Bubba, the Firedog

Bubba, the Firedog, is a new book for children. My daughter, Christie Marie Underwood, collaborated with me to write it.

 Bubba, a happy dog, lives in a friendly village in Texas. His humans give him affection, treats, and love. They take him on walks. He becomes a firedog, who helps his owner, a volunteer fireman, by guarding the tools and by being a friend to the other men in the fire department.

Sometimes he is frightened, but he relies on his human mommy and daddy to make everything work out right. Sometimes he gets into mischief, but most of the time he is well behaved. He likes to play with his toys.

We believe this story will appeal to children two years old or younger if their moms or dads read it to them at bedtime. Children as old as eight may enjoy reading the book Most of the words are simple. We repeated words and used them in logical ways with matching pictures.

Texas Tech Man: Brandt

LSU/LTU Woman; Christie

I like to write inspirational historical fiction. I also have fun constructing rhyming stories for children. Often I discover humor in ordinary life events.

Christie loves animals and people. She enjoys taking long walks in the community with Bubba and visiting neighbors along their way. Drawing is one of her hobbies, and her style is drawing through the eyes of a child. Her signature style in life is vibrant colors, well-suited to her personality.

We are dedicating our story to Christie's husband, my dear son-in-law, Brandt, who is a volunteer fireman. We're also dedicating Bubba's story to the fire department where Brandt serves.

Pup Bubba

When Christie first rescued Bubba (a black lab mix) as a puppy, we realized his potential for entertaining us, and he's been an interesting dog. He's docile, obedient, and protective of his family. 

While taking him for a walk, we came up with the idea that he might want to be a firedog. We asked, "What if Bubba wanted to follow his 'daddy' Bramdt to the fire house. Could he become a firedog?

Christie contributed the dog and her husband to this project. Also she helped with the writing. All the pictures are her drawings and paintings. She put her heart into the project.

I wrote the text with, as I said, her help. Then I formatted the pictures and the cover.  John, my amazing husband, contributed editorial comments, as well as  patience. 

Mary walking Bubba

We want to entertain our young readers by sharing Bubba with them. As I've already said, we have made an effort to help children develop reading skills. Whatever we write for boys and girls contains ways to develop skills for living

We're already planning a sequel. 

Bubba, the Firedog