SCHOLASTIC UNLEASHES DOG MAN GLOBAL CAMPAIGN CELEBRATING READING AND HEROES AROUND THE WORLD
DAV PILKEY INTERNATIONAL TOUR ANNOUNCED
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION'S NEW FEATURE FILM, DOG MAN, COMING TO THEATERS WORLDWIDE STARTING JANUARY 31
NEW YORK and LONDON and TORONTO and SYDNEY, Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dog Man-ia is about to sweep the globe. Big plans for Dav Pilkey's #1 blockbuster hit series Dog Man kicks off with the launch of the newest book, Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, releasing today simultaneously in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand with a 5 million copy first printing.
Since the book series launched to critical acclaim in August 2016, Dog Man has more than 60 million books in print with translations in 47 languages, making it one of the bestselling graphic novel series of all time. DreamWorks Animation's new feature film adaptation, Dog Man, will arrive in theaters worldwide early next year, beginning with the U.S. release on January 31. The film is directed by Peter Hastings and features the vocal talents of a powerhouse comedic cast, including Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers), Lil Rel Howery (Get Out) and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais (The Office).
More big news is coming in the New Year as Dog Man author and illustrator Dav Pilkey embarks on an international tour. Inspired by one of the themes in the Dog Man series about how ordinary people can do extraordinarily good deeds, all events on Dav Pilkey's tour will shine the spotlight on everyday heroes who make a positive impact in their own communities. The tour starts in the U.S. in January with an event at the world's largest library, the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C. Additional event details and tour stops in the U.S. include Kansas City, Detroit, Dallas, Orlando, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and more. For the first time in 10 years, Pilkey will travel to the U.K. and Ireland appearing in London at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Southbank Centre's Imagine Festival on February 22nd followed by an event in Dublin. More venues and countries along with ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks on Scholastic's social media platforms and Scholastic's Dav Pilkey website.
In a statement, Dav Pilkey said, "In this new book, Big Jim begins to discover that what we focus on is often more important than what happens to us. Books bring people together and reading helps kids develop empathy and compassion. I'm excited to meet readers in person, sign their books, and I look forward to celebrating everyday heroes within each community who make this world a better place."
For nearly four decades, Dav Pilkey's books have been inspiring and igniting kids' passion for reading. Highlights of upcoming plans include:
- A new Dog Man book, Dog Man: Big Jim Believes, will be published by Scholastic worldwide in Fall 2025.
- Scholastic also will release a special full-color edition of Dav Pilkey's first-ever graphic novel, The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby in August 2025. Originally published in 2002, fourteen years before Dog Man, The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby was an instant national bestseller.
- Starting this month and through spring 2025, more than 100 Dog Man costume characters will be appearing at bookstores, libraries, and community-wide events across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- Thousands of custom "Join The Hero Party" Dog Man displays and exclusive giveaways will be featured across all major retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Scholastic will also distribute thousands of event kits and the Dog Man iconic hero badges to bookstores and libraries. To find events in the U.S. and Canada, and to download free "Join the Hero Party" activities, visit www.celebratedogman.com.
- Dav Pilkey has created a free "Supa Special Collector's Comic" showing how animators brought his characters to life on the big screen for the Dog Man movie. To help readers explore the exciting world of graphic novels and creative storytelling, Scholastic will provide nearly 4 million copies of this free mini comic through its school channels in the U.S., U.K., Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Through literacy programs organized by Scholastic collaborators Book Trust and the Scripps Howard Fund, which promote book access and the joy of reading, nearly 50,000 students across the U.S. will each receive a free copy of Dog Man: Big Jim Begins. In addition, one school from each program will receive a "Join the Hero" party-themed Scholastic Book Fair. Participating schools will also recognize everyday heroes who make a difference in their own communities. These in-school literacy programs will be fully funded by Dav Pilkey.
- Starting this month through 2025, international publishers have major plans to promote Dog Man including a costume character tour in Spain organized by Grupo SM. In Brazil, where Dog Man sales have doubled, publisher Companhia das Letras is sending the Dog Man costume character on a wide-ranging promotional tour appearing at bookstores in various cities including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
- The critically-acclaimed Dog Man: The Musical and Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical from TheaterWorksUSA, stage adaptations of Dav Pilkey's hit graphic novel series, will be touring across North America and around the world through 2025. Learn more at TWUSA.ORG.
"Dav Pilkey is an ambassador for reading whose personal story is an inspiration to kids and families everywhere. We look forward to an exciting year with a new Dog Man book and movie, and bringing Dav's books to a new generation of readers," said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade.
About Dog Man
The Dog Man series follows the hilarious adventures of the "Supa Buddies": Dog Man, a lovable canine superhero, and his friends Li'l Petey, a curious kitten who embodies love, optimism, and hope, and 80-HD, a robot who expresses himself best through his art. With Dav Pilkey's trademark humor and heart, the Dog Man series celebrates creativity and imagination and explores universally positive messages including the importance of doing good and striving to become a better version of one's self, while it also tackles more complex themes including loss, redemption, and forgiveness. Most recently with Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder, Dav Pilkey delved into the world of artificial intelligence while making a gripping and comical commentary about the impact of social media.
About Dav Pilkey
When Dav Pilkey was in second grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and what is now widely known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Because of his learning and behavioral issues in school, he was often sent out in the hallway. It was in his elementary school hallway where he created comic books about superheroes that eventually became Captain Underpants and Dog Man. Launched nearly 30 years ago, Pilkey's pioneering Captain Underpants series has helped to create the illustrated children's chapter book category. The series has more than 90 million copies in print, translations in 38 languages, released as a feature film by DreamWorks Animation, as well as an original series on Netflix. Pilkey's Cat Kid Comic Club series, a spin-off of Dog Man which launched in December 2020, is also a #1 worldwide bestseller with more than 12 million copies in print and translations in 26 languages to date. Dav Pilkey has created over 70 books for children and was awarded a Caldecott Honor for his picture book The Paperboy. For more information about Dav Pilkey and his books, visit https://mediaroom.scholastic.com/davpilkey.
About Scholastic
For more information about Scholastic, visit our mediaroom at https://mediaroom.scholastic.com/.
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SOURCE Scholastic Inc