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HotDog! #4
HotDog! Game Time!
Hotdog, Lizzie and Kev are training for GAME DAY! They want to win the big prize - an awesome trip to Rainbow Island! That's where Kev's mum lives!
They'll need skill, speed and strength. Do they have what it takes to win?
They'll need skill, speed and strength. Do they have what it takes to win?
128 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2018
30 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Anh Do
188 books456 followersAnh Do is a comedian, artist and also one of the highest selling Australian authors of all time, with total book sales approaching 3 million.
Anh’s first book, The Happiest Refugee, is his enormously popular memoir recounting his perilous childhood journey in a tiny boat from war-torn Vietnam to Australia. The book became an instant hit and has won numerous awards including Australian Book of the Year.
Anh has since turned his attention to children’s book writing.
Weird Do is an illustrated series starring Weir (1st name), Do (2nd name), a kid with a very unfortunate name. Aimed at the 8+ market, these books have gone off the charts as national best-sellers, resulting in 14 books total and more on the way. The first Weir Do won the Australian Book Industry Award for Older Children (2014).
Other children's book series include Hotdog, the adventures of a sausage dog and also Ninja Kid, the escapades of a 10 year old Nerd who discovers he’s the world’s last ninja.
In 2019, Anh released Wolf Girl, a series about a little girl who gets lost in forest and befriends a group of dogs and an enormous Wolf who become her family. Then came Rise of the Mythix, which marks the first of a number of sagas described by Anh as ‘A superhero movie in a book’.
All of Anh Do’s books are mega bestsellers and all rate between 4-5 star averages on websites such as Goodreads and Amazon.
It’s clear that Anh is an exciting voice in literature, able to delight across age ranges and different genres with great success, and he isn’t planning to slow down any time soon.
Anh’s first book, The Happiest Refugee, is his enormously popular memoir recounting his perilous childhood journey in a tiny boat from war-torn Vietnam to Australia. The book became an instant hit and has won numerous awards including Australian Book of the Year.
Anh has since turned his attention to children’s book writing.
Weird Do is an illustrated series starring Weir (1st name), Do (2nd name), a kid with a very unfortunate name. Aimed at the 8+ market, these books have gone off the charts as national best-sellers, resulting in 14 books total and more on the way. The first Weir Do won the Australian Book Industry Award for Older Children (2014).
Other children's book series include Hotdog, the adventures of a sausage dog and also Ninja Kid, the escapades of a 10 year old Nerd who discovers he’s the world’s last ninja.
In 2019, Anh released Wolf Girl, a series about a little girl who gets lost in forest and befriends a group of dogs and an enormous Wolf who become her family. Then came Rise of the Mythix, which marks the first of a number of sagas described by Anh as ‘A superhero movie in a book’.
All of Anh Do’s books are mega bestsellers and all rate between 4-5 star averages on websites such as Goodreads and Amazon.
It’s clear that Anh is an exciting voice in literature, able to delight across age ranges and different genres with great success, and he isn’t planning to slow down any time soon.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 5, 2018
Anh Do delivers yet another fun story in the fourth book of his Hot Dog! series. We get to hang out with best friends Hotdog, Kev (the cat) and Lizzie (the lizard) as Hotdog and Lizzie try to cheer up Kev. Kev is missing his mum. She lives on Rainbow Island and Kev hasn’t got enough money to visit her.
When the best friends find out about Game Day, where teams of three compete to win a trip to Rainbow Island (wow, that was convenient!), they decide to enter. Between them they’re sure they have the skills, speed and strength they’ll need to win.
I loved the teamwork shown in this book, the emphasis on helping people rather than winning at all costs and the message that being a good sport is important regardless of the outcome.
I always love Anh’s writing style and I adore the humour in the illustrations. In this book I chuckled at so many pictures, including the sloth riding a jet ski, Hotdog dressed in a hot dog 🌭 costume, Owlbert Einstein, and the brilliance of the measuring snake.
My favourite part was Kev (the foodie) explaining how food helps him focus on gymnastics:
Each book in this series has wonderful greyscale illustrations with splashes of one colour. This book’s colour is orange. It may seem as though I’m shouting at you but it’s a very loud orange (sorry, couldn’t help myself 😊). Imagine fluorescent, don’t look at this with a hangover bright and you’re close to the atomic ferocity I’m talking about. The orange not only highlights the wonderful illustrations but it also makes some of the words in the text pop. Kids will love it!
I can’t wait for my next Anh fix!
When the best friends find out about Game Day, where teams of three compete to win a trip to Rainbow Island (wow, that was convenient!), they decide to enter. Between them they’re sure they have the skills, speed and strength they’ll need to win.
I loved the teamwork shown in this book, the emphasis on helping people rather than winning at all costs and the message that being a good sport is important regardless of the outcome.
I always love Anh’s writing style and I adore the humour in the illustrations. In this book I chuckled at so many pictures, including the sloth riding a jet ski, Hotdog dressed in a hot dog 🌭 costume, Owlbert Einstein, and the brilliance of the measuring snake.
My favourite part was Kev (the foodie) explaining how food helps him focus on gymnastics:
‘When I’m on the bars I imagine I’m a kebab getting roasted on the grill.’Inspired and yummy!
‘And when I twirl the ribbons, I imagine I’m decorating cupcakes with icing!’
Each book in this series has wonderful greyscale illustrations with splashes of one colour. This book’s colour is orange. It may seem as though I’m shouting at you but it’s a very loud orange (sorry, couldn’t help myself 😊). Imagine fluorescent, don’t look at this with a hangover bright and you’re close to the atomic ferocity I’m talking about. The orange not only highlights the wonderful illustrations but it also makes some of the words in the text pop. Kids will love it!
I can’t wait for my next Anh fix!
April 22, 2021
Hot Dog, Lizzie and Kevin are back for a fourth adventure. This time they work together to win a competition as the prize is a trip to Rainbow Island where Kev's mother works as a doctor. Readers see them encourage each other and work together. I like that they don't win because they show care and compassion for other competitors who get hurt during the games. They do end up at Rainbow Island and Kevin does get to see his mom in the end.
August 28, 2025
The friends are training for Game Day event to help Kev win a trip to Rainbow Island where Kev's mum is working. Throughout the event Kev helps assist injured competitors with the first aid kit he packed for the event. I enjoyed this book showing that though they were competing against other teams - Hotdog, Lizzie and Kev stopped to help others that was more important than winning.
March 6, 2020
What a heart-warming Anh Do book for kids to read. This story is full of kindness, camaraderie and friendship but also determination. Loved it and it gave us wonderful topics to talk about with our children.
August 11, 2024
We're reading these in order and I'm giving them the same review. My 8 yr old son enjoys them, they're inoffensive and occasionally amusing and anything is better than Greg (we read the Wimpy Kid books prior to this). The series skews young but it's nicely handled and he likes reading them himself outside of the bedtime schedule so that's a win.
January 13, 2026
Kev really misses his mom who is a doctor on Rainbow Island. When a team competition is advertised offering a vacation to Rainbow Island, Hotdog, Lizzie, and Kev enter, but so does a team of athletic bulldogs. A book about good sportsmanship. Nice ending.
June 8, 2018
Cute story about working hard to get what you want, and that helping others is more important than winning.
August 19, 2021
Hilarious, with a great message about the importance of helping others and looking out for your friends. This series keeps getting better and better.
May 15, 2024
I really enjoyed that Kev and his friends Lizzie, Hotdog helped competitors even though they really wanted to win.
January 2, 2025
Three animal friends who show the value of kindness and compassion.
November 16, 2025
Such sweet friendship 🥰
February 9, 2020
My 4 year old grandson loves this series - humour + adventure = great story!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews