The Hallo-Wiener (Plus Freebie!)

Hello, there! Welcome to Wild About Books Wednesday! This is my favorite day of the week... except for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. haha.. If you're new around here, each Wednesday I talk about ways you can use a specific book in therapy. Sometimes, I share a book companion (love those!), a freebie, or a list of ideas! Please make sure you visit each Wednesday, because you never know what is in store for you! If you're a blogger, please consider joining this wild romp to share your own ideas! Just link back to me using the picture at the end of this post!

Today, I'm talking about The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey! I also have a cute freebie to share!

I'm pretty sure you've seen a student knee deep in a Captain Underpants book! I just love Dav Pilkey. I first became a fan of his books in my past life as an elementary teacher. I was student teaching in a third grade classroom and we spent a few days working with Dogzilla. It was so unique and Dav Pilkey has been on my radar ever since!

The Hallo-Wiener is a classic Halloween tale! It was written well before any of our students were born!

 

This sweet story is about a young dachshund named Oscar. He's different than the others dogs. He's short. He's long. Oscar is often a target at obedience school, as the other pups make fun of him. To make matters worse, his mother calls him "my little Vienna sausage" and buys him a hotdog costume for Halloween! Poor, Oscar. Parents just don't understand.

On Halloween night, everyone points and laughs. After the dogs tease him, they speed ahead and get all the candy, leaving none for Oscar to trick-or-treat. But then the tides turn! Oscar saves the day, after a duo of mischievous cats scare the other dogs beyond their wildest dreams. The other dogs stop calling him "wiener dog" and nickname him Hero Sandwich!

There are so many ways you can use this book in therapy:
1) Perspective Taking - How does Oscar feel when he is being teased? How does he feel when he becomes a hero?
2) Social Skills - Discuss ways to be a good friend! This book also lends itself well for teaching emotions. Oscar goes through a variety of emotions (sad, embarrassed, happy, etc).
3) Inferencing - There are many opportunities to engage students in inferential thinking! Who is under the monster costume? How does Oscar feel?
4) Sequencing: This book has a very clear series of events, which is great for students who are struggling with sequencing. I made a little freebie that you can use when working on this skill in your classroom or speech room!

 

Students can write a couple sentences about the beginning, middle, or end! Younger students can also draw pictures in the hot dogs! This activity would also be great to send home for homework! If you would like this freebie you can scoop it up by clicking HERE. Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite Halloween books? Please comment and let me know! 

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