Cosmoe's Wiener Getaway

Galactic Hot Dogs #1

by Max Brallier, Rachel Maguire (Illustrations)

"Galactic Hot Dogs is an insanely entertaining, eye-popping adventure!" ---Lincoln Peirce, bestselling author of the Big Nate series

Meet Cosmoe, the Earth-Boy. He's captain of the Neon Wiener, the finest flying food truck in the galaxy. Along with his bud, Big Humphree, he spends his days cruising the cosmos and staying crazy busy...

1. Cooking up a Mega-Dog. (Dude, this hot dog is the size of a jeep!)

2. Escaping mutant worm monsters, zombie space pirates, and grumpy robots. (What the butt?!)

3. Playing Super Moon Ninja Death Jab (Turbo Ear Slap! 9,000 points!!)

4. And... PROTECTING THE GALAXY from the Ultimate Evil. (He's kind of an awesome space guy.)

Genres: Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Chapter Books

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2015

About the author

Max Brallier is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His books and series include The Last Kids on Earth, Eerie Elementary, Mister Shivers, Galactic Hot Dogs, and Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? He is a writer and producer for Netflix's Emmy-award-winning adaptation of The Last Kids on Earth. Max lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. Visit him at MaxBrallier.com.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy, wacky, frantic, hilarious, and fun! This is going to be a great new series, and I look forward to talking it up when it comes out next month. (And I'm not saying that because I also got an adorable little foam hot dog with the book. I am completely unswayed by this charming swag...)

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC (and the hot dog!)!

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

8YO:  This is like a mashup of Star Wars and Adventure Time.
Me:  That's a good assessment.
11YO  No, it's more like if Star Wars and Adventure Time had a baby that Indiana Jones adopted.
8YO: (Laughing) Aww Yeah!
Me: Even better. Where do you guys come up with this stuff?

But wait there's more ... superhero references like Batman and Silver Surfer ... not to mention the nods to Indiana Jones and Star Wars and a host of other pop culture references. 

There is also an important message about choosing your own path, deciding to be good even if your mom, Evil Queen, tells you, you're destined to be evil. Break the cycle Princess Dagger.

My youngest gave it 5 out of 5 stars and the oldest gave it 4 stars.

Perfect for avid readers or reluctant readers; boys or girls; humor and satire lovers; adventure seekers; and super sleuths.  Not for people who want to be bored.

[Sean Bean as Zeus in Percy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two words for you: Neon Weiner

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, The Kid, my 8 year old pink princess daughter, begged for the third book from this series. To be honest, I didn't realize I'd bought her the other 2 books (not really that kind of parent). She read so many funny parts out loud to me and we laughed and laughed. I told her I would read the books some day.

I think my daughter has really great taste in books and I always find it a joy to read things she finds interesting. This book made me laugh through the whole entire adventure...I mean there's an evil, not so evil, princess, lots of butt jokes and zombies and slimy creatures, right up the kids' alley.

I do have one thing to say...Steve, the Zombie, must have been totally terrifying!

The Kid is in the chair reading book 3 and I'm getting ready to start book 2! Hoorah!

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this very funny, sarcastic adventure story. In fact I'm pretty sure that I enjoyed this more than my 9yo son who enjoyed it but didn't love it and didn't demand that I buy him all the copies in the world. However I will probably still buy the sequels because *I* am kind of curious about what happens next.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it is funny and it has HOT DOGS!

[Patricia🧚‍♀️ Psicoterapia Isla · Rating 1 out of 5]

El dibujo muy bonito, me ha gustado mucho. La historia es el típico cliché: chico hetero con un amigo raro salvan a la princesa. Te dirán que esta vez es diferente, porque la princesa sabe artes marciales. Pero no, es lo de siempre.

[Talen Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, my reading level is way too high for it tho I'm going into 9th grade and my 6th-graded sister recommended it to me, don't recommend if you are over 5th grade. But its a fun book.

[Amanda Gracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids found this laugh-out-loud funny at ages 7 and 10. I found it very meh, but then I’m not the target audience.

[Andrew ✝️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a screw-adulthood moment, I bought one of this book's sequels, not knowing it was a sequel. Ended up reserving this first one at the library, and it's definitely not what I was expecting. Admittedly, at first, this was a little difficult to get into, but that didn't last long. There's Cosmoe (the Earth boy), Big Humphree (a 127 Bronkle-year-old Bronkle alien from the planet Bronkellia), and Princess Dagger (the heir to the intergalactic throne of evil and Evil Queen Dagger's daughter; assuming this may be a female Sr.,/Jr., situation). Cosmoe and Humphree (aka Humps) have a "mega dog" (a huge hotdog in a bun) and it is stolen by someone in what looks like a grim reaper getup. It's revealed to be Princess Dagger, but only after Cosmoe lassoed her with Goober: a rubbery, elastic blob powered by Cosmoe's adrenaline, and is gonna be around Cosmoe's wrist "forever". Naturally, this upsets the Evil Queen and she sends out her Royal Navy/Armada.

It's absolutely ridiculous...
...and I loved it.

This is such a goofy, kooky, irreverent story. The characters are likable. Even the villains and thieves are. Typically, I read stuff that is much more serious than this or at least stuff that isn't kooky. But like I said, this was a 'screw adulthood' thing, and I absolutely loved it. 5 stars.

[Erin Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew gives this 4/5 stars
This was a fun book to read with him. Cosmoe the Earth Boy has a space food truck where he slings Galatic Hotdogs. Cosmoe, an (former?) evil princess, and an ex space pirate get up to adventure trying to save the universe. With phrases like: oh smudge, what the butt, and slinging weiners, I'm not sure how any boy could NOT enjoy this book 😉

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free through the Goodreads giveaway. I have two middle schoolers at home they both were very excited to read this book. My youngest said, "You know Mom, I really like this book" It's a keeper. Thanks

[Sweetpea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the GoodReads First Reads giveaways in exchange for an honest review. A very cute book, loved the cartoon format.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story full of action and adventure.
I'd recommend it for the 10 - 12 age group.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adult rating: 2 stars
Kid rating: 3 stars

This book was all over the place for me and not really funny. It's supposed to be about a mega hotdog competition at a galactic space port. No sooner than the book starts and this plot thread is dropped like a hot potato. The Evil Queen steals Cosmoe's hot dog. When he and his sidekick Humphree, steal it back, the whole Royal Armada are in pursuit. The Neon Weiner is at full speed when they realize the Evil Princess is on board. She's not happy about her evil genes and she's kind of bored, so she begs to be allowed to stay. A whole lot of stuff happens like wrestling a boss worm and competing in a video game competition all to win pieces of a map that hopefully will lead to a treasure. The queen's not only after her daughter, she wants that map.

There was way too much going on. I would have been happier with a tighter plot. The whole map thing caused the story to spiral out of control. The layout of the words and illustrations creates a confusing mess. Not a relaxing read for me. Not sure how kids might feel about it, so I would pass.

[Dylan.R.(Not A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galactic hot dogs is a great book for young kids like myself who like fiction and adventure. Cosmoe is my favorite character but princess Dagger and Humphree are a close second. I enjoyed the entire book and actually at the start I was very hesitant to even open the book.

I connected to this book to the character princess Dagger because she always wants to get on a adventure and loves getting into trouble like me I love going through the woods and even when my cousin tries to trick me and say he saw a bear I just shrug my shoulder and keep going. Also I love going and doing things that people don't know about well sometimes but she is the closest to me in this book.

You should read this if you enjoy very adventurous books and love books that are thrilling and have cliff hangers. You should finish this series if you also like heart warming and semi sad backstories.

[Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cosmoe is my favorite character because he stopped the ultimate evil. He also has a little slime thing on his wrist that can transform into anything smaller than a car. I also like that he is really good at video games.
I was surprised when they cracked the planet and it was hollow. I was most surprised when the princess wanted to be good since her Mom was the evil queen. I was also surprised when the princess saved Cosmoe from falling through the planet.
I would not change the ending because Cosmoe and his friends saved the universe from the ultimate evil. They destroyed the ultimate evil by getting eaten and blowing up n the brain. Also, the evil queen wasn't trying to get her daughter back anymore.

[Joyreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my library job to find good books for 2nd-3rd graders.

The good: there was some fun humor in here for the younger crowd and plenty of non-stop action.

The bad: hated all the euphemisms for the f-bomb. I really don’t want to hear young kids saying all these phrases very close to “What the f—-“ Just obnoxious.

There was a lot of action, but no characterization or tension. I found it kind of boring, which was weird.

The illustrations didn’t engage me and were confusing a lot of the time.

Don’t think I’d recommend this unless a kid asked me for a very specific kind of book that involved space, humor, hot dogs and worm wrestling.

[Michelle Kenneth - PerfectionistWannabe.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.]

This was a really fun read. I can already see this as a kids TV show filled with crazy adventure. This book is written as one large comic strip as we follow Cosmoe and his friends in one massive adventure through the universe as he protects the galaxy from the Ultimate Evil.

This hero is not as smart as he looks and has his D'OH moments, but isn't life all about making stupid mistakes and then fixing them? Kids will really enjoy this book and the life lessons that go along with it.

[Kymari · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is about two people who sell hot dogs but the princess is there friend. they have to track the the map that leads to ultimiate eveil to destoryed it. what i like about this book is that it has aventure and action. what i did´t like is that the princess is sorta still evil so she stabs the main character cosmoe in the back

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and then, I like to pick up a children's book or youth story. I love the imagination of these stories. It also is nice to give me something to talk about and recommend to my young family members. This was a silly and crazy story. I got a few chuckles while listening to it. The storyline and characters were fun and you have to love a flying food truck called the Neon Wiener. LOL!

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son voted to give this graphic novel book 5 stars. A flying hotdog stand with a human and an alien, an evil galaxy queen, a runaway princess, a flying space armada, battles and explosions... seems to have a lot of things that kids in elementary school like.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the funniest book I have read. Easy to follow story line, a drama with a kick of humor. If that is your thing , this is the book for you!

Kudos to Mr Brallier for yet another fun book!

[ReadingAllNight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun adventure story but got a tad confusing at times and just expected more character development and world building even if it is a middle grade book. Overall fun and exciting and will least finish the series.

[Christine Turner]

School Library Journal recommends this series for grades 3-7.
Series Title: Galactic hot dogs

Subject: Food trucks -- Juvenile fiction.
Science fiction -- Juvenile literature.
Humorous stories -- Juvenile literature.

Note: Might work well for Captain Underpants read-a-like.

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely silly but with some cool ideas. If you're a kid and you want nonstop action, this might be for you. If you're an adult or if you have an aversion to fart jokes and the word "butt" making an appearance at least every other page, this may not be for you.

MPA ratings: PG for rude humor

[Tre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good I can't wait to read book two. This was an easy book to read and It took me a few days to read.

[Logan DiGiammarino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real good if you like stories about adventure, hotdogs, and action. Clearly, 5 stars.

[Adrian Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awesome... but something I would definitely change is that Cosmo should have gone to earth. I recommend this book to anyone who likes si-fi

[Victoriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny