A dog laments his fate at obedience school through a series of hilarious letters home.
FORMAT: Paperback Book & CD
NARRATOR: TBA
When Ike Larue is "imprisoned" at the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy, he tries everything to get sent home--weepy letters to his owner, even illness. In reality, Brotweiler is more like camp than prison, but still, Ike's not cut out for life without Mrs. LaRue & his creature comforts. Finally, he runs away only to find himself back in Snort City--just in time to save Mrs. LaRue's life.
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"Ryan loves this one, written and illustrated by Mark Teague (probably best know for illustrating the How Do Dinosaurs... books). Ike LaRue sends letters to his owner bemoaning the terrible conditions at obedience school. Each page/letter has a black and white illustration that goes along with the letter Ike is writing, as well as a color illustration showing what's really happening. From my perspective it's fun to read and fun to talk about with Ryan. There is at least one other book about Ike that we'll be looking for at the library today."
— Stephanie (4 out of 5 stars)
“A tail-wagger of a book that will have readers howling with amusement.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“David de Vries’ narration catches the humor in the situation. His fluctuating falsetto underscores Mrs. LaRue’s list of complaints, which include howling at the neighbors’ cats and stealing food off the counter…As Ike, he uses a myriad of vocal styles—wheedling, charmingly proper, and pointedly exasperated, for example, in a histrionic display to convince Mrs. LaRue that Ike has always had the best of intentions.”
— AudioFile“Charming Ike will likely find a home in many picture-book collections.”
— School Library Journal" This is another great example of a picture book for older kids. I think it's perfect for 3rd or 4th grade. "
— Tiff, 2/16/2014" Shows his perception and then what is really happening. In letter format. Makes it worse then it actually is, kids love it. Persuasive letter writing. Gives reasons. Uses bold and capital letters for emphasis. "
— Laci, 2/1/2014" I love this book! Written through letters from the dog to his owner, this book is witty and fun to read. I read it to my Kindergarten class and paried it with a lesson on how to write a letter. The kids loved it. "
— Allison, 2/1/2014" Great book to teach children about writing persuasive letters. Great illustrations and use of color in text. Very fun read for children. "
— Brandi, 1/26/2014" I can't emphasize enough how funny and adorable this book is! Ike the dog gets sent to obedience school by his owner Mrs. Larue. Ike writes her letters making the school sound like it's a hardcore prison. Extremely funny! "
— Serena, 1/24/2014" This is really cute book but probably not something to read in a classroom. There wasn't anything informational in there for the students to get out of it. "
— Amanda, 1/20/2014" Wonderful book when teaching Writing, because it shows letter formats and it can be used to help build the community in the classroom by having children write letters to each other. Also can be used to teach how to write from the perspective of someone else, which is writing strategy. Great read aloud for all ages, but for writing 3rd - 5th grade. "
— Hope, 1/15/2014" Sent to obedience school by his owner, a dog, Ike, makes ups outlandish stories of his treatment and plots escape. "
— Cathy, 1/14/2014" This book has a lot going for it. I love that the contrast between the text and the art tell us so much about the main character "Ike," and the little details like the numbers on the license plates in the illos adds that little something extra that PBs need. "
— Ishta, 12/28/2013" In this book the dog gets sent to obedience school. While there he writes persuasive letters to his owner to try to convince her to take him home. It's a fun and interesting story that will show students how to write persuasive letters. "
— Margaret, 12/23/2013" This dog is blatantly dishonest, which I do not want to encourage. "
— Melinda, 12/20/2013" Cute story about a naughty dog sent to obedience school and the contradictory contrast between his actual experience and how he describes it in his letters home. Great illustrations... "
— Dolly, 12/18/2013" Cute. My brother got this from the library and it Ike reminds me of our beagle Daisy. "
— Melissa, 12/15/2013" What a cute book written from the point of view of the dog that stretches the truth a little bit! It is a great book to use to introduce letter writing. "
— Amy, 12/13/2013" Picture book for grown-ups. Fun and well done. The flap explains the illustrations, which are done with Ike's version of events in black and white, and reality in color. "
— Di, 7/17/2013" i liked tht it was the dogs perspective and i liked it as u can tell "
— Emma, 6/23/2013" This has got to be one of the funniest children's books I've read so far. Every page just kept getting funnier and funnier. I laughed so hard, I cried. I have my friend Ariel Biscan to thank for turning me onto this wonderful treasure. "
— Andie, 1/21/2013" This is such a funny book, young kids will really enjoy the thought of a dog writing letters to its owner. There is also several lessons that could be taught from this book like "things are not always what they seem" and "sometimes we have to do things we don't enjoy". "
— Olivia, 7/28/2012" I loved the extra details in the illustrations. The story was not my favorite but was good. "
— Amberly, 4/23/2012" CARDERIUS Ike was being very bad dog so he went to dog jail and ketp sending sorry notes. October the 1, Ike broke out of jail. And got lost tried to go back to hi "
— Dionte, 1/26/2012" This picture book could be used during a persuasive writing unit. Students will enjoy this humorous story about a dog that has been sent to obedience school. He writes to his owner trying to "persuade" her to bring him home. "
— Jennifer, 11/21/2011" such a funny story, especially with the pictures that didn't always match the dog's tale. "
— Gaylene, 10/26/2011" I love this book! Written through letters from the dog to his owner, this book is witty and fun to read. I read it to my Kindergarten class and paried it with a lesson on how to write a letter. The kids loved it. "
— Allison, 5/1/2011" In this book the dog gets sent to obedience school. While there he writes persuasive letters to his owner to try to convince her to take him home. It's a fun and interesting story that will show students how to write persuasive letters. "
— Margaret, 4/7/2011" Ike has been a bad dog and his owner is forced to send him to obedience school. while at the school Ike sends his owner letters complaining about the school. Ike escapes and returns home to a hero's welcome when he saves his owner. This is a great book to read to dog lovers. "
— Shuntia, 4/6/2011" I'd like to read it again<br/> "
— Jennifer, 4/6/2011" What a cute book written from the point of view of the dog that stretches the truth a little bit! It is a great book to use to introduce letter writing. "
— Amy, 4/1/2011" This book is very cute and filled with letters and news paper clippings. This would be a great book to use for a lesson on how to write letters, and different forms of writing. "
— Kia, 3/31/2011" This u such a cute book. I would recommend this book to a teacher as a mini lesson for writing. It is a great example of how to write letters. "
— Becca, 3/30/2011" This book made me laugh every time I flipped the page. Mrs. Larue sent her dog to Obedience school and he hates it! He stretches the truth about the conditions and his treatment in the school. This would be a great book to show students how to write letters and the format that should be used. "
— Ashlee, 3/13/2011" Love the way the text in the book is represented by a combination of letters and newspaper clippings. This book could be a great read aloud when talking about differnt genres in a class. The differnt combination of texts make it an intresting read and easy to follow along. "
— Alison, 2/21/2011" This book has a lot going for it. I love that the contrast between the text and the art tell us so much about the main character "Ike," and the little details like the numbers on the license plates in the illos adds that little something extra that PBs need. "
— Ishta, 2/15/2011David de Vries, an Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator and veteran stage actor and director, spent three years in the cast of Wicked and was the last Lumiere in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. He has also appeared in numerous films and voiced commercial campaigns for companies large and small, including American Express, AT&T, UPS, Motorola, Georgia-Pacific, Delta Airlines, Coca Cola, and Ford, among others. He can be seen in a number of feature films, including The Founder, The Accountant, Captain America: Civil War, and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. On television, his credits include House of Cards, Nashville, and Halt and Catch Fire.