Highlights from Dav Pilkey's Dog Man Do Good Tour

Emily Morrow  //  Oct 3, 2019

Highlights from Dav Pilkey's Dog Man Do Good Tour

This fall, Dog Man creator Dav Pilkey is hitting the road on his global “Do Good Tour,” and we’re thrilled to share some highlights from the events! 

The “Do Good Tour” is bringing together kids, families, and educators to highlight the many ways books inspire, and how each individual can help others make a positive difference wherever they are. Hosted by bookstores and key community partners, all of the events have a “do good” component to support non-profit literacy organizations, local charities, military families, schools, and libraries in underserved areas.

The tour kicked off in Jackson, Mississippi, where Dav spoke with nearly 5,000 public school students!

He then served as the featured “kidnote” author at the Mississippi Book Festival — check out this fantastic crowd! 

 

He met tons of amazing people, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor!

 
 
 
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Mississippi Book Festival #mississippibookfestival #davpilkey #readingisawesome #dogmanbooks #captainunderpants #davpilkey

A post shared by Ana (@ana_gon2a1ez) on Aug 17, 2019 at 10:14am PDT

 
 
 
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Then it was off to St. Louis, where Dav spoke to a sold out crowd of more than 5,000 fans at Chaifetz Arena about positivity, practice, and persistence!

 
 
 
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" target="_blank"> Margaret Hassenstab (@mbhdance) on Aug 18, 2019 at 6:25pm PDT
 
 
 
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Next, it was off to Short Hills, NJ, for an event at Indigo Bookstore!

Thread: Today, I took my #ausome boy to meet #DavPilkey. Staff at the bookstore took the photos, and as this one was being taken, I started to tear up. What brought me to tears? These were the books that my boy could read and enjoy on his own for the first time. pic.twitter.com/QeoqpJSPep

— Oona Marie Abrams (@oonziela) September 15, 2019

Next stop? Texas! Dav spoke to a sold out crowd of more than 3,000 fans!

Read about one librarian and mom's experience at the event here! She described the event as, “…inspiring and rewarding and comforting and meaningful…Because Dav Pilkey was willing to share his truth with these kids, a lot of kids got exactly what they needed to live their lives with a little more hope and belief in themselves. Dav Pilkey is now one of my favorite people, to be honest. I saw first hand what he meant to these kids and it was powerful and transformative.”

The bookstore created a "Do Good" wall where attendees were invited to share how they will do good!

 

Then it was off to Dav's home state of Ohio for the Cartoon Crossroads Convention! Bone creator Jeff Smith introduced Dav on stage

Check out all these excited kids!

The next stop was Minnesota for a sold-out event hosted by Red Balloon Bookshop

Next, Dav went to Washington, DC for the “National Book Festival Presents Dav Pilkey” events hosted by the Library of Congress.

 
 
 
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We spent a memorable night at the @librarycongress for the #dogman #dogood Campaign. . At a night when reading was celebrated, my family was most honored to hear Dav Pilkey’s inspiring story. What struck me is how genuine and kind #davpilkey was in everything he did throughout the night. He is a great ambassador for the love of reading. . The US tour dates for this campaign are sold out, but hopefully Dav and @scholasticinc will plan more campaigns like this in the future! . And we are still in awe of the gorgeous @librarycongress . It was beyond breathtaking...plus it has ongoing #familyfriendly exhibits. Currently, the library is showing Comic Art, with everything from @snoopygrams to @superman ! . It would be safe to say that if you plan to @visitwashingtondc , going to this hidden gem right by the @uscapitol and US Supreme Court buildings would be a trip highlight! . This night was part of the #nationalbookfestival Presents series. Throughout the night, special activities were planned for this particular venue including a performance from #dogmanthemusical featuring the original Off-Broadway NYC cast! . Be sure to check out my stories! Believe it or not there are a lot more things to share from this amazing night! . Is there an author that your kids would love to meet? . . . . . . #stadiumswithmysons #libraryofcongress #visitdc #mydccool #districtofcolumbia #captainunderpants #readinggivesyousuperpowers #scholastic #bookjoy #raiseareader #americanlibraryassociation #somanybookssolittletime #politicsandprose #downtowndc #igdc #familytravelblog #unitedstories #_iloveusa #trekarooing #gowithnugget #visittheusa

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Guess who made a special appearance at the Library of Congress? The original cast from Dog Man: The Musical! Such a great performance enjoyed by all.

And Dav was even treated to a special exhibition of original artwork of Peanuts by Charles Schulz (Dav’s childhood hero) curated especially for the event!

Next stop: Dav went to North Carolina for a school event in Fort Bragg.

The Fayetteville Observer ran a story saying “Positivity, practice and persistence are the message that an award-winning author shared with Fort Bragg students this month.”

 

Then it was off to California to visit more sold-out events where Dav appeared to crowds thousands who came to hear his message about the importance of doing good!

 
 
 
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Last night we had the opportunity to meet children’s author, Dav Pilkey. Through his books such as “Dog Man”and “Captain Underpants” is how my son found his love for reading. It was quite an experience listening to him speak about his own childhood struggles with school, dyslexia, and adhd. The stories Dav told mimicked some of the same struggles my son has dealt with over the years. My son lit up when Dave talked about having his desk moved into the middle of the classroom separated from the rest of the kids, since that happened to him too! . Dav is such an great role model for kids with learning differences to look up to. I especially loved his message of how to take a bad or difficult situation and ask yourself “how can I turn this into something good”. Now, if these messages actually sunk in to my kid’s heads is yet to be determined. But a mother can hope right?! #momlife #davpilkey #dyslexiaawareness . . . . . #dyslexia #dyslexic #adhdawareness #dogman #bayareamom #momoftwokids #momofboth #momlifebestlife #realmomlife #realmom #momliferocks #stayingblonde #learningdifferences #readingismysuperpower #motherhoodunfiltered #motherhoodunplugged #captainunderpants #lovingtoread

A post shared by Michelle Tucker (@stayingblonde) on Oct 25, 2019 at 11:27am PDT

 

The final U.S. event featured Dav’s “supa buddies,” Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, and Gale Galligan, who adapted The Babysitters Club graphic novels! Together they inspired readers to pursue their creative dreams.

 
 
 
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#sundayfunday So fun to go to the #DavPilkey #Dogman #DoGoodTour. Love how he shares how he turned around the struggle and negativity of being diagnosed with #ADHD and #dyslexia (and being poorly treated by his elementary school teachers) into The #CaptainUnderpants series. Special guests #DanSantat (author and illustrator of Beekle) and #GaleGalligan (graphic novel illustrator of the newly updated series of The Babysitters Club). They showed their drawings from a young age and talked about how reading and drawing were their passions growing up and they all drew pictures on stage. So fun! Thank you for an inspiring day! Pilkey’s message of his 3 P’s applies to everyone! #positivity #practice #persistence #beasuppabuddy #familytime #mommySLP #specialeducator

A post shared by Wendy Gabagat (@wgabspeakingofizz) on Oct 27, 2019 at 8:03pm PDT

 

This culminates the U.S. stops of the tour. Next stops in Shanghai, Singapore, and Mumbai!

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