Charlie the Ranch Dog

Mostly I am not impressed with celebrity attempts to write children's books. Yet, when I saw that Ree Drummond was publishing a children's picture book, I still was interested. And, lucky for me, I received a copy this week from the publisher. Also, when I discussed this with a friend, we decided that even though Ree is a celebrity of sorts, she has achieved that status because of her writing. So, her writing a children's book isn't quite the same as if some other type of celebrity would just decide they were going to be an author. And, this picture book has a lot of appeal. As soon as I opened it up I had three girls ready to take it for themselves.

Charlie the Ranch Dog is a cute picture book. Its illustrator, Diane deGroat, is best known for her Gilbert series of picture books and has illustrated more than 120 books. This time deGroat's main focus is Charlie, Drummond's own basset hound.

Charlie narrates this story, telling of an average day on the ranch. Although ranch life is very busy - there's cow chasing, keeping the animals off the porch, helping in the garden, fixing fences, and fishing - Charlie can't help that he is slow-moving and in need of many naps.

I loved deGroat's illustrations. The Charlie of Charlie the Ranch Dog looks and acts just as I imagine a basset hound behaves. I also appreciate the recipe for lasagna included at book's end -Charlie's favorite food. With any luck, Drummond will decide to write a few more books about this lovable creature.

This will be a bedtime story staple for quite a while at our house. Charlie is irresistible.