Dog Man
by Dav Pilkey
A graphic novel about a half-dog, half-policeman superhero, full of puns and slapstick. Kid-friendly and very popular. Read the full description
Best for: Ages six to ten, and graphic novel fans
Dog Man is #93 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 50 out of 100.
Dog Man: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, Dog Man’s reading interest has run from #81 to #100 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
Dog Man was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 318 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 73 (175% above its monthly average of 26). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 47% on the three months before. 86% of the adds were “want to read”, 9% “currently reading” and 5% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Adaptations
- Dog Man (animated film), 2025
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
What the data says about Dog Man
- Uneven demand. Monthly shelf adds swung widely around an average of 26, so interest arrives in bursts and not as a steady stream.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (73 adds), about 8.1 times its quietest, June 2026 (9).
- Ratings above the list’s middle. Its Open Library average of 4.42 from 139 ratings is 0.30 higher than the middle book on the list (4.12).
- Against its genre. It had 51% fewer shelf adds than the average Children book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.3% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #95 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2015 (11 years ago), it is older than 28% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
Dog Man on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #93 | 50 |
Is Dog Man rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, Dog Man ranks outside the top 200 this week, #208 this month, and #245 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why Dog Man made the Top 100
Dog Man made the list mainly on reader love (+19.3 points) and being read right now (+15 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+1.3). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for Dog Man
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have Dog Man open right now than 28% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Children books
It is #5 of the 5 Children books on this month’s list.
About Dog Man
A graphic novel about a half-dog, half-policeman superhero, full of puns and slapstick. Kid-friendly and very popular.
Why it’s here: It is the book kids ask for again and again, and it builds real reading habits.
Best for: Ages six to ten, and graphic novel fans
At a glance
- First published
- 2016
- Genre
- Children
- Also described as
- graphic novel, comic
- Length
- about 240 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 6 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 34 on Open Library
- Characters listed
- petey the evil cat, the chief, and the other cops
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Humor
- Heroes
- Friendship
What reading it is like
A graphic novel that reads very quickly.
At about 240 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 5 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
First of a series for young readers.
The premise
Dog Man, a police officer with a dog's head, fights crime alongside a chief in this comic-style adventure from the author of Captain Underpants.
What you’ll get
- Silly humor and puns
- Bold comic panels
- A great step for new readers
You might skip it if you want text-heavy chapter books.
Pairs well with: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #92 and #94
Questions about Dog Man
What rank is Dog Man on the Top 100 books?
Dog Man is #93 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 50 out of 100.
Is Dog Man rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, Dog Man ranks outside the top 200 this week, #208 this month, and #245 over the past year.
Why is Dog Man on the Top 100?
Dog Man made the list mainly on reader love (+19.3 points) and being read right now (+15 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+1.3).
How many people are reading Dog Man right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 189 readers currently reading Dog Man, 1,911 who want to read it and 125 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has Dog Man had over the past year?
318 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 73); latest three months down 47% on the prior three; Adaptations on Wikidata: Dog Man (2025). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is Dog Man best for?
Ages six to ten, and graphic novel fans.
Ask a question about Dog Man
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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