You are going to read an article about author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. Here are five facts you should know first.
1) You say Dav’s name like this: DAVE.
1) You say Dav’s name like this: DAVE.
Kai Suzuki
Dav Pilkey
Dav was born with the name Dave. He used to be a waiter at a pizza restaurant. All the waiters had name tags. But the machine that made the name tags had a broken letter E on it. So his name tag just said “DAV.”
The spelling stuck. He just kept writing his name “D-A-V.” But you say “Dave.”
Dav was born with the name Dave. He used to be a waiter. At work, his name tag just said “DAV.”
He just kept writing his name this way. But you say “Dave.”
2) The Peanuts comic strips inspired Dav.
2) The Peanuts comic strips inspired Dav.
Everett Collection, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
When Dav was a kid, he would sit on his floor and read the Peanuts comics over and over again. Those are the comics that star Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
Dav loved the way they were drawn and how funny they were. Peanuts still inspires him today.
When Dav was a kid, he read the Peanuts comics over and over again. Peanuts star Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
Dav loved the way they were drawn. He loved the way they were funny.
3) Dav writes a lot of graphic novels.
3) Dav writes a lot of graphic novels.
DOG MAN art © Dav Pilkey. DOG MAN and related designs are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Dav Pilkey. All rights reserved
The Dog Man books are graphic novels. These kinds of books tell stories with panels. These are boxes that have the words and pictures inside. They have voice bubbles. That’s how the characters speak.
The Dog Man books are graphic novels. These kinds of books tell stories with boxes. The words and pictures are inside the boxes.
4) Dav won a huge award
4) Dav won a huge award
Dav has written more than just graphic novels. He has written and illustrated picture books too. One of his pictures books, The Paperboy, won a Caldecott Honor! That's a really big award for picture book art in the United States.
Dav hasn’t written only graphic novels. He has written and illustrated picture books. His book, The Paperboy, won a Caldecott Honor! That’s a really big award for picture book art.
5) He has created more than 60 books!
5) He has created more than 60 books!
DOG MAN art © Dav Pilkey. DOG MAN and related designs are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Dav Pilkey. All rights reserved.
Many of these were best-sellers. That means that many, many people bought them. In fact, more than 130 million copies of Dav’s books have been sold around the world.
Many people bought them. More than 130 million copies of Dav’s books have been sold.
About the Article
English Language Arts Focus
Author studies
BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
This article gives kids background knowledge that will help them better understand this issue’s Big Read nonfiction article, “What is Dav Pilkey’s Superpower?” on page 6.
1. BEFORE READING
2. READ THE ARTICLE (10 MINUTES)
3. AFTER READING (3 MINUTES)
ELA Focus: Comprehension (5-10 minutes)
Enrich the Learning: Paired Text (20 minutes)
ELA Focus: Letter to Nosey (15 minutes)
Draw Dog Man (10 minutes)
