What books are similar to Dog Man?

The 10 closest matches to Dog Man by Dav Pilkey on ReadingList include Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Dog Man Unleashed, Smile, Roller Girl, and El Deafo. Each is scored on shared themes (humor, friendship, and good vs evil), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Dog Man reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–5), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Dog Man

If you liked Dog Man, read Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Dog Man Unleashed, or Smile — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Dog Man by Dav Pilkey (Middle Grade Graphic Novel · 390L · grades 2–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of humor, friendship, and good vs evil. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 2–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L: Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Man Unleashedgrades 3–6: Is by Dav Pilkey, the same author, shares themes of humor, friendship, and good vs evil, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Smile410L: Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
Roller Girl440L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
The Adventures of Captain Underpants720L: Is by Dav Pilkey, the same author, shares themes of humor and friendship, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone880L: Shares themes of friendship, good vs evil, and identity, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Max and the Midknightsgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor and identity, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
New Kidgrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizzagrades 2–5: Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Dog Man for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of humor, friendship, and identity and overlapping grades (K–2).
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel · 330L — Shares themes of humor and friendship and a close reading level (330L vs 390L).
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo · 450L — Shares themes of humor and friendship and a close reading level (450L vs 390L).
A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Fox Has a Problem by Corey R. Tabor · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Dog Man for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney · 950L — Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel).
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of humor, friendship, and identity and overlapping grades (4–7).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, friendship, and identity and overlapping grades (3–6).
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of humor and friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Dog Man for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney · 950L — Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel).
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of humor, friendship, and identity and overlapping grades (4–7).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, friendship, and identity and overlapping grades (3–6).
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of humor and friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Dog Man for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship and identity and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes · 910L — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).

What to read after Dog Man

Dog Man is book 1 of 10 in Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series. Not done with the series yet? Follow the Dog Man reading order first — then come back for the matches above.

Common questions

What books are similar to Dog Man?: The 10 closest matches to Dog Man by Dav Pilkey on ReadingList include Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Dog Man Unleashed, Smile, Roller Girl, and El Deafo. Each is scored on shared themes (humor, friendship, and good vs evil), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Dog Man reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–5), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-08-11. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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