The Hallo-Wiener
Written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey
Oscar the dachshund is constantly teased by his peers for the way he looks. On Halloween, Oscar dreams of having a scary costume to fit in with the other dogs. However, when he gets home from school, his sweet mother has a surprise for him: an embarrassing hot dog bun costume! Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Oscar thanks his mother and wears the costume out trick-or-treating. The other dogs howl with laughter as Oscar struggles to keep up with them, but his bun slows him down. The other dogs race ahead and get all of the candy before Oscar. Suddenly, a terrifying monster comes out of nowhere and scares all of the dogs into a pond. Oscar runs to the rescue, and reveals that the scary monster is nothing more than a couple of cats in a costume. The dogs are grateful for Oscar's help, and they give him all of their candy and promise never to make fun of him again.
This book is absolutely one of my favorites. It could be used in first or second grade for a variety of lessons, including self-image (how does Oscar view himself?), emotions (how does Oscar feel when the other dogs make fun of him?), bullying (how the other dogs treat Oscar), and character traits (how the other dogs treat Oscar and how he responds), to name just a few. The Hallo-Wiener is a great Halloween read-aloud!
