Customer Reviews

Letters from the Campaign Trail: LaRue for Mayor

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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While by nature I'm more of a cat person (I have two), I can't help but think that a lovely little dog like Ike LaRue would make life a lot of fun. LaRue for Mayor is the third book in which Ike has wowed readers with his cunning intelligence, playful antics and knack for being in the right place at the right time.

In this third book, Mrs. LaRue is in the hospital, and Ike is writing her to complain how unjust it is that dog-hater Hugo Bugwort is running for Mayor of Snort City. Sure some dogs over-turned a hot-dog cart and disrupted a baseball game, but isn't that just the spirited behavior of a few dogs? Should Bugwort be proposing a leash law, a curfew and a ban on canines in most public places? Ike thinks not, and decides to run for Mayor himself.

Teague really has created a wonderful picture book that will appeal to both children and adults. For kids there are bold, brightly colored illustrations of dogs behaving rather mischievously. For adults there are the contrasting black and white illustrations of Ike imagining his actions to be more grandiose than they really are. Ike is a small dog with a big personality, and I can't say it any better than to say I LIKE IKE. I think you will too.

For the rest of this review and other reading suggestions, see my site.

With election season in full tilt "LaRue for Mayor" comes along to join in the politicking.

The plot is this: Hugo Bugwort is running for mayor and he is a very anti-dog candidate. Ike sabotages Bugwort's campaign and eventually tries to start his own candidacy.

If you're reading a LaRue book (there have been two previous titles), you're gonna get two things: written correspondence and vocab. "Mayor" continues this trend. In the first page Mrs. LaRue is sent to the hospital, forcing her dog, Ike, to communicate with her through letters. The gaps in the story are filled in nicely with articles from the daily newspaper. I'm sure that inventive teachers have used LaRue books for teaching letter writing - they can now incorporate "Mayor" as well.

Some sample vocabulary? Perilous, scurrilous, doubtless - these are not your run of the mill words for a picture book. And that's just a sample from one page. You've got to hand it to Mark Teague for using this language in a context that will help kids understand it. That's learning y'all!

The artwork is spot on. Do I need to mention that this is Mr. Teague we're talking about? The man's already on Children's Lit Rushmore (well, my Children's Lit Rushmore - ask to see the plaster of paris model I'm working on in my garage), and really requires no further comment other than "It's the cat's pajamas".

The storyline is where I start to have some hesitations. The plot makes sense, but it's not quite as compelling as the previous "LaRue" installments. Ike filling in Mrs. LaRue about the state of Bugwort's campaign didn't have me turning the pages with the same level anticipation as in the past. This is, mind you, a minor quibble with an overall winner.

My 12 year old daughter and I have been waiting for the 3rd Ike LaRue book, so when she came home from school today and saw it waiting for her she lit up and was so excited!! She sat down and started reading right away, instead of turning on the the TV (Thank you Mark Teague!)..

Highly recommend all 3 books, so much fun.

Those familiar with this wonderfully hilarious series will be familiar with the very effective format that Mark Teague has used in the past and has pretty well perfected in this third installment of the Adventures of Ike LaRue. If you are a dog person, or an animal person, for that matter, you will instantly recognize our own dog or a dog you have known in the antics of Ike.

There is a new candidate for mayor in Snort City and this man, the former police chief, is running on an anti dog campaign. We want leash laws, curfews and control of unruly dogs. The story opens with a newspaper article telling about of pack of rambunctious dogs showed up at one of the new candidates political rallies, caused a disturbance, overturned a hotdog stand and in doing so, injured Mrs. Gertrude LaRue, sending her to the hospital.

Ike is terribly "upset" about this (of course it was his pack of friends that cause the disturbance) and begins writing his trade mark letters to Mrs. LaRue keeping her informed of what is going on outside her hospital room. As always, the author has broken the pages of his story down into four basic parts. We have newspaper articles, Ike's letters to Mrs. Larue, incidents which are detailed in the illustrations and of course Ike's take on these incidents, which are also in the illustrations. As always, Ike's version of what happens differs wildly from what actually is the true story. The antics of Ike and his friends are most certainly funny. The reader needs to examine each illustration very carefully; Teague has, as always, added in many little very amusing asides.

Ike decides to run against this new threat to his "freedom" and plans a campaign of his own to run for mayor of Snort City.

Of course the big pull of this book, as with the others, is the ridiculous differences between reality and Ike's version of events. Ike is quite a bright little terrier dog who pretty well has control of any and all situations. Ike is always one step ahead of his human counterparts. Ike has Mrs. LaRue completely snowed at all times...if indeed she believes a word he is telling her via his numerous letters and get well cards.

This is the story of Ike on the campaign trail. In includes all of his loyal dog friends and a wonderful cast of human and cat characters. The art work is typical Mark Teague which of course means it is some of the best in the business.

I love this series and I loved this book. It makes a wonderful group read because not only is it well written and well illustrated, but it is about dogs and animals; a sure hook for just about all children.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

What great books these are. They are really fun to read together with kids and grankids. Got these for my grandsons at Christmas. Arrived in a timely manner and in good condition.

"LaRue for Mayor..." has loads of mischief, suspense, great llustrations, an unusual, varied format, and a loveable canine protagonist. It's one of the best kids' books I've read this year. Moreover, while outlandishly funny, adults will appreciate that current human political events make Mark Teague's wonderful story almost plausible.

When former police chief Hugo Bugwort's "Law and Order" candidacy takes on a decided anti-canine stripe (due in no small part to the antics of Ike LaRue and friends), LaRue decides to run against him! He enters the fray (one that he partly created) partly because his his letter-writing campaign was sufficiently persuasive.

"'As a longtime resident, I must decry the wave if anti-dog hysteria sweeping over our city. Can we so quickly forget the loyalty of Man's Best friend? ... WHo rescues the weary traveler stuck high in the Alps? ...Dogs, that's who!'

Signed,
A Concerned Citizen"

Ike sounds very high-minded (he does have a way with words), but readers know better about the (very funny) extent of his duplicity. Like Daniel Pinkwaters' muffin-stealing bears, Irving and Muktuk, Ike plies his pious (and false) innocence with nervy denial!

In one particularly clever two-page spread illustrating, Teague shows Ike's portrays manipulations by portraying him as Charlie Chaplain in "The Gold Rush," eating an old boot by a single candle, in a black and white picture above Ike's irate letter about the "ridiculous...lurid reporting" of ongoing dog problems. On the opposite page, we see the real Ike pounding away as his typewriter, Rocky Road ice cream in front of him, a school of ready-to-eat fish beside him.

Ike is not above dirty canine tricks in his quest to keep the town dog-friendly: He enlists his dog friends and the ice-cream truck driver in a plot to heckle his opponent, and gain himself hero status. There's a bipartisan conclusion, however, as Ike and Hugo discover the good in each other (even as Ike's doggie friends continue their mischief!).

It's all in good fun, even when Ike write Mrs. LaRue that Hugo is "Vicious and unstable, if not insane." Ike is given to such hyperbole, and is not above defacing BUgwort's campaign poster. Still, the tone is light and small-townish, the two candidates are painted in such broad parodic strokes that it doesn't seem mean-spirited, and the relative innocence of a past era give this a light breezy feeling. The narrative is funny and well-paced, and the variety of illustrations (letters, newspaper headlines and stories, montage-like pictures within pictures) -- newspaper artices) --all vividly drawn and easy-to-follow--make this a visual triumph as well. If you're a movie fan, think Preston Sturges.

Again, one of my favorite books of the year, and a real treat for both adults and kids from toddler age to early elementary school.

This is another excellent book in the "Ike LaRue" series by Mark Teague. The story is interesting and the artwork is excellent. This book was purchased for, and by an adult who works in a public library and came across the "Ike LaRue" series. She liked them so much, she decided to buy them for her personal collection.

Our favorite wire fox terrier continues his adventures. More fun and mischeiviousness from our funny boy!

Mark Teague's LARUE FOR MAYOR: LETTERS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL tells of a dog determined to uphold the laws of Snort City - and determined to gain the votes from Intelligent Voters. His efforts take the form of whimsical, fun letters and communications with his potential voters in this hilarious story of a dog's bid for public office.

The bizarre behavior of the dogs in this book is no example for children in achieving their mission. I expected LaRue to be a model candidate which he was not. I would not recommend this book for children of any age although it was highly recommended in an article I read in a local newspaper. It isn't even humorous unless you think attacking dogs upsetting everything in their path is humorous.
The graphics are colorful and well done, however, that's why I gave it two stars.