What My Kid is Reading- Dogopotamus

Dogopotamus: The Most Awesomest Pet Ever. Maybe.
Written by Michael Andrew Fox
Illustrated by Ed Shems (that's me!)
Age range: 7-10
Released: November 28, 2012

What's this book about?
A boy named Coby wants a pet, but he doesn't want a normal pet like a dog or a cat, he wants something bigger like a hippo but his mom says no (for obvious reasons). So Coby wonders: "What would happen if I combined a hippo with a dog?"

So I'll bet that doesn't work out too well, right?
Well, what do YOU think would happen if you mixed an energetic dog with an animal the size of a tank?!

So there must be a lot of mayhem!
This is worse than a tornado!
This is worse than an earthquake!
This is worse than dropping your iphone in the bathtub!

Is the book illustrated (as if I don't know)?
Yes, it is and it has some AMAZING illustrations! I especially love the cover because I love the Dogopotamus running around in the middle of the street while everyone is staring at him! 

Do the illustrations inside the book help tell the story?
Yeah! And they do it very well. I love how sometimes there are different textures to the artwork.

Why did you decide to read this book?
Duh. Because my dad illustrated it. And I could tell something hilarious was gonna happen. Especially from pages 28 and 29- you'll see what happens!

How many times have you read Dogopotamus?
I have no idea but it's at least eight times because I like the book AND because it was illustrated by my dad.

Who would you recommend this book to?
Anyone who wants a pet but their parents say no. Also anyone who likes to be creative because Coby was very creative when designing Dogopotomus.

How would you rate this book?
4.3 stars (out of 5)

Thanks Leo!

Buy this book from Amazon

More book reviews from Leo

Pandarantula

The author of Dogopotamus and Hamstigator wrote a new Halloween short story about the main character of his book series and asked me to create an illustration for it. I'm in the middle of illustrating his next book, Elephitten but when I heard the title of the story I couldn't say no.

So here's Pandarantula.
(And check out the story HERE on the Petimals website.)

You can pick up Dogopotamus and Hamstigator on Amazon.

Below is my original sketch. While I was doing it, my 9 year old drew his own version of Pandarantula (with a sword) and it came out great! I'm going to have some competition soon!

New Dogopotamus Edition

A new edition of the first Petimals book, Dogopotamus: The Most Awesomest Pet Ever. Maybe. is coming out soon with a new chapter added. I've been working on the illustrations for the chapter and here's a sneak peek at part of one of them.

My New Book- Dogopotamus

Resting after chasing a squirrel around the neighborhood.

I'm going to be visiting a local elementary school soon to talk about my new book Dogopotamus: The Most Awesomest Pet Ever. Maybe. and I thought I'd post a few more images from the book.

Petimals is a series of books written by Michael Andrew Fox wherein the main character is on a quest to find the perfect unique pet. In Dogopotamus, as you must have guessed by now, he chooses to meld a dog with a hippopotamus and, naturally, all heck breaks loose. Of course a lot of fun ensues as well, but suffice to say the neighborhood squirrels will not be climbing any trees anywhere near Coby's yard for years to come.

Below are some images from the book.

I also posted more works in progress at Behance where you can watch as the illustrations go from thumbnail sketch to slightly more refined sketch all the way through to the finished piece. 

You can see those works in progress here.

The book is available on Amazon here. It's a really fun read!

Coby tells his mom what kind of pet he wants and his brother's turtles quickly retreat into their shells.

Dogopotamuses should not be taking the stairs.

Coby draws his vision for the perfect pet.

Thanks for looking!

Riding Dogopotamus

I'm illustrating a book called Dogopotamus about a boy who dreams of what he imagines to be (and later realizes is NOT) the perfect non-traditional pet.

The image above occurs just before Dogo spots a squirrel and mayhem ensues.

I've been posting this as a work in progress on Behance where you can follow along to see the steps I go through to get from sketch to finish.

Click the above image to see my work in progress and please leave a comment!

To learn more about this book which is part of a series called Petimals, you can go to the Petimals website.

Update: The book is now available at Amazon.com. It's a fun read!