Doggo and Pupper

Doggo & Pupper #1

by Katherine Applegate, Charlie Alder (Illustrator)

An old dog has to welcome a new puppy to the household, in this chapter book by #1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate with a brightly colored palette from Charlie Alder.

Doggo is used to things being a certain way in his family. He likes routine. Cat says he’s become boring. That is, until Pupper shows up!

Pupper is playful and messy, and turns the house upside down. Soon, the humans realize that Pupper needs some training, and off he goes to puppy school.

When Pupper comes back, he’s well-behaved. He’s not playful. He’s not messy. But Doggo soon realizes that Pupper also isn’t happy. So Doggo steps in to help, and rediscovers what it means to have fun.

Doggo and Pupper launches a delightful new series by beloved author Katherine Applegate, featuring illustrations by Charlie Alder.

Genres: Animals, Dogs, Picture Books, Childrens, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Friendship

96 pages, Hardcover

First published March 23, 2021

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).

She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while at a thrift store in Phoenix. Cute enough book for children. New puppy helps get the old dog to go out of his routine.

[Dezi Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 10 year old boy LOVED this book! Said it's his new favorite book, and he reads a lot of books. Super cute story!

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beware this book will make you want to add some pets to your home and will make you want to make sure they are living their best lives as well! I thought that the characters and their antics were adorable. The story was a bit heart wrenching in parts to see how we sometimes “train” the joy out of things. This feels true for our human friends as well. Ultimately, there’s something for both adult readers and kid readers in this story. I immediately added it to a list of books I plan to buy my niece. It’s a good one to read aloud and enjoy together as a family or in the classroom.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Every night Cat asked, “How was your day, Doggo?” Every night Doggo said, “Same old, same old.” Then he would wink at the smiling moon and say, “Could have been worse.”

Premise/plot: Doggo and Pupper is an ADORABLE (heavily) illustrated chapter book for young readers. Doggo's life is turned upside down by the addition of a new puppy to the household. But over the course of several weeks (at least) the two come to be the best of friends.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I thought it was cute, adorable, sweet, fun, delightful. Yes, it is predictably all these things. The illustrations alone would make this a fun read (or read-aloud) for dog lovers (of all ages). I enjoyed everything about this one.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fully illustrated book is designed for kids who are moving beyond easy readers and preparing for chapter books. I anticipate that this will meet its target audience's needs, but I personally did not like it. The story goes nowhere, many of the pages feel like filler, and the dogs' behavior varies between reality and fantasy in inconsistent ways. At times, the dogs act like normal household pets, but they also behave in fantastical ways, walking on two legs or driving a car. The inconsistency and apparent randomness behind this bothered me, because it didn't seem like a coherent, thought-out story world.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doggo's life is hum drum, nothing new, just the same old same old, and he likes it that way. One day Pupper joins the family and Pupper is full of questions, energy, and mischief. Doggo finds Pupper bothersome and so does the family, and so Pupper is sent to charming school. When Pupper comes back all "proper", Doggo starts to miss the lil guy from before.

This is such a cute book, the pages are in full color and the personalities of the dogs are typical of an older dog and a little puppy. It's charming to see the two interact. Hand this to any dog lover and would be especially applicable to families with a new puppy.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an adult this book didn’t really capture me. I thought the illustrations were a bit sloppy, and often didn’t seem to match the text. But every kid I read this with (which was 20+ since I work in a preschool) giggled and clapped and asked for a reread. I’m assuming this is due partially to KA Applegate’s writing, which is has a nice rhythm to it, sometimes subtly rhyming words, sometimes repeating phrases or dialect for emphasis.

In shirt, a good read-aloud for younger kids, and an enjoyable, easy read for emerging readers.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers will enjoy this charming story about Doggo, an older dog who is satisfied with his life and predictable daily routine. However, Doggo’s friend Cat cautions him that the humans may have an idea to brighten his days. When an energetic new puppy named Pupper arrives we learn how Doggo deals with the changes to his life, their adventures and blossoming friendship. This is the first of an early reader series by author Katherine Applegate. This title is on the 2023 Monarch list.

Reviewed by: Liz Glazer, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doggo’s life keeps chugging on its familiar routine, until a new canine arrives. Like all new puppies, Pupper is over-exuberant and needs some direction. Lively illustrations really make this easy chapter book “sing to the stars!”

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and funny early chapter book! Kids that love dogs will enjoy it!

[Lupe · Rating 3 out of 5]

My younger readers will enjoy this new graphic novel series! It’s cute, fun, and age appropriate. I will definitely order a set of this series for my library collection.

[Vinnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Wanted to see if this is one we should have in my library

[Vellanorah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that Doggo and Pupper went on a trip. Also, my dog loved it so much he ate some of the pages.

[Nathan Meier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great story about staying curious.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doggo likes his life. He enjoys being the cook waker, nap taker, bug stalker, girl walkercrumb eater, mail greeter, and other things. Even when his people aren't around, Doggo has lots of things he enjoys doing such as cooking, drumming, dancing, etc. He's not as exciting as he used to be but he's content, at least that's what Cat says. When his humans bring home Pupper, Doggo is not pleased. Pupper changes everything and brings utter chaos. After attending puppy school, Pupper returns well-trained and well-behaved, but it's clear he isn't happy. Doggo sets out to change this and discovers that maybe he has some puppy left in him after all. Applegate's brief text is just perfect for young readers with the use of some great descriptive vocabulary. The bright colorful illustrations convey the delightful nature of Doggo, Pupper, and Cat. They also provide a good deal of humor as readers see the animals doing things that are distinctly NOT animal like (driving a car?!). Young readers are bound to have a load of fun as they follow along on Doggo and Pupper's adventures.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, technically we don't need yet another book by Applegate. Or another book about adding a lively youngster to a quiet household. But we didn't know this book was available! This is it! This is the one to read this year, whether or not you're a beginning reader or a fan of animal companions or a curmudgeon.... I'm utterly charmed and suspect you'll be glad you checked this out, too.
---
Reread in prep to read all three in one week. I'm still charmed.

[Abby Johnson]

Like, kids are going to want to read this book because of the words Doggo and Pupper in the title and the fact that it's a highly illustrated, cartoony book about dogs. But... it's a very slight story, not as funny as it should be, and for most of the book the dogs are relatively realistic (to outside appearances anyway), but then Doggo drives a car? Meh.

[Karen Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precious! What happens when an old Doggo has to contend with a new Pupper. Loved seeing Pupper go to "charm" school. Word choice expert Applegate never disappoints.

Adler's artistic interpretation is dead on delightful. Favorite illustration was the humans legs-only-from-a-dog perspective.

[Sammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.

Many thanks to Macmillan for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

My 10-year-old daughter reviewed this book for my blog, so I'll post her thoughts here.

The book is mostly about a dog named Doggo that doesn’t do a lot, and his owners bring a new puppy for him to spend time with. The puppy, Pupper, was always getting in trouble so the owners sent him off to charm school. The theme of this book would be that people that you don’t like to start with can become your friend.

I gave this book five stars because I really like dogs and the main characters were dogs. I also like books where animals can talk because they tell what the animal is feeling. At some parts this book was funny, and I really like funny books.

The main thing that I like about about Doggo is that he doesn’t really smile a lot because he probably has a boring life, but he always says that he likes his life the way it is. I also like that when the cat says, “How was your day?” he always says, “Same old, same old. It could have been worse.” The main thing that I like about Pupper is that he is always bugging Doggo and my dog is always bugging me. I also really like that he is always messing around and being silly.

Five things she enjoyed:

- Pupper was always messy and silly. I like that because that is what my dog is.
- It was funny at some parts and I like funny books.
- Every time that Pupper or his owner had an idea something bad happened.
- At first Doggo hated Pupper but at the end they became friends.
- Every time that the cat asked how Doggo’s day was, he said, “Same old, same old. It could have been worse.” He even said that after he went on a fun car ride with Pupper.

[Margaret]

As mentioned in a previous post, Early Reader Extravaganza, when we first learn to read our perceptions about our world change. We gobble up words to quench a hunger. It is a hunger to know, to understand, to explore, to travel to places real and imagined, to have sensory experiences, to laugh, to cry, to have our hearts warmed, broken and healed and to meet people like us and completely different from us. We feed this hunger as early readers by bonding with what we find within the pages of books; whether it is information satisfying our curiosity or characters and their situations that actively engage us.

For lovers of canines, two new early reader series supply loads of laughter and the antics of dogs living their best lives. Doggo And Pupper (Feiwel and Friends, March 23, 2021) and Doggo and Pupper Save The World (Feiwel and Friends, March 22, 2022) written by Katherine Applegate with illustrations by Charlie Alder take us into the home of an older dog living with a cat. Their humans decide to introduce another dog, a younger dog, into the family. The results are comedic to say the least.

My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[Sydney Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very cute book about a dog who is used to his daily routine. However, things get shaken up when his owners decide to get him a little puppy brother to try to bring excitement to Doggo's life. This is a great transitional text that is still very fun for young readers. It has seven chapters, but the pages are not too word-heavy and have great illustrations. I also liked how this book included dialogue within the illustrations to engage the readers. I think this book would be relatable for students who have a younger sibling, which can be an adjustment at first but ends up turning into a great friendship. I love the overall message of this book conveying that even though it may be easiest to stick to our routines and that routines can be beneficial, trying something new could end up changing your life for the better. I would use this book in my classroom as a classroom library book for students to check out and independently read for fun. I also like how there are multiple books featuring Doggo and Pupper which will encourage students who liked this book to read more.

[Jester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I am Pupper, but mostly I am Doggo… unfortunately…

I didn’t even know Katherine Applegate published short stories. I completely missed this when browsing her catalog.

I must be losing my mind because I did not see the sequels when I clicked Books by Katherine Applegate sorted by “original publication year.” (But the series shows up on the book’s info page.)

Anyways, I didn’t like this as much as I wanted to.

Puppy school must be intense; what did they do to Pupper (❤️‍🩹)?

Sometimes a dog needs a “therapy” dog to liven things up.

And there's nothing wrong with being playful, Pupper. Just don’t take it too far. Both characters learned to have a balance with this.

Note: Using new rating system starting 2025.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from MacMillan Children's Publishing Group.
Humorous early chapter book for elementary level readers. Doggo has settled into a rather humdrum routine. Cat is concerned that he never has fun anymore. His humans share the same worry so bring home Pupper to change up life. Unfortunately, the humans then send Puppo to school as they think he is too wild. When he gets back, he is a mirror image of Doggo. Doggo realizes they need fun so adds some back into their routine by shaking it up himself.
Simple to follow text for beginning readers. The illustrations offer readers a chance to see this environment and be part of it.

[Brooke - TheBrookeList · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it may have had the mildly tedious beginning of many easy readers, this was a darling doggy story that was entertaining, silly, funny, and even touching. Doggo's acceptance of life as just fine the way it is gets changed up by Pupper's youthful arrival. In efforts to tame Pupper's enthusiasm, they tame all the fun right out of him. Doggo finds a way to fix that and the two find a little balance. A couple enjoyable phrases repeated throughout tie it up neatly - "How was your day? Same old, same old. Could have been worse." Good reminder to have an exceptional day now and then.

Checked out at library and reviewed in consideration for Cybils Award Easy Reader shortlist for 2021.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doggo likes his life of same old same old, but the humans worry about him and decide to get a puppy to liven things up. Doggo mostly doesn't mind Pupper, but Pupper does need to learn some manners. But will manners school take all the fun out of Pupper?

This is a chapter book, but the chapters are very quick and short. The text is minimal and the graphic novel style pictures take center stage (with lots of humor, cute factor, and charm). Doggo and Pupper (and Cat) are fun to spend time with, and are sure to lure in readers who may be reluctant about trying a chapter book. I really appreciated the subtle humor and heart of the story. Highly recommended.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Every day was just like every other day.”

Doggo leads a predictable life: Cook waker, Nap taker, Bug stalker and Girl walker. Nothing much changes until the day the humans decide that Doggo needs some “zip and zing.” Enter Pupper, a puppy with all kinds of energy but not many manners. He definitely adds some zip to Doggo’s life, asking endless questions, acting silly and making messes. So the humans send Pupper to charm school. When he returns, Pupper is no longer a pest. But Doggo starts to miss the silliness of old Pupper and decides to help Pupper find it again.

Cute easy read.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doggo is getting older and life has gotten boring. Then his humans bring home a puppy, who makes things less boring. Then the humans send the puppy to “charm school” and he is perfectly behaved and just as boring as Doggo is. So Doggo takes him out to see the sights and have a little fun. There is also a cat. Very cute! A sentence or two per page, with full color illustrations. Eight short chapters. Feels like a graphic novel without word bubbles, if that makes sense. Definitely recommend to kids ready to move beyond readers.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute and clever easy reader for kids just easing in to chapter books. A young puppy teaches an old dog new tricks, with a bit of running commentary from their feline housemate. This book has a classic feel; aside from the currently trendy words "doggo" and "pupper," this book could have easily been written a generation or two ago. That means that this one will probably have a shelf life for a long time in the future, too.

[Bridget Neace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love and adore Katherine Applegate. My son enjoyed this more than me--he said he'd give it 4.5 stars (he also rates things highly, sweet boy!), but my daughter and I felt it was a 3-star rating.

Good book for kids who are transitioning into chapter books and I liked the illustrations. I think what kind of bothered me was how the animals behaved--mostly realistic, but then some seemingly random fantastical/unrealistic behavior--"pick a lane" as one might say.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dog and a cat (each stuck in their own ways) are surprised when their humans bring home a puppy! At first Pupper is energetic and annoying...but when he is trained at puppy class, he starts to resemble old Doggo. Doggo realizes that Pupper's youthful curiosity is really an asset, and finds ways to balance both of their personalities.

A cute beginning-to-read / early chapter book / graphic novel for children in elementary school (grades 2-4).