Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation, written and illustrated by Mark Teague. Scholastic Press published this book in
2004. Teague has created a hilarious and clever fictional character in the local dog, Ike LaRue. Ike, or Detective LaRue as he is portrayed in this story, goes on many wild adventures. In this tale Ike finds himself wrongly accused of terrorizing the Hibbins’ cats and stealing their “strangely yummy cat treats”. He pleads his case to his owner, Mrs. LaRue in a series of misleading letters, who is vacationing in France, with very little luck. However, when an additional string of burglaries delays the Snort City Police department’s investigation into the allegations against Ike, revealing their poor crime-solving skills, Ike must examine the clues and solve the mystery on his own. Ike escapes from jail and makes it his mission to find out where the Hibbins' cats have disappeared to and what they are up to now.
Teague uses letters written from Ike in simple language to make the reader completely believe that he, the dog, is actually writing the letters. There are also several “newspaper articles” shown in the book that help to give the setting and explain the circumstances of the plot. For example, towards the end there is a clipping from the Snort City Register/Gazette that tells about Ike being named an honorary detective. The combination of Ike’s letters, telling about his own part in the investigation and giving the story humor, and the newspaper clippings providing more serious plot information about the investigation and the humans' part in the story, gives the reader a chance to navigate various types of language and establishes visual interest on each page. The balance of formal language and narrative language makes the overall storytelling language very effective and gives young readers exposure to many critical language elements.
Teague also uses the traditional theme of “the dog dislikes the cats” to help the reader see the humor in Ike trying to clear his name and lets younger students follow the action, because they understand the common cat vs. dog relationship from other movies and books. Teague also uses a good vs. evil theme typical of fictional stories about dogs and cats that further helps the readers to immerse themselves in the investigation. This relationship, while explained in the letters, is fully elaborated in the images that show the cats true colors.
Perhaps the most valuable and intriguing part of this picture book are its extremely detailed, full-bleed illustrations. Teague uses his pictures to extremely extend beyond the text, showing the reader elements of both reality and fantasy. On most pages we see an image of Ike in color, depicting the reality of his investigation and his “jail time”, then we also see a picture in black and white, usually in a cloud or thought bubble, showing what Ike is saying that he is doing in his letters, the fantastical elements. For example on one page we see the postscript: "P.S. Imagine how I feel cooped up inside this loathsome dungeon!" is matched with a color illustration of Ike and a police officer playing a game of cards, as well as a black-and-white image of Ike being framed by the Hibbins' cats. The use of the two conflicting images lets the reader pick up on the fact that Ike is not actually doing what he says he is doing, like being trapped in jail or working hard to solve the case, but rather that he is having a great time playing games, ordering room service, and doing other fun and relaxing things. While many of the images are only partly consistent with what Ike’s letters say, the images and the text work together to create the sense of humor in the story, having the reader read one thing, and then look at the illustrations to see what the clever dog, Ike, is up to. In order for the story to be completely understood, the reader has to rely on the illustrations to get a lot of their information on the action. Despite the extent of Ike’s imagination, as a reader, we find the way the setting is depicted in the images to be authentic in detail and consistent with what information is given in the text.
2004. Teague has created a hilarious and clever fictional character in the local dog, Ike LaRue. Ike, or Detective LaRue as he is portrayed in this story, goes on many wild adventures. In this tale Ike finds himself wrongly accused of terrorizing the Hibbins’ cats and stealing their “strangely yummy cat treats”. He pleads his case to his owner, Mrs. LaRue in a series of misleading letters, who is vacationing in France, with very little luck. However, when an additional string of burglaries delays the Snort City Police department’s investigation into the allegations against Ike, revealing their poor crime-solving skills, Ike must examine the clues and solve the mystery on his own. Ike escapes from jail and makes it his mission to find out where the Hibbins' cats have disappeared to and what they are up to now.
Teague uses letters written from Ike in simple language to make the reader completely believe that he, the dog, is actually writing the letters. There are also several “newspaper articles” shown in the book that help to give the setting and explain the circumstances of the plot. For example, towards the end there is a clipping from the Snort City Register/Gazette that tells about Ike being named an honorary detective. The combination of Ike’s letters, telling about his own part in the investigation and giving the story humor, and the newspaper clippings providing more serious plot information about the investigation and the humans' part in the story, gives the reader a chance to navigate various types of language and establishes visual interest on each page. The balance of formal language and narrative language makes the overall storytelling language very effective and gives young readers exposure to many critical language elements.
Teague also uses the traditional theme of “the dog dislikes the cats” to help the reader see the humor in Ike trying to clear his name and lets younger students follow the action, because they understand the common cat vs. dog relationship from other movies and books. Teague also uses a good vs. evil theme typical of fictional stories about dogs and cats that further helps the readers to immerse themselves in the investigation. This relationship, while explained in the letters, is fully elaborated in the images that show the cats true colors.
Perhaps the most valuable and intriguing part of this picture book are its extremely detailed, full-bleed illustrations. Teague uses his pictures to extremely extend beyond the text, showing the reader elements of both reality and fantasy. On most pages we see an image of Ike in color, depicting the reality of his investigation and his “jail time”, then we also see a picture in black and white, usually in a cloud or thought bubble, showing what Ike is saying that he is doing in his letters, the fantastical elements. For example on one page we see the postscript: "P.S. Imagine how I feel cooped up inside this loathsome dungeon!" is matched with a color illustration of Ike and a police officer playing a game of cards, as well as a black-and-white image of Ike being framed by the Hibbins' cats. The use of the two conflicting images lets the reader pick up on the fact that Ike is not actually doing what he says he is doing, like being trapped in jail or working hard to solve the case, but rather that he is having a great time playing games, ordering room service, and doing other fun and relaxing things. While many of the images are only partly consistent with what Ike’s letters say, the images and the text work together to create the sense of humor in the story, having the reader read one thing, and then look at the illustrations to see what the clever dog, Ike, is up to. In order for the story to be completely understood, the reader has to rely on the illustrations to get a lot of their information on the action. Despite the extent of Ike’s imagination, as a reader, we find the way the setting is depicted in the images to be authentic in detail and consistent with what information is given in the text.
Check out the pre-quil-Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School
Picture Source: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/detective-larue#cart/cleanup
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