The Original Adventures is the first volume in the series and sets the tone for its successors: a dog who considers himself "Head of Ranch Security" relates a meandering narrative composed of two or three silly episodes strung together by infantile jokes. In later volumes, he swallows a fishhook, tends an obnoxious baby-talking five-year-old, and must discover who is raiding the ranch garbage cans. The books are amateurishly illustrated.

Gr 3-6-Erickson once again captures the voice of a gullible, lovable dog in this new installment about a big-eared pooch who lives on and guards a ranch. He decides to "help" Slim Chance, the ranch's hired hand, deliver a calf, resulting in an "enraged heifer" and lots of laughs. Later that day, when the five-year-old son of Hank's owner disobeys his mother and goes fishing on his own, he takes the dog with him. Unable to resist, Hank eats the liver that the boy is using as bait. It doesn't take long for the pup to put two and two together and discover that a missing fishhook is in his stomach along with the liver. Slim's attempts to remove it using soap bubbles instead of surgery are wonderfully funny. The author portrays the canine's actions and thoughts in a humorous manner while using just the right amount of suspense to keep the pages turning.-Julie Shatterly, York County Public Library, Rock Hill, SC