0 3 Reasons I Love the Pioneer Woman

1.  Ree Drummond makes amazing food!  

No really...  So yummy!  I know it seems like I'm stating the obvious, but if you haven't checked out any of her cookbooks, please rectify that immediately.  Every one
of her recipes that I've made or tasted has been incredible.  My mother in law made her recipe for sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  They were amazing.

2.  She is normal.  

She is a wife and a mom...she likes to cook...and she made a career of it.  My husband and I love to watch her cooking show because it features all those fabulous recipes, but also shows this normal, dedicated woman taking care of her family.  She is practical and makes meals that families can actually make during the week and enjoy together.

3.  She is a book nerd.  

I read her book a few years ago before I really knew much about her. And, I have to say, it made me fall in love with her! Such a fun story of how she and her husband met--and you know I love a good love story!

Lots of folks know about Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and all of her awesome cookbooks, but did you know that she also has kids' books?! That's right, and Charlie  the Ranch Dog is the star!






I love the picture book...but I really love the I Can Read books too!  The illustations by Diane deGroat are just precious





















I'm not normally one to rave about celebrity authored books.  Not that some of them aren't great...it's just that I feel like their celebrity provides them with more than enough publicity while there are other super talented authors who would kill for a little exposure.  I'm making an exception for the accidental country girl Ree, however.  She wrote long before she was a celebrity--and like I said, I love her!

Detail: 3 Reasons I Love the Pioneer Woman

0 Bluebonnet Book Club #3

Rebel McKenzie
by Candice Ransom
published by Disney-Hyperion

The Blurb

Rebel McKenzie wants to spend her summer attending the Ice Age Kids' Dig and Safari, a camp where kids discover prehistoric bones, right alongside real paleontologists. 

But digs cost money, and Rebel is broker than four o'clock. When she finds out her annoying neighbor Bambi Lovering won five hundred dollars by playing a ukulele behind her head in a beauty contest, Rebel decides to win the Frog Level Volunteer Fire Department's beauty pageant. Rebel may not be a typical pageant contestant, but how hard can it be? Rebel's dramatic reading about life is the Pleistocene era is sure to blow away the competition.

It turns out that winning a beauty pageant is harder than it looks. By the end of the summer, Rebel has learned a thing or two about her true calling that will surprise everyone--most of all, herself.

My Two Cents

I loved meeting with my daughter and all of her (almost) fourth grade friends, as usual.  I must say I was completely surprised by the mixed reviews they had of this book.  I thought it was well written, with good structure and pacing, and so, so funny!  I love the southern charm and setting, as well.

I had one little girl ecstatically talking about it with me.  She said she laughed through the whole thing.  I had several who liked it, though not as passionately as her!  But I just couldn't believe how many in the group claimed to not liking it at all!  Some admitted that they chose not to finish because they just couldn't get into it.  Some of the moms explained that they thought some of the jokes were a bit over their child's head.

That might explain it, but I'm not sure.  It just goes to show that no two people read the same book.  We all bring our experiences and thoughts to each book and read through our own lens.  I think you should read this book, the themes of family and friendship run deep and it is a joy watching Rebel discover who she really is.

Discussion Question for Rebel McKenzie

1. What was your favorite part of the book?  Why?

2. Was there a part of Rebel McKenzie that made you laugh out loud?  What was it?

3. Who did you think would win the beauty pageant?  Why?

4. What do you think happened to Miss Odenia?  What clues from the book led you to that?

5. What do you think made Rebel change from a "fake friend" to a real one?

Book Trailer

For more about the talented Candice Ransom, check out this excellent post from one of my absolute fave bloggers (and a fab author to boot!),  Cynthia Leitich Smith!

Detail: Bluebonnet Book Club #3