Books!

The other day I went to the Goodwill (not only do I give them things but I buy things there too!) and of course, I stopped to look at the book section.  I am a sucker for books as anyone who knows me realizes, and I found a few books that I didn't have. Hard to imagine, I know. I flipped through the pages of the books just to make sure they were clean and not torn but didn't read them until I got home.  One of the books that I got was just hilarious and will become a perfect book to teach reading strategies and friendly letter writing at school.  Even if you are not using the book as a teaching tool, it is a perfect read-aloud at home that would get children engaged in the story.  The book is called Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague.  The main character is Ike, an overly dramatic dog who gets sent away from home to a dog obedience school for stealing food right off the counter, chasing the neighbors cats, howling whenever his owner is away, and tearing her camel hair coat while she was crossing the street.  Throughout the story, Ike complains about being mistreated by the school and begs to be taken back home.  Immediately.  He conveys his feelings in the form of letters to his owner at home, Mrs. LaRue.  The illustrations are one of the best parts of the book and cleverly depict Ike's perception of the events at school in black and white (oh the horror of it all!) with the reality of the events depicted in color.  What a perfect way to introduce comparing and contrasting as well as point of view!  I also found a fun friendly letter writing assignment online at writingfix.com that uses the book to teach how to write a persuasive friendly letter.  I won't tell you the end of the story, but will say there are sequels to Ike's tales that I am excited to read.  Here are the titles:
Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation
LaRue Across America: Postcards from the Vacation 
LaRue for Mayor: Letters from the Campaign Trail
I think the last book might be a great way to introduce local government concepts.
Enjoy reading Ike's letters, but don't believe a word he says ;-)