PPBF – Hot Dog

As we head into Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer for many of us, and as temperatures in many regions soar, I found a classic Perfect Picture Book to help cool down.

Title: Hot Dog

Written & Illustrated By: Doug Salati

Publisher/Date: Alfred A. Knopf/2022

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: dogs, summer heat, beach, stress relief

Opening:

City summer

steamy sidewalks

concrete crumbles

sirens screech

so hot!

Brief Synopsis: When summer heat overwhelms a dachshund in the city, it refuses to move until its owner takes it to the beach.

Links to Resources:

• Head to the beach, preferably with your favorite pup (but check first to determine if the beach is dog-friendly);
• Build a sandcastle or rock sculpture on the beach;
• Enjoy some activities and tips to keep kids cool during heat waves;
• Watch Salati’s video introduction to Hot Dog.

Why I Like this Book:

With limited text and expressive illustrations, Salati enables readers to take an armchair journey to the beach with one happy dog and its owner. Even if they don’t live in a city, kids and their caregivers will understand how the noise, congestion, and heat of a hot summer day can be “too much”.

Anyone who has experienced a child melting down mid-crosswalk (or, for many of us, in the checkout line of a grocery store) will relate to the poor owner’s predicament when her hot dog refuses to continue crossing the steamy street. But thankfully that owner understands her poor pooch. With a one-word cry, “TAXI!”, they’re off on the adventure that comprises the bulk of Hot Dog.

Salati’s motion-filled illustrations help readers to experience the “salty breeze” as owner and pup ride a ferry to a seaside town. After a stroll on a boardwalk through grasslands, the pair arrive at a beach. Wordless spreads show pup released from its leash, cooling down, and cavorting on the beach, as the owner relaxes nearby.

I especially loved the spread showing the owner sitting barefooted in the sand as she releases the pup from its leash. To me, this letting go of worries and frustrations is a lesson that benefits all of us. That this scene occurs at ocean’s edge following a walk through nature is a reminder of the power of nature to refresh – whether we’re a human or a dog.

 Hot Dog is a great addition to any dog-loving child’s library, but I think even those who don’t own a pet or who can’t or haven’t traveled to a beach will enjoy this gorgeous picture book.

A Note about Craft:

A mixture of full-spread illustrations and graphic-novel like panes, much of Hot Dog’s story takes place only in the detail-filled illustrations, with short, staccato phrases engaging other senses. It’s no wonder that Salati won the Cadlecott Medal for Hot Dog.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!