This is a cute Halloween read- aloud, perfect for students K-3. My third grade class laughed out loud. ( )

Honestly, I find dachshunds so funny, it really doesn't matter what they do in the story. That said, this is a very sweet tale about a little dog that saves the day, despite everyone laughing at him for wearing the ridiculous costume his mom picked out for him.

All the other dogs make fun of Oscar the dachshund until one Halloween when, dressed as a hot dog, Oscar bravely rescues the others.

Oscar the dachshund is unhappy with his short but long body in this humorous Halloween tale from Dav Pilkey, creator of such childhood classics as Captain Underpants. Ridiculed by the other dogs at obedience school, Oscar is looking forward to creating a really frightening costume for trick-or-treating. Unfortunately his mother has other ideas, and he ends up with cumbersome hot-dog outfit that prevents him from keeping up with his peers on the big night. Is Halloween ruined? As it turns out, being a giant hot dog comes in handy when a 'monster' unexpectedly attacks the trick-or-treating dogs...

I enjoyed The Hallo-Wiener, which is told with Dav Pilkey's trademark sense of humor. There were a number of particularly amusing moments in the text - Oscar's mother calling him her "little Vienna sausage," Oscar showing up in his costume looking "quite frank" - but also some heartwarming ones, as when our canine hero accepts his costume despite disliking it, because he doesn't want to hurt his mother's feelings. The accompanying artwork is colorful and appealing, accentuating the wacky humor of the story. Recommended to Dav Pilkey fans, and to anyone looking for children's stories about Halloween and/or about accepting ourselves for who we are. ( )

I didn't have a very high going-in opinion of this book based on the name and the author (who is responsible for the bane that is Captain Underpants) but it ended up being very cute, and a fun non-spooky Halloween book. ( )

37 months - the first time through this is humorous but I'm quite certain it will get old. Lots of hot dog related jokes. Not my favorite illustration style. O enjoyed it but I think it's not scary enough for her... Or missing some element as she didn't seem too eager to read it again. ( )

Every dog in the town made fun of the wiener dog, especially on Halloween when he dressed as a hotdog. Then he took down a monster for them and they all shared them candy with him. After that no one ever made fun of himp ( )

This book is about a wiener dog who gets teased. It was Halloween and his mom go him a costume but all the other dogs made fun of him. He was unlucky at getting any candy and was very sad, but the other dogs were attacked by a monster and Oscar the wiener dog saved the day. The illustrations in this book are bright colored and very enjoyable. In this book the dog is a hero at the end even if he was mad at the other dogs. ( )

All the other dogs make fun of Oscar because he is short and long. They taunt and tease him with names like Wiener Dog and then leave him behind. On Halloween night Oscar dreams of wearing a scary costume. To his dismay his mom surprises him with a silly one. Being a good little dog, he wears it anyway and is soon left behind again. When Oscar finally catches up with his friends, he discovers a monster has frightened them. Can little Oscar save them before it's too late?

The Bottom Line: This is a sweet little tale about friendship and bravery told for the Halloween season. Colorful illustrations, plentiful puns, and a happy ending will appeal to kids in grades K - 2. Recommended for storytime reading.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

This was a fun fairy tale to read. I would read it to my students when we talked about courage and being successful regardless of your circumstances. Besides the title being a little goofy, I thought this was a good book!

The Hallo-Wiener
“The Hallo-Wiener” by Dav Pilkey is a holiday book about Halloween. “There once was a dog named Oscar who was half-a-dog tall and one-and-a-half dogs long”. This is an example of the descriptive language that the book begins with. Immediately the reader has a mental vision of Oscar; however, the illustrations are also descriptive by showing what the text is saying. This book does a great job combing descriptive language with descriptive illustrations. For example, When Oscar’s Mom gets him his Halloween costume and he doesn’t like it, “Oscar did not want to hurt his mother’s feelings, so he decided to wear the silly costume” is the written text and above the text is a picture of Oscar licking his Mom and looking sad and upset. This book pushes readers to think about tough issues. Although Oscar is small, he discovers he is able to see things that his friends cannot. When the monster scares his friends into the pond, he is able to see it was “a couple of ornery cats”. Oscar rescues the other dogs and they realize that just because he is small doesn’t mean he doesn’t isn’t special. The big idea of this story is to show that everyone is special, even when they are different. ( )

I really enjoyed reading this book with my 5-year-old. It's got a great message--even though the main character is often picked on by his peers, he still turns around and is a friend to them.

I love that his first name is Oscar. Makes me wonder if his second name is M-A-Y-E-R. Too funny!!! ( )

This Halloween story was surprisingly delightful! Fun how the dachshund saved the day (or night) at the lake because he had a different perspective on things, and saw the monster for what it was. Cute! ( )

One of my favorite Halloween read alouds. ( )

Adorable story about a weiner pup and his friends. The pup isn't so excited about his Halloween costume but it ends up saving the day in the end! ( )

Cute little book. Typical moral of "acceptance." I enjoyed the pictures and think little kids would probably like this story. ( )

Although this is a holiday book, it does more than get kids in the spirit for Halloween. I found this book very humorous and enlightening. I think it is important to choose books with a message when sharing. Bullying and friendship are the central themes throughout, which are the problems among children today. A gang of dogs pick on and tease Oscar, the dachshund, for the way he looks, and then for his costume. However, the saying "what goes around, comes around" applies to the events in this book. This is because, the cats prank the gang of dogs. Oscar, because of his short legs that the gang once teased him about, could see something the others could not. This observation allowed him to rescue his friends from the prank of the cats. His friends realized that everyone looks different and is special in their own way. They thanked Oscar for his bravery and never teased him again. ( )

Fun story about a little weiner dog that is picked on by all the big dogs in the neighborhood.

Wiener humor. It's never out of style. ( )

Merideth says: A good book for storytimes with bright pictures and a happy ending. ( )

I'm going to use this to teach pun. It's hilarious! ( )

Oscar is looking forward to Halloween and he is not paying attention to his friend’s jokes toward him. When he comes to his house, he sees that his mother has a surprise for him. It is a Halloween costume, but it is not what Oscar likes. If he wears a hot dog bun costume, his friends will make even more fun of him, but he wears it anyway to make his mother happy. Oscar’s friends make fun of Oscar just as he thought. Oscar is having a terrible time at Halloween. While they all are walking their homes, a scarecrow in the graveyard scares them. They all fell down the lake from a fear, except Oscar. Because he is so close to the ground, he sees the cat under the scarecrow costume. He chases the cat away, saves his friends, he uses his costume as a float to ride in the lake, and becomes a hero. After Halloween night no one ever tease him again. ( )

This is a good example of a fantasy book. The wiener dog in this book is different than all of his friends and gets made fun of but in the end he saves the day. The animals are personified but the story is very believeable. The story tells truths about being differen that children may not understand unless its told in an imaginary story. The plot in this story is person verses person. In this case the wiener dog Oscar is against all his friends. They make fun of him for being different and for his costume but in the end they are thankful for his differences because he ends up saving the day. I would use this book in an upper primary or lower intermediate classroom. The type of media used is Ink and Wash because ink is used to create the drawing and then watercolor is used to fill in the pictures.

It doesn't matter how many children I read this to, it always cracks me up. I mean, when you read about a dachshund named Oscar, you know you're on a roll...hey, was that a pun? This story has lots of wordplay. It's a Halloween tale, or is that tail, about a well-loved dachshund kid whose mother dresses him up in a costume that gets him ridiculed by the other dog kids. His trick-or-treat adventures will have you howling with laughter and in the end everybody including poor Oscar likes his silly costume. The cartoon-like illustrations are clever and subtle so make sure you and your youngsters take time to enjoy them and please check out the classroom scene...it's a scream. This book is so much fun with its bright colors and zany text I just can't help but love it. ( )

Oscar is a dachshund and all the other dogs make fun of him for being short. On Halloween he takes more mockery than ever for his hot-dog costume, but one brave incident changes the way the other dogs view him. ( )