Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas

Dav Pilkey's Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas is a laugh-out-loud comic for 7 year olds about an evil cat who's suddenly stuck with a kitten that never stops asking "why?"

What happens

This is the fifth Dog Man book. Li'l Petey, the sweet little clone of Petey the wicked cat, now lives with Dog Man and their robot pal 80-HD. The three of them have just started a superhero club called the Supa Buddies.

Then a cross old cat from Kitty Protective Services turns up to march Li'l Petey off to school. Who could it really be? (Anyone who knows Petey will have a pretty good guess.)

Petey has broken out of Cat Jail again, and he says the kitten is in terrible danger. An old enemy called Piggy wants revenge. He's teamed up with Crunky the ape and Bub the crocodile as the FLEAS (Fuzzy Little Evil Animal Squad), and they've got a giant robot brontosaurus.

Petey keeps trying to explain. He doesn't get very far, because Li'l Petey interrupts with knock-knock jokes, and nearly every one ends with something pooping on somebody's head (or nose, or eyebrow). Petey is NOT impressed!

There's a joke for grown-ups too. George and Harold, the boys who supposedly make these comics, have been told to read Lord of the Flies for school (Harold thinks it's Lord of the Rings). So when Petey tells the sad tale of his scout troop stranded on a desert island, it isn't quite what it sounds.

It's comics from start to finish, with huge shouty capitals and sound effects on every page. On the Flip-E-Rama pages you flick between two pictures so they wobble into action. Most children will gobble it up in one sitting.

Under all the silliness there's a lot of heart. Petey doesn't think he can be anything but the bad guy. Li'l Petey is completely sure he can change, and watching the two of them muddle along is the sweetest part.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The battles are cartoon chaos, with robots zapping each other and buildings toppling over. Li'l Petey slips off a giant robot (he's caught in time), and some of the grown-ups joke about dying as they fall. Petey also has a properly gloomy moment about life being pointless. A soft-hearted reader might want a cuddle, but it's all played lightly and most children will just laugh.

What to read next

If your reader hasn't met Dog Man yet, it's worth going back to the very first Dog Man book. That's where a police officer and his dog become one hero, and where Petey is already the bad guy everyone's chasing.