Senator Kennedy to publish children's book

After bird's eye view and worm's eye view comes a dog's eye view, this time of the government.

Meet the latest children's author, Senator Ted Kennedy, and his Portuguese Water Dog, Splash, his co-protagonist in My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C. Scholastic Inc. will release the book in May. "I am very excited about the opportunity to create a book for young readers and their families that will deepen their understanding of how our American government works," Kennedy said in a statement Monday issued by Scholastic.

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According to Scholastic, Kennedy's book "not only takes readers through a full day in the Senator's life, but also explains how a bill becomes a law." Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was inspired to write the book from his work with a Washington-based reading program, "Everybody Wins!"

Kennedy's net proceeds will be donated to charity. Books are a Kennedy family tradition, from John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning Profiles in Courage to the poetry compilations edited by Caroline Kennedy. Books about dogs are a Washington tradition, thanks to the best-selling Millie's Book, by then-first lady Barbara Bush.

Ted Kennedy's book is 56 pages and includes illustrations by David Small, winner of the 2001 Caldecott Medal for his pictures in Judith St. George's So You Want to Be President?