Dear Mrs. La Rue: Letters From Obedience School

Author Mark Teague is hardly unknown to the world of children's illustrations. The ever-popular "How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" featured his own unique illustrating methods. But he is just as able an author. "Dear Mrs. LaRue", is an adept melding of text and artistry. In each scene the viewer sees the truth in color, and Ike's fabulous imaginations in bleak black and white. Interestingly enough, it is difficult to say exactly how much Ike says is fanciful. For example, Ike's insistence that he has saved his owner numerable times from speeding vehicles turns out to be more than true at the end of the story. Also, a final shot of the cats Ike has hounded suggests that they may not be the angelic creatures so believed of their owners.

The book is an excellent one for children, containing more than a few visual jokes for adults. Parents can choose whether or not to explain what Ike's diagnosis of "hypochondria" really means or why they laughed when one of the final pictures displayed a jubilant display of people carrying "I like Ike" signs.

Mark Teague notes on the book flap that when his own dog wanted attention it would feign a limp, "But if he was distracted by something - a squirrel or an interesting smell - he was likely to forget which paw was supposedly hurt and give himself away". With such an inspiration, this book wasn't necessarily bound to be good. It just happened to work out nicely that way.


I like Ike, and so will most children and their parents   January 1, 2004
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

When I came across this book, I knew I had to read it. A dog writing letters home from dog obedience school? How can this not be an enjoyable book? Poor, misunderstood Ike has been sent off to the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy by his harried owner Mrs. Gertrude R. LaRue. Ike does what any dog would do in such a situation; he tries to make his owner feel so guilty about putting him there that she will come and get him. He does have a point of sorts, as the straw that broke the camel's (or, in this case, Mrs. LaRue's) back has two very different sides to it. As the days pass, Ike becomes defensive, then he changes tactics in an effort to show his owner how much she needs him back. Will poor Ike ever see his home again? Will he never again be able to munch on another one of Mrs. LaRue's apple pies? Perish the thought.

This book is aimed at children four to eight years old, although parents and weird adults like me should also get a kick out of it. The letters are funny, and one could - if one were so inclined - make an object lesson out of comparing Ike's situation with that of a misbehaving child, but the big sell here is really the pictures. Each page is graced with vivid illustrations contrasting the reality of Ike's life at the Academy with the melodramatic visions of oppression and misery he tries to convey in his letters to Mrs. LaRue. If you are looking for that special book to convince your young child that reading is fun, Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School may well be that book.


That's one irrepressible pooch!   September 16, 2003
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

Ike LaRue is a dog wronged. Accused of eating a chicken pie without permission, scaring the neighbor's cats, and tearing his owner's camel hair coat, he finds himself shipped off to a posh obedience school. But Ike, being quite the ham, exaggerates his "imprisonment" in a series of letters to his accusing owner, Mrs. LaRue. Despite his protestations concerning the food, the "guards", and the lousy medical care he receives (being unfairly labeled a "hypochondriac") while in the clutches of the Igor Brotweiler school, his judgmental owner never springs the poor pooch.

Mark Teague brings his pretentious pup to glowing life in a series of truth vs. fiction illustrations that show Ike's reality in contrast with the imagined conditions he portrays in his notes home. It's difficult not to smile at the lengths Ike goes to in order to prove himself innocent, while pleading for his owner to rescue him from a fate worse than death.

Is Ike justified in the end? Let's just say that all dogs have their day and Ike's is better than most.

This is one of those exceedingly rare books that will appeal to children AND parents. The large, lively graphics, wit, and overall cleverness in concept make this an endearing classic already. Even my three year old son, who can in no way understand many of the sly jokes, repeatedly wished to have us read this one - always a great endorsement. On first reading I thought the book was a little much, but it grows on you, getting funnier with each reading. I've never really seen a children's book like this one before and for sheer flair "Dear Mrs. LaRue" gets a big thumbs up.


Great Resource for Counselors   September 11, 2003
 1 out of 4 found this review helpful

Another one to use in the classroom regarding rules and why we have them...


Hello Mudda LaRue Life at Obedience School is....   July 23, 2003
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

For the dogs! Literally speaking and a hilarious look at Mrs. LaRue's clever pooch, Ike who write home a series of letters that well you might say-stretch the truth quite a bit. Ike is desperate to come home and hopes Mrs. LaRue will have pity on poor Ike's dilemma at the Igor Brotweiler's Canine Academy. One can get caught up in the good dog, bad dog of Ike's pleads for liberation. I got a kick out of this book. It's entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny dialogue. And, Mark Teague is one of my favorite illustrators. They remind me of the Far Side comic strip cartoons. The pictures really work well. It's a winner.