Books-A-Million Invites Kids to Have Fun Reading as Summer Reading Program Returns, Mid-May through Labor Day
“Dog Man” and “Captain Underpants” author and illustrator Dav Pilkey serves as program ambassador to guide young minds into a summer full of reading fun!
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.: In an effort to continue education and reading into the summer months, Books-A-Million Summer Reading Adventure Program is back! Students are invited to participate in the annual program designed to help strengthen children’s reading and writing skills, from May 15 through Labor Day. Participants who complete the program will receive a prize from this year’s summer reading ambassador, “Dog Man” author and illustrator Dav Pilkey!
In a statement, Dav Pilkey said, “I’ve experienced firsthand the power and impact of being able to choose the books I wanted to read as a kid, without judgment. We all know that reading is important, but there’s a certain kind of reading that is life-changing: reading for fun. I’m honored to be chosen as this year’s summer reading ambassador.”
To participate in the challenge, students must read any four books from the designated list and write about them in the Summer Reading Adventure journal. Those who bring the completed journal to any Books-A-Million store will receive a FREE Dog Man “Supa Buddies” hat! Visit any Books-A-Million location to pick up a Reading Adventure journal to get started. Log books are also being made available for curbside pickup and printable at booksamillion.com.
With its trademark humor and heart, Dog Man launched in August 2016 to multiple starred reviews and was an instant bestseller, appealing to kids and critics alike. The Dog Man series has more than 30 million copies in print to date with 38 foreign language editions available. “Dog Man: Fetch-22,” the latest book in the series published in December 2019 with a 5 million copy first printing, dominated both adult and children’s bestseller lists, and debuted at #1 overall on the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Indie Bound bestseller lists. “Dog Man: The Musical” from TheaterWorksUSA, the musical adaptation inspired by the books, debuted off-Broadway in New York City last year and has since been touring North America. Pilkey’s phenomenally popular Captain Underpants series published more than twenty years ago has more than 90 million copies in print and helped to establish the illustrated chapter book category. Captain Underpants was adapted as a feature film by DreamWorks as well as an original TV series currently streaming on Netflix. “Cat Kid Comic Club,” the first book in an all-new graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey, will be released worldwide on December 1, 2020.
When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Dav loved to draw and make up stories and spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books—the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. In college, Dav met a teacher who encouraged him to illustrate and write. Dav’s first book, “World War Won,” was published in 1986, and since then he has made nearly 70 books for children including the acclaimed Dragon and Dumb Bunnies series, award-winning picture books including “Dog Breath,” “God Bless the Gargoyles,” and “The Paperboy” for which he won a Caldecott Honor. “The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby,” Pilkey’s first graphic novel published in 2002, was an instant national bestseller. It was followed by “The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung Fu Cavemen from the Future” and “Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers,” both USA Today bestsellers. The engaging style of Pilkey’s graphic novels devoured by readers around the world is intended to encourage uninhibited creativity in kids and artists of all ages. His semi-autobiographical stories explore universal themes that celebrate friendship, empathy, and the triumph of the good-hearted. Dav loves to kayak in the Pacific Northwest with his wife.
