3 - citizens and their local government; 5 - US government Great book for both grades.

A great story to integrate into history. Allows students to learn about people of the past in a cute creative way through a dog's perspective.

My Senator and Me is told in first person from Splash, Senator Kennedy's dog, point of view. Splash tells about how government works in Washington D.C. as Senator Kennedy tries to get a bill passed. It showed our country’s system of checks and balances in action. As Splash traverses through D.C, he passes famous landmarks and monuments. This book would be perfect for fourth graders who need to know the information contained with this book. It also contained a fun fact that I was unaware of which is that there is an underground train that senators can use to travel from the Senate Building to the Capitol. Who knew? The illustrations were beautiful. The illustrator used soft water colors, which held a caricature aspect that would appeal to children. There was a certain playfulness to the illustrations. Since Senator Kennedy has been a senator in Washington for decades, he is certainly an expert on D.C. and the way government work, especially pertaining to getting a bill passed through Congress. Therefore, I’d say he is an extremely credible author. ( )

Splash is a very important dog and has a very important job. He is Senetor Ted Kennedy's best friend. He goes to work with the Senetor everyday and sometimes even helps him with important business manners. ( )

Okay, okay…All of you St. Joseph County residents who are dog lovers and Republicans line up over there. Now then, all of you who are dog lovers and Democrats line up over here. Hmmm…It’s no secret that there are more registered Republicans than Democrats in St. Joseph County, Michigan, but let’s put politics aside and take a good look at the recently published My Senator and Me: a Dog’s-eye View of Washington, D.C. written by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and illustrated by David Small, Caldecott Medal-winning artist and Mendon, Michigan resident.

My Senator and Me takes us through a busy day on Capital Hill with Sen. Kennedy and his dog, Splash. Splash, whose registered name is Champion Amigo’s Seventh Wave, is a Portuguese Water Dog and was a champion show dog with a breeder in Virginia. Sen. Kennedy and his family purchased Splash in March of 2000, and Splash has become a Capital Hill celebrity, himself. The story is told from Splash’s point of view which lends charm and makes the book reader-friendly for even a very young child, but the illustrations by David Small are what bring Splash to life and widens Sen. Kennedy’s potential audience.

Mr. Small is known for his talent for drawing dogs, and like many people, I have long been a fan of Mr. Small’s work, but this book is my favorite of his published work so far. We see Splash heading to work with the Senator, riding the underground tram from the Senate office building to the Capitol, sitting on the steps of the Capital during a press conference, and playing fetch on the Capital’s lawn. Washington, D. C. becomes a living place with Mr. Small’s illustrations of the city’s familiar monuments and architecture. We laugh as Splash interrupts a conference committee meeting thereby breaking the tension with a bark when, presumedly, Splash thinks the committee members are getting a bit “barky” themselves.

Enjoying Sen. Kennedy’s and David Small’s book is a painless way to introduce children to the work of our nation’s legislators, and the book shouldn’t be missed. Sen. Kennedy is one of those larger-than-life political figures who elicit strong emotion on both sides of the aisle, but such an endearing dog as Splash makes setting aside politics easy. Books written by politicians and celebrities have always been money makers. Some of those books only make it to print because of the fame of their authors, but some deserve the attention and dollars they garner, and My Senator and Me: a Dog’s-eye View of Washington, D.C. is one that deserves ours.