“Dogzilla” by Dav Pilkey

Theme 3

Meet the Author and Illustrator

Even before he was old enough to go to school,

Dav Pilkey loved drawing. Today, he writes and

illustrates his own booksand draws pictures for other authors’ books.

He says, “I feel really lucky to be able to make a living doing my favorite

things”.

(from www.eduplace.com)

Genre: Fantasy

• A fantasy is a type of incredible story.

• Something that is incredible is amazing, unbelievable, or not likely to happen.

• This story places ordinary characters in a traditional monster-movie plot.

Summary

• The dreadful Dogzilla destroys the streets of Mousopolis, ruining the city’s cook-off. Brave mice attack, but Dogzilla’s terrible doggy breath defeats them. Finally, the mice come up with a better plan-BATH TIME! Dogzilla flees, and Mousoplois is saved, at least until next year.

Background Information

This story is a “spoof”, or a silly take-off, of the monster movie Godzilla. If you would like to find out more about Godzilla, click on the monster below!

Key Concept

Movie Monsters

Key Vocabulary

• colossal• creature• heroic• horrifying• monstrous• terrifying• tremendous

colossal

very big; enormous

creature

a living being, especially an animal

heroic

very brave or daring

horrifying

causing much fear

monstrous

extremely large; enormous

terrifying

causing much fear

tremendous

very great, large, or powerful

GUESS THE COVERED WORD

American soldiers are heroic men and women that fight for

our freedom.

American soldiers are heroic men and women that

fight for our freedom.

The scary movie was horrifying to

watch.

The scary movie was horrifying to

watch.

The volcano erupted a

tremendous amount of lava.

The volcano erupted a

tremendous amount of lava.

The skyscrapers in New York are

colossal.

The skyscrapers in New York are

colossal.

The brown creature was crawling up my

arm.

The brown creature was crawling up my

arm.

The monstrous giant defeated the

mouse.

The monstrous giant defeated the

mouse.

The dog was terrifying the little

girl.

The dog was terrifying the little

girl.

Strategy Focus: Evaluate

• When we evaluate, we form an opinion about we see and/or read.

• The author calls this story “extremely goofy”. Do you agree with him?

• Evaluate how well he uses the words and pictures to make you feel this way.

Strategy Focus: Evaluate

Tell a partner how the picture on the title page makes you feel.

Let’s try it!

Tell a partner how you feel about the title of this story.

~or~

Comprehension Skill Focus: Fantasy/Realsim

• We have defined fantasy as incredible, not real, and unbelievable.

• As we read “Dogzilla”, we find examples of things that are fantasy (not real) and some things that are real and could really happen in life.