Spring break means vacation time for many families. Road trips, airplane flights, one day getaways -- however long or short the trip, spending quality family time together is a wonderful and good thing. But sometimes all that closeness can be difficult to handle. Next time you're wondering how you're going to survive your family trip, think about Ike LaRue, a poor dog whose vacation is anything but relaxing thanks to a pair of unexpected traveling companions, the neighbor lady's cats!
LaRue Across America: Postcards From the Vacation
Book Source: Review copy from publisher
"Dr. Mrs. Hibbins,
My ship has sailed, and with it all hopes of a pleasant resolution to this unhappy saga. Traveling instead by car, we have left the coast far behind. I see now why the ship's captain, in his wisdom, refused to accept cats. The creatures simply do not travel well!"
With a name like LaRue, you're bound to hit the road on a cross-country adventure at least one or twice in your life. In LaRue Across America, the hilarious letter-writing pup, Ike LaRue is all ready for the perfect summer vacation -- a cruise to Mexico with his owner, Mrs. LaRue. Unfortunately, the neighbor lady ends up in the hospital and kindhearted Mrs. LaRue offers to take care of her two cats until she recovers.
The cats aren't allowed on the cruise ship, so Mrs. LaRue decides that a cross-country vacation across America is a nice alternate. Ike, not at all excited about the car trip with two cats, writes a series of desperate letters to Mrs. Hibbins during the trip, urging her to "end the fiasco" and take her cats back. The group departs from Snort City, N.Y., and they stop in several states (New York, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona) before reaching Death Valley, California, an unfortunate place to visit in the middle of July. LaRue nearly gives up hope for a happy end to a "terrible journey."
Everyone that has endured a trip with bickering family members will be able to sympathize with Ike and the cats. The canine and felines fight over beds, cause disruptions at landmarks, and cheat at road games. Ike even pulls the "my side, your side" stunt by dividing the back seat with masking tape to mark territory. It's a classic cats versus dogs storyline, paired with some great illustrations by the talented Teague. All the images of the cats taunting Ike are super funny! 
The book is also a bit educational as the endpapers depict a map of the U.S. and provide a way for readers to follow the madcap escapad
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By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 3/22/2011
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By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 3/22/2011
Blog: Brimful Curiosities (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Geography, Scholastic, 2011, Brimful Giveaway, Educational Resources, Blue Skies Press, Add a tag
31 Comments on LaRue Across America: Postcards From the Vacation by Mark Teague - Book Review and Giveaway, last added: 3/26/2011
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I would have to say dog. We have a Great Pyrenese and a miniature weenie dog. Thanks for the chance to win
bamagv at aol dot com
I follow you on Twitter (@TheJohnsFamily) and I tweeted the giveaway
http://twitter.com/#!/TheJohnsFamily/status/50328300291235841
bamagv at aol dot com
I'm a follower through GFC.
khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com
I'm a dog fan :-)
khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com
Dog fan.
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
I am a GFC follower - Stephanie M
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
I follow you =) I was JUST (like literally minutes ago) looking at Beckett's book order form and there is a LaRue book on it! He would love a dog---he says it would help him find the things he loses! Because just being careful is not enough....
I follow you :)
dog fan, I love the first book in the series.
I am dog fan.
jdrombo AT yahoo DOT com
I love cats!
Sorry forgot my email...
natatheangel at yahoo dot com
We'd love this for our school library! So funny! I follow you already with RSS feed. Thanks!
Mary Ann
[email protected]
I follow your feed.
Tweeted you (I follow your tweets as my alter ego).
I just wrote about LaRue's Detective book and we would love to read this one, too!
I follow your blog through google reader.
bridgetwilson4765(at)gmail(dot)com
Definitely a dog fan. THis would be a great book to use for this year's summer reading program (One World, Many Stories).
bridgetwilson4765(at)gmail(dot)com
thanks for the chance to win
ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com
We have both...but I'm a dog person!
Thanks for the chance to win! I definitely prefer the puppies! If I won this book,I would read it to my preschool classroom.
[email protected]
I subscribe via email! Thanks for the chance to win!
[email protected]
I have and enjoy both :)
[email protected]
I have to confess- neither. But, my 3 boys are all big dog fans. I am, however, a big fan of Ike LaRue.
Great giveaway.
mom7_06(at)yahoo(dot)com
I follow via RSS!
I'd love both a dog and a cat, my husband is strictly a dog person, but my boys are pretty enamored with cats, so for now, we have neither! Love the postcard book though!
dog fan
I have two dogs and a cat, but the cat just hangs out here. She doesn't really have much to do with the rest of us. I'm certainly a dog fan (and hedgehogs are nice, too.)
bevarcher (at) me (dot) com
I follow via GFC! Thanks for the chance to win. My students would love this book.
bevarcher (at) me (dot) com
I follow on twitter and I retweeted about the contest.
http://twitter.com/#!/Bookworm307
bevarcher (at) me (dot) com
Mentioned it on my elementary blog and posted to my FB profile. Thanks again! Love your blog. I've added several titles to consider purchasing for our library.
http://mrsarchesrbooknotes.blogspot.com/2011/03/larue-across-america-postcards-from.html
bevarcher (at) me (dot) com