Have you ever bore witness to something so incredibly cute that it made you… ovulate.
I dare you to look at the unequivocally adorable illustrations that fill Charlie the Ranch Dog and not turn into a puddle of mush… or want to spawn, ASAP.
I about died from the cuteness the first time I paged through the charming children’s book courtesy of HarperCollins. But then, when my 6-year-old daughter and I actually sat down to read Charlie the Ranch Dog, I discovered the story was as delightful as the pinch-your-cheek cute pictures.
Continuing in our week-long series of super summer reads, Charlie the Ranch Dog is a can’t miss tale to shake away the spider webs that form when youngsters sit idle during the extended school break.
Charlie is a short-legged, floppy-eared, fat-pawed, bacon-loving Basset Hound who resides on a sprawling ranch in Oklahoma. He’s also the voice behind his life’s story. Charlie narrates the colorful book, which details the taxing tasks he is expected to complete day in and day out.
Life as a ranch dog is all about work. Hard work. Doggone difficult work that Charlie could probably accomplish in two shakes of his tail, if he didn’t suffer from narcolepsy.
Yep, Charlie’s a snoozer, but that doesn’t diminish his good intentions, nor does it detract from the amusing plot that includes a mysterious chipmunk that appears throughout the book ala “Where’s Waldo, and a much younger ranch dog named Suzie.
The book revolves around a joke that reveals itself at about the same pace as Charlie lives life. It took my 6-year-old a few pages to catch on to it, but once she did it made reading even more fun. Plus, like all good dog books, Charlie the Ranch Dog has a surprise ending that will keep kids in stitches long after “The End.”
The other surprise comes a bit earlier in the book. Real early. Book cover early.
That’s where readers find out that Charlie is an actual dog. An honest-to-goodness ranch dog belonging to bestselling cookbook author Ree Drummond a.k.a. “The Pioneer Woman.” Charlie the Ranch Dog is Drummond’s first foray into world of children’s literature, and if you have ever lurked on her uber-popular blog, then you know that it is not at all far-fetched that she would hit a homer her first time up to bat.
With help from Diane deGroat and her kitchy-kitchy-koo cute illustrations, Drummond does Charlie proud, especially with the addition of the pooch’s favorite lasagna recipe at the end of the book.
If you are looking for a cozy read to share with your city slicker kids this summer, then pick up Charlie the Ranch Dog. It is available on HarperCollins.com and in various book stores across the country.
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