Cowdog: Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond

MY NAME IS CHARLIE. I LIVE IN THE COUNTRY. I'M A RANCH DOG.

THIS IS SUZIE. SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND.

WE SURE DON'T LOOK MUCH ALIKE, DO WE?

BUT, THEN, ALL THAT STUFF DOESN'T REALLY MATTER ANYHOW.

TALL OR SHORT, SLOW OR FAST, TINY EARS OR FLOPPY EARS, THERE'S PLENTY OF WORK AROUND HERE FOR BOTH OF US.

Ye-ep. A ranch dog's work is never done. And in Charlie's case, there's a good reason. Between breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and naps along the way, Charlies never gets around to doing much besides sniffing under the porch for intruders and finding a shady spot to close his eyes for a few minutes.

First chore--Chasing Daisy the cow out of the yard. Charlie makes sure that Suzie takes care of that.

I LIKE TO GIVE HER A CHANCE TO SHINE NOW AND THEN.)

After Mama serves up a bacon-accented breakfast, Charlie is off to help her in the garden, where he snores while Suzie helps dig carrots.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ! HUH? WHAT DID I MISS? I MUST HAVE ACCIDENTALLY CLOSED MY EYES.

Charlie comes to just in time for lunch. And then it's really time for action. Daisy has invaded the garden and gotten into the radishes again!

RRRRRRRRRRR! OOOOOOWW! OOOOOOH! THAT WAS A CLOSE CALL! THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I HADN'T BEEN HERE!

Yessir! Charlie is a legend in his own mind. The savior of the ranch, taking care of everybody without ever breaking a sweat! Ree Drummond's Charlie the Ranch Dog follows her hypo-active Bassett buddy through his day as a courageous cowdog, aided prodigiously by the amusing illustrations of the notable Diane DeGroat. Kids will love the contrast between the quasi-philosophical Charlie and the frenetic terrier pup Suzie and will get a real giggle out of watching Suzie's efforts to vanquish a chipmunk who invades the scene on almost every page. Droll, ironic hyperbole is Charlie's style, much like his alter ego for older readers, Hank the Cowdog: 20th Anniversary Edition (See all Humor Books) in Robert Erickson's long-running series. Drummond, known to some adult readers as the Pioneer Woman blogger, here takes her real-life blog buddy into her venture into the world of picture books.