Does Dog Man’s popularity have no end? Are there even kids out there who have yet to become fans?! That’s what it feels like everyday at the library when we can’t keep the books on the shelves, and kids are bubbling away talking about their favourite characters, and the best flip-animation pages. Naturally, I decided to run a program celebrating all things Dog Man. It was a great opportunity to encourage a life long love of reading and to give mega-fans a place to meet other mega-fans.

To prepare for this program I read a Dog Man book. I would say, that should be a requirement of running this program. I wanted the event to have the same silly tone as the books. Also, it helped because the entire time kids were talking to me about Dog Man things, and because I’d read the book, I was able to answer their questions and joke with them.

Five different kids asked me if were were going to celebrate Dog Man by licking toilets. We did not, that’s too far for me personally, but if you’re into it I’m sure there’s an over-the-top campy (and sanitary) activity you could devise.

The key components of this one hour program:

• Temporary Tattoos
• Comic Creation
• Personality Quiz
• Dog Man Bingo
• “Dog Food”
• Dog Man Prizes

Temporary Tattoos

As kids came in, they lined up by the sink to choose and wear a Dog Man character as a temporary tattoo (that I got for free from Scholastic Canada)! It was a great way for me to get a tiny bit of one on one time with each kid, and make sure they felt seen and welcomed.

Comic Creation

Every kid got a Comic Creator booklet (from Scholastic), a pencil, eraser, and step-by-step instructions on how to Draw Dog Man (from Dav Pilkey’s website). They got really into it, and it was a great ice-breaker activity while we waited for late-comers to trickle in. Pilkey’s website has a lot of other great little activities that you could print out if you don’t have access to the Comic Creator booklets.

Personality Quiz

I created a ridiculous Dog Man Personality Quiz and it went over so well. Kids loved answering the questions and finding out who they were. As expected, most of the attendees ended up as Dog Man or Li’l Petey, with a couple outliers as Harold, and one silly kid who picked all the evil answers to get Petey. Everyone was given a button featuring the character they got.

See my post, Which Dog Man Character Are You Personality Quiz, for more information and all the resources.

Dog Man Bingo

I used the Bingo Cards from Book Cart Queens’  Slide Share to run a super fun and simple Bingo activity. She created and generously shared 51 unique bingo cards – with each one having the same images in a different order.

The very first kid to get a bingo won the biggest prize (a book about drawing Dog Man in 3D), and after that each bingo earned a child any one prize from the prize table. I cut one of the cards into individual squares, and chose them randomly, one at a time from a bowl. It was loud and exciting and chaotic. They loved it.

Dog Man Prizes

Scholastic Canada has an amazing service where they will send librarians an order form for a box of free promotional materials. Between their items, the buttons I made, and a Dog Man drawing book, I had a prize table filled with 115 prizes! Some of the items I got from Scholastic include: Graphix Chapter Sampler, Collectible Cards, temporary tattoos, sticker sheets, bookmarks, and posters.

You can also borrow an amazing, giant Dog Man Mascot costume from Scholastic, complete with moveable ears! I wish I could’ve done this, and if you have, please send me photos so I can share them on here!

“Dog Food”

I was tickled by the idea of feeding kids something that looked like kibble in a dog bowl… so I bought a big box of Cocoa Puffs! It was absolutely silly, and the kids loved it. They enjoyed the snacks while we played Bingo. I prepared the bowls ahead of time.

Other Ideas for Dog Man Events

So many other librarians have run Dog Man programs! Here are some ideas and links that you could use while planning your own:

• Lots of great craft ideas (petey puppet, Flip-O-Rama, headbands) on this guest post on Jbrary
• Amazingly creative inventors area called “Lil Petey’s Robot Shop” from Literary Library Kim (see photos on her Instagram post)
• Lots of cool passive ideas (including guess how many dog treats in the jar) in this news article on Milton Public Library’s Dog Man celebrations.
• Full resources for a Dog Man Trivia activity on Book Cart Queens!
• A Book Launch event at Linwood Public Library, complete with Reader’s Theater.

What activities would you like to see at a Dog Man event?