Hot Dog

by Molly Coxe

Step 1 books entice early readers with rhyme, rhythm, and repetition. Poor Dog. He's awfully hot! But Mom won't share her lemonade. Cat won't share his shady spot on the porch. And Skunk's making a real stink about sharing his hollow log. What does a hot Dog have to do to get cool?

Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words. Rhymes and rhythmic text paired with picture clues help children decode the story. For children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Animals, Summer, Dogs, Fiction

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Matt]

Neo is a reading machine, having taken the reins on this piece all about a dog whose feeling the heat. As he travels around the area, he encounters others, both humans and animals, who have found ways not to be as hot. No matter what he does, no one wants to help... until he scores a helpful little girl with the perfect way to help during this hot dog into a cool canine! Neo is getting so good at his books, especially since he finds the rhyming words much easier to locate. I am seeing huge leaps every week and with such an interesting cross-section of books, we'll always be entertained.

[Books Ring Mah Bell]

5 stars, only because this is the first book my son read to me without me having to read it to him first!

(I'm having a proud mom moment. Please excuse me.)

It's a hot as hell day out on the farm and everyone is staying cool except for one hot dog! Will that poor bastard ever get any relief?

Have your kid read it to you and find out.

[Bhargavi Balachandran]

Good beginner reader. Funny and easy to sound out.

[Renee M]

Cute. Simply written with repetition and illustrations that relate directly to the text, which is perfect for emerging readers.

[sweet orange books]

On a very hot day, this poor dog is asking for help to cool down and no one is helping him, until finally someone helps him...

I understand the idea but it made me sad to see all those people and animals reject this poor baby dog. I don't like the concept, and it wouldn't feel right to me to read it to a kid.

Read and reviewed: 2018-08-12

[Jayme]

Ethan's first book that he was able to read by himself. Simple words with picture cues. He really enjoyed it. Silly dog!

[Annie Bates]

This is a very simple book about a dog, a dachshund, trying to stay cool in the summer heat. It follows the pattern of saying the dog is hot, then saying that whatever it is the dog is looking at is not hot, so therefore the dog tries to join the other person or animal, but it never works out for him. He is chased by a cat, and sat on by a pig, among other things. Finally, he is able to join a girl in her pool and becomes a chilly dog.

This was the book I earned to read on as a kid. I enjoyed it then, and still do now. It would be helpful for beginner readers, as there are only three words per page, the font is large, and the pictures can help if the reader is struggling.

[Sarah Alamer]

We're so proud of you for reading "Hot Dog"! What a fun story about a clever puppy who got too hot and found smart ways to cool down. You learned that when we have a problem, we can think of different solutions until we find one that works! Just like the puppy tried many things, you can try different ways too when something is hard. Maybe when you feel frustrated with homework or a puzzle, you can remember to keep trying new ideas like the hot dog did. You're becoming such a wonderful reader, sweetheart!

[Read Ribbet]

This was a Little Free Library find. Molly Coxe has created a fun Level One Step into Reading book. With minimal text and a patterned style, a hot dog looks to his friend for ways to get cool. he finally finds a solution when he finds a girl with a pool. Young readers will enjoy this easily accessible book.

[J.]

It’s hard to find actual books at level C. I wish I came across this one a few months ago. My daughter is reading closer to G-I now. She still enjoyed this quick read though. Perfect book for the early reader.

[J.P. Sirro]

The dog is hot and this book is great for a preschooler. With 2-3 word sentences this level 1 reader is ideal for any kid ready to start reading his first book.

Dog cannot get cool and looking for any one of his friends to help keep him cool.

[Joan]

This is a good step 1 learn to read children’s book. Words are all short and repetitive to make it helpful for new readers. I was not real fond of the drawings/illustrations. They could have been cuter I think.

[Sam Dawson]

Hot dog is a book about a hot dog whose trying to get cool! Very unique book with great pictures.

[Kld2003]

My granddaughter read this to me. She liked this simple story a lot. It has rhyming words and is easy to read for a beginning reader.

[Cam]

Cute book.... great for beginner readers. You will find a lot of kindergarten words in the book.

[Rosa Cline]

Nice level one beginning reader book. Short three words sentences with repetitive words. A dog is hot and tries very hard to find a way to cool off like all his friends

[Tessie]

It's a really good book for kids. I like how the girl treats the dog at the end. I read this book to my dogs Millie and Annabelle all the time.

[Anneke Alnatour]

So my kid ain't a great reader... He is trying though, and a book like this one keeps him going!

We're getting there....

[Kurt Fox]

An easy read. Fun for kids.

[Rick Christiansen]

Fun pre-k to kinder book

[makenna ✿]

this was one of the first books i’ve ever read, and it is one of my favorite memories, especially since it was my best friend, my mom who taught me how to do my favorite thing, reading

[Greg S]

Very simple. Three words per page.

My five-year-old and I liked it.

He could follow the words and I could quiz him on some letter sounds.

[Linda Neptune]

It is very hard to find Beginning Readers that are actually decodable. This one is a good one. PS the uncaring characters to the dog can just be used for SEL comprehension discussion.

[Rebecca]

Great book for that delicate reading age where they sound out simple words but it still takes time. Kids frequently get frustrated quickly, so they need a short book with easy words. At the same time, it's easy to flip on plot. Although nothing stellar, dog is cute and I feel his pain. The charm was not lost on my 5 year old, who was able to read the whole book on his own without losing interest.

[Patti]

Both my sons have enjoyed reading this book. It was one of the first books each was able to read alone.

[Marlene]

This is a level one reader that my children have consistently enjoyed. It's humorous, yet simple. My three-year-old, who I have not yet encouraged to read anything other than letters, has decided on her own to learn to read this one, and she's doing a great job.

The poor dog is hot and nobody will share their methods for staying cool with him. "Dog is hot. Mom is not. Go play, dog!" This book is one of my personal favorites of our level one readers. (We have around 100, I'd guess.) There's also a nice opportunity for discussion. "Why is Mom not hot?"

Happy reading!

[Juanita]

Good

Great really good graphics good Great really good graphics good Great really good graphics good Great really good graphics good Great really good graphics good Great really good graphics good Great really good graphics good game good fun to use

[Kristin]

On a very hot summer day, Dog makes many attempts to get cool with people and animals around him but he finds he cannot cool off like everyone else.
This lesson was a complete flop. The book is a very easy read and thus it is light on content so I had trouble coming up with things to teach. This was also in my text-specific stage so most of what I did with the students was boring and text-based. Not sure how I would change it for next time but I do like the book for emergent readers.

[Christina]

We had to pay full price for this book when my toddler spied it on the store shelf. We hardly ever pay full price but the cover was so enticing and we can hardy tell him no when it comes to reading.

I am not sorry we spent so much. The illustrations continue to be excellent on the inside and my son can actually read this, unlike some level one books which tend to be way too difficult. He just gets the biggest grin on the last page.

I advise you to give this one a try.

[Bailey Scales]

This book was so cute! This book is perfect for new readers. The book included opposites words, repetition, fun rhymes, and picture clues. Any preschooler or kindergartner would enjoy reading this silly book and would be able to sound out each word. Each page consisted of three words with large pictures. I would have all of my beginner readers this on their own. There were no real characters or plot but easy words.