Meet the author

Dennis Messner.

Writer & illustrator · United States

Dennis Messner: American author-illustrator of The Unpetables, a fast, silly diary-and-comics series about two runaway petting-zoo pals, built for reluctant readers aged 9 to 12.

Dennis Messner is an American author-illustrator whose debut middle-grade series, The Unpetables, follows Pigmund the pig and Lizardo the iguana as they break out of a petting zoo to become freelance pets with one rule: no more petting. Told in a giddy mix of paper-plate diary entries and fast black-and-white comics, the books carry a retro comic-strip sensibility and a joke on nearly every page, landing squarely with fans of Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and InvestiGators. Beneath the gags sits a genuinely warm story about friendship and freedom. A former storyboard and animation artist, Messner writes and draws with the reluctant reader firmly in mind, for ages 9 to 12.