Dog Man: Dog Man, Book 1

My husband and I made the mistake of buying a few of these books for our 8 year old son without reading the books first. The covers of the books make them seem innocent, fun, and like a perfect book to get kids to start reading. These books are truly disappointing because they're not entirely terrible. There are some good elements of humor and interesting stories, but the bad is not worth the good in my opinion. He just crosses the line as to what would be deemed appropriate to enter the minds of young children while over stepping the boundaries of what parents would agree to expose their children to. Because of these books my son thinks it's okay to write "cuz" instead of "because." Because of these books my son has quadroopled the amount of potty words he says and writes about. These books are squashing his creativity and filling his head literally with poop. No longer does he make up his own stories and plots but copies the mini stories from these books and passes them off as his own idea. He has started using phrases like "aint" instead of saying "I don't like peas anymore" he would say "I don't like no peas!" These books are causing regression in his intelligence vs progression. There is a difference between imagination and perversity. The behavior and character of George and Harold have zero respect, zero compassion or regard for others, and are down right rebellious. I also can't believe the number of times a naked butt appears in these books. What in the world is wrong with these people? They are truly trying to dumb us and our kids down. Skip this and go on a hunt for tasteful literature or even write your own stories for goodness sake. Parents, I am so sure you can write better stories for your children than this. Do not rely on the media to provide stories for your children. From Captain Underpants to Dogman I truly think that any parent who wishes for their child to contribute some value into the world should stay away from these books.

I want to start this off by saying that I am not a strict/clutch my pearls type of parent. I encourage silliness and imagination. I push my boys to get dirty and try new adventures and fail and make mistakes- but I cannot endorse this book. My 1st grader picked this up from the school book fair and I was ECSTATIC because he was so immersed in the book, was cracking up, and wanted to read it at all times of the day. My preschooler (who can also read) would be doing the same, and eventually the two of them would argue about who gets to read which book in the series. My mistake was assuming that some parents (and authors) don’t care what their kid is reading and what it is teaching them. One day I sat down to read with my preschooler and got really upset with myself that I was allowing them to read this. I got caught up in their excitement over reading and wanting to write their own stories about Dogman and I didn’t realize what the characters were doing or saying. After their behavior started changing because they were mimicking the characters, we sat them down and explained that they wouldn’t be able to read them again until they started acting better. We collected the books into a box and put them on top of the refrigerator where they have stayed for over a year. They’ve asked about them every once in a while, but regardless of their improved behavior, I’d rather they learn this behavior on the school bus and not in my living room. ETA: I’ve noticed that some of the 5star ratings are from parents who are insulting or attacking writers of the negative reviews. Just something to take note of.