Excerpt: "My Senator And Me"

If you want to serve your country, Washington, D.C., is a good place to be. Washington is the capital of the United States. The President lives there. The Supreme Court works there. Congress - made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate - meets there. And they all try to make our country a better, fairer, safer place for people and animals.

I know a lot about the Senate, because I work there, too, always at the side of my Senator. His name is Edward M. Kennedy. My name is Splash. Let me explain.....

I am off and running, almost before the words are out of his mouth. He throws a tennis ball high in the air, and I run, run, run to bring it back. I drop the ball at his feet and beg for more. "Woof! Woof!" And he throws the ball again and again.
Members of Congress on their way to meetings stop to watch us play. Visitors on their way to libraries and museums watch. Police officers, gardeners, and construction workers taking a break watch us having fun. "Go get 'em, Splash!" someone shouts. "Look how high he jumps!" I hear a child say.

"My Senator and Me," written by Senator Edward Kennedy; Illustrated by David Small; Scholastic Press, 2006; no part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher