Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation

These books are absolutely adorable and highly entertaining! The series is about Ike Larue, a hilarious, cunning and super intelligent, Scottish terrier. These books are written in a letter format.... a series of letters sent to Mrs Larue, Ike's owner, from Ike himself. In every book Ike is up to something new.... a bid to free himself from trouble, a new scheme, etc. The illustrations are set up to show both the reality... in color..... and Ike's version of events... in black and white. My children and I always enjoy reading these!!

Through a series of entertaining notes to his vacationing owner, Ike the dog defends himself as he feel he was wrongfully imprisoned for the case of the missing cats. Interspersed with intriguing newspaper articles about the case of the missing cats and other animals, poor Ike LaRue cannot seem to catch a break from suspicion of animal related crimes. After escaping jail, Ike begins searching the the missing Hibbin's cats when he hears from sources that cats may be the animal attackers! Ike continues his investigations even after his owner, Mrs. LaRue returns, intent on finding the culprits and he is a success. Ike follows a trail of clues to the cats and manages to keep them in the spot until the police come. He is hailed as a hero for show more finding the missing cats. Although he is somewhat confused by the hero headlines as he was trying to catch culprits of crimes not return cats home. In the end, he is no longer upset with the police, who wrongfully accused him of kidnapping the Hibbin's cats and is honored with a detective badge. The book is entirely compiled with newspaper articles and note from Ike, a very entertaining way to tell a story! show less

After two neighborhood cats disappear from the home of a local woman, Ike LaRue is jailed for the crime!

Ike LaRue is "jailed" after accusations of being responsible for the disappearance of two local cats, last seen in the neighborhood park at the same time as LaRue. While "jailed," LaRue begins writing letters to his Master, Mrs. LaRue who is on vacation and unable to bail him out. LaRue relays his determination to clear his own name and get to the bottom of what really happened. As he digs further, he becomes convinced the two cats may be responsible for a recent rash of bird-nappings in the area. As LaRue narrates his story, however, it becomes clear that some of the details may be exaggerated.

LaRue's story is told through letters show more and postcards he writes to Mrs. LaRue while she is on vacation, in which he relays important information in his ongoing investigation. Looking at the pictures, however, the reader quickly realizes that what LaRue is telling his master and what is really going on are not exactly the same. This juxtaposition is cleverly illustrated by the use of blue-grey and white illustrations within the larger ones. The muted, blue pictures are the stories LaRue is telling Mrs. LaRue, and the big, full color illustrations show what is REALLY going on. For example, while LaRue writes of his incarceration, there is a blue illustration of him alone in a jail cell looking forlorn and playing his harmonica. In reality, he is sitting at the desk of a police officer with his feet up, playing cards and eating donuts. This added element not only enhances the story but increases the comedic effect of LaRue's stories. Children will enjoy seeing LaRue's stories come to life and comparing them to what is really happening. This book is recommended for children in grades K-3rd grade, although it may be enjoyed by avid younger readers. show less

Detective LaRue Letters from the Investigation, by Mark Teague. This was a great children's book and I was very happy with the context. One of my favorite parts of the book was the way the text was set up. Unlike a normal picture book each page is written as a letter from the main character to his owner. This was an amazing idea for young students, letters are starting to disappear and this is a great way to teach children how to write letters. Children need to learn how to write letters and the letter layout is shown in this book perfectly. Another part of this book I liked was the images. The story is told from a dogs point of view and the pictures show where he is sending each letter from. Each picture gives an amazing background for show more where the letter was sent from. The last thing I liked was the characters. As I stated earlier the main character is a dog, and the other characters are cats. This is a cute idea for kids, and being animals they were given personalities that are stereotypical for dogs and cats. The big picture of this story is to not trust a cat, they are evil. Not a great big picture, more of a joke, no real big idea. show less

Ike is in jail because is is blamed for the Hibbins' cats going missing. Through his letters begging his owner, Mrs. LaRue, to come home from vacation and rescue him from jail, the reader finds out how Ike solves the mystery and clears his name. This was just as much fun to read as the first book!

Ike is a suspect in the disappearnace of two cats. He decides to try to solve the crime himself, which we learn about through a series of letters to his owner. The black and white illustrations show us Ike's perspective as written in his letters while the full color illustrations give us a sense of the true story. This book is very funny and the innocent twisting of facts by Ike will engage readers of all elementary ages.

Ike LaRue returns and this time two of the neighbor cats go missing so Ike is a suspect! He decides that since he is being falsley accused he will become a detective and solve the crime himself. He writes letters to his owner on vacation letting her know what is going on. Once again, the things he writes are not exactly true, which is shown in the illustrations. This is a humorous book that school age kids will enjoy reading!