Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School

by Mark Teague, Mark Teague (Illustrator)

Overview

A dog laments his fate at obedience school through a series of hilarious letters home.

When Ike LaRue is "imprisoned" at the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy, he tries everything to get sent home — from weepy letters to his owner to illness. In reality, Brotweiler is more like camp than prison, but still, Ike's not cut out for life without Mrs. LaRue. Finally, he runs away only to find himself back in Snort City — just in time to save Mrs. LaRue's life.

This classic picture book by How Do Dinosaurs...? illustrator Mark Teague is now available as a trade paperback!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338781960
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Series:	Ike LaRue Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mark Teague is the international bestselling illustrator (and author) of more than 50 books for children. His numerous awards and honors include the Book Sense Book of the Year Award and the Christopher Medal. He has illustrated 12 full-size books and 11 board books in the widely successful How Do Dinosaurs...? series. He is the author of the popular Dear Mrs. LaRue, Firehouse!, and Jack and the Beanstalk and the French Fries. He lives in New York State.

Editorial Reviews

* "A tail-wagger of a book that will have readers howling with amusement." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The humorous acrylic illustrations are, at times, a howl... charming Ike will likely find a home in many picture-book collections." — School Library Journal

* "Good story, well told and delightfully illustrated." — Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

An epistolary picture book detailing the misadventures of a very imaginative dog at obedience school. Ike the terrier is a reluctant student at the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy, and sends daily letters home describing the tortures he's undergoing at school: "Needless to say, I am being horribly mistreated. You say I should be patient and accept that I'll be here through the term. Are you aware that the term lasts TWO MONTHS? Do you know how long that is in dog years?" In a series of inspired double-page spreads, the bright acrylic illustrations depict Ike scrivening away in the plushest possible surroundings, while he imagines (appropriately enough in black-and-white) what he describes. As Ike complains about the food, the reader sees him seated at a table covered in a white tablecloth and decorated with roses; his fevered imagination, however, conjures up a vision of a burly, tattooed cook standing over a cauldron and pointing at a sign that says "No howling, biting, scratching, growling, slobbering, or barking, and no seconds!" as Ike, prison-stripe-clad, forlornly holds up his dog dish. The concept is fun, but it's a one-note joke that depends on a highly developed sense of irony to appreciate. Teague's first offering as author/illustrator since One Halloween Night (1999) demonstrates a mastery of illustration without an accompanying command of textual narration; the overlong text bogs down as the reader attempts to figure out what's really going on: does Ike really want to go back home? does he really believe what he describes? is he simply trying to make Mrs. LaRue feel guilty? The work as a whole is energetic but ultimately fails to follow through on a promising concept. (Picturebook. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews