The Hallo-Wiener

by Dav Pilkey (Author)

The Hallo-Wiener
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
From the creator of Captain Underpants comes a funny tale of a little dog with a big bullying problem. Oscar is short, like all dachshunds, and other dogs make fun of him. On Halloween he takes more ridicule in his hot-dog costume, but one brave act makes him a Grade-A hero. Full color.
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Oscar (last name: Myers) is a sweet, sensitive dachshund who is troubled by his unique appearance (``half-a-dog tall and one- and-a-half dogs long''). He looks like a hot dog and his friends never let him forget it, until Oscar's unusual physique saves the day. Raising this story above clichÇ and bringing it poignancy is Oscar's goodness, which shines almost perpetually. When his mother makes a Halloween costume in the shape of a frankfurter, he bravely wears it even though he knows it means ridicule. He doesn't give up on his friends; in fact, this nice guy finishes first. In paintings steeped in autumn colors, puns abound and so do loony visual jokes, but the telling is simple, comical, and fast. Pilkey (Kat Kong, 1993, etc.) demonstrates his kinship to both Rosemary Wells and James Marshall with a book that has moments of high comedy, lowbrow humor, and good old-fashioned heroics. (Picture book. 4-7)

Copyright 1995 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Review quotes

Praise for The Hallo-wiener

"This may be the funniest Halloween story ever written, and it's definitely got the most lovable hero." — School Library Journal, starred review

"Canine pun-o-rama." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
Dav Pilkey

When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories. He spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books -- the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants.

In college, Dav met a teacher who encouraged him to illustrate and write. He won a national competition in 1986 and the prize was the publication of his first book, World War Won. He made many other books before being awarded the 1998 California Young Reader Medal for Dog Breath, which was published in 1994, and in 1997 he won the Caldecott Honor for The Paperboy.

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, published in 2002, was the first complete graphic novel spin-off from the Captain Underpants series and appeared at #6 on the USA Today bestseller list for all books, both adult and children's, and was also a New York Times bestseller. It was followed by Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers, also a USA Today bestseller. The unconventional style of these graphic novels is intended to encourage uninhibited creativity in kids.

His stories are semi-autobiographical and explore universal themes that celebrate friendship, tolerance, and the triumph of the good-hearted.

Dav loves to kayak in the Pacific Northwest with his wife.


When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories. He spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books -- the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants.

In college, Dav met a teacher who encouraged him to illustrate and write. He won a national competition in 1986 and the prize was the publication of his first book, World War Won. He made many other books before being awarded the 1998 California Young Reader Medal for Dog Breath, which was published in 1994, and in 1997 he won the Caldecott Honor for The Paperboy.

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, published in 2002, was the first complete graphic novel spin-off from the Captain Underpants series and appeared at #6 on the USA Today bestseller list for all books, both adult and children's, and was also a New York Times bestseller. It was followed by Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers, also a USA Today bestseller. The unconventional style of these graphic novels is intended to encourage uninhibited creativity in kids.

His stories are semi-autobiographical and explore universal themes that celebrate friendship, tolerance, and the triumph of the good-hearted.

Dav loves to kayak in the Pacific Northwest with his wife.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780545661362
Lexile Measure
580
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Scholastic Inc.
Publication date
June 24, 2014
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002070 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dogs
JUV017030 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Halloween
JUV052000 - Juvenile Fiction | Monsters
Library of Congress categories
-

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