Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman presents 'Charlie and the Christmas Kitty'
BY SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
12/19/12 at 7:31 AM
Ree Drummond, better known as the Pioneer Woman, barked and bellowed and even sang at Monte Cassino School on Tuesday as she presented her new children's book, "Charlie and the Christmas Kitty."
This is her second book that features her family's basset hound Charlie as the star.
"He's a natural children's book character," Drummond said after reading the book to Monte Cassino's elementary school students in the performing arts center.
Before the Osage County resident read her book, she talked about Charlie and showed many of the pictures she has taken of him over the years. She also spoke of her family's other pets, including a yellow cat named Kitty Kitty, the other character in Drummond's new book.
The book tells the story of when Kitty Kitty came to the family and how Charlie didn't immediately like the new arrival. He thought Kitty Kitty was a rabbit, she said, but the two soon became friends.
Even though the book is funny, Drummond said it has a message.
"Sometimes we meet people (and) we think we'll never have anything in common," she told the students.
"You want to just chase them away. If you (don't) give them a chance, you don't know what kind of friendship can develop."
The idea for the first Charlie book came from publishing company Harper Collins, which published Drummond's first cookbook.
"The children's book editor, she was a fan of Charlie on the (Pioneer Woman) blog," Drummond said. "So she asked if I wanted to write a book."
This was Drummond's second trip to the Tulsa private school. She did a similar presentation in the spring of 2011 after writing her first children's book, "Charlie the Ranch Dog," said elementary school librarian Carmen Applegate.
"Our kids feel like they know Charlie," Applegate said.
When Drummond's publisher contacted the school about hosting another presentation and reading, officials gladly accepted.
"For them to hear a real author, her process, where she gets her ideas, it's great," she said. "They associate the name of the author with a real person - 'I've met her, I've talked to her. I can do that someday.' "
Drummond said she is happy to tell students about how she writes her books.
"They see that the book didn't just appear," she said. "A person wrote the book, and it adds more dimensions. They see the author is just a normal person."
Original Print Headline: Reading with Ree
Sara Plummer 918-581-8465
sara.plummer@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Ree Drummond (right), known as the Pioneer Woman, signs her children's book "Charlie and the Christmas Kitty" for Monte Cassino kindergartner Lucy Kacere, 5, after Drummond read for students there on Tuesday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Ella DiSalvatore, 5, a kindergartner at Monte Cassino, holds her book "Charlie and the Christmas Kitty" as Ree Drummond reads to students. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Ree Drummond talks about her dog Charlie during a presentation at Monte Cassino School. It is her second book in which her family's basset hound is the star. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
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