm, well ... Okay, so Danny doesn’t have a lot of talents. But he does have friends, a sense of adventure, and a talented and creative author who brings those adventures to life in vivid text and comic book illustrations.
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Comics Squad Series
Buy from:Don’t want to choose just one collection? Love multiple authors? Then the Comics Squad series is for you! Comics Squad: Recess! is the first in the series, and it’s a laugh-out-loud compilation of comics from Jennifer and Matthew Holm, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Dan Santat, Raina Telgemeier, Jeffrey Brown, Cece Bell, and more. There is something for everyone in these awesome stories about the important things in a kid’s life: recess, lunch, and, gulp, detention.
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Max Meow Series
Buy from:A little orange cat named Max eats a radioactive space meatball and gets superpowers in this hilarious graphic novel series that Dog Man fans love. Whether he’s saving the world from a donut shortage or stopping alien pugs from taking over the earth, Max’s adventures come with a hefty helping of puns, plot twists, and page-turning action.
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Lucy and Andy Neanderthal Series
Buy from:Kids who love humor and natural history are in luck with this series that follows the adventures and mischief of Neanderthal siblings Lucy and Andy. Inspired by his visits to The Field Museum of Natural History, Jeffrey Brown deftly weaves fact into laugh-out-loud fiction, including modern-day interludes featuring museum historians teaching kids about life in the Stone Age.
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Julius Zebra Series
Buy from:Madagascar meets Monty Python in this goofy, madcap series starring Julius Zebra and his friends Milus Lion and Cornelius Warthog. First, they’re whisked away from the African savanna and made to be (clumsy) gladiators. Then, on the way home, they shipwreck on the shores of Egypt and accidentally let loose a pharaoh’s curse. It’s all fun and games — with a surprising amount of sly world history, too.
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Ham Helsing Series
Buy from:Meet the little pig who wants to spend his days painting and writing poetry but must hunt monsters instead. In this hilarious graphic novel series, Ham and his friends tackle vampires, ghosts, and haunted castles. These goofy books will keep Dog Man lovers glued to the page with heart-pounding action and laugh-out-loud moments!
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Story Pirates Series
Buy from:The Story Pirates series is extra fun: each story comes from a real kid’s idea, and the books are created to inspire more kids to write their own tall tales. As the plot unfolds — in Book 1, created by 11-year-old Vince Boberski of Memphis, Tennessee, two scientists accidentally travel back to the Stone Age — the Story Pirate Captain pops in to share how one little idea can grow into a whole book.
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Middle School Bites Series
Buy from:As if middle school weren’t tough enough, Tom gets bit by a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie the day before sixth grade. Talk about bad luck! Now, Tom is the only Vam-Wolf-Zom on Earth, and there are a lot of kinks to work out. Friendship and hijinks abound in these scary-funny stories.
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Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2025.