Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation
Author & Illustrator: Mark Teague
Publisher: Scholastic Press Year of Publication: 2004 Genre: Fiction & Action Adventure Horn Book or Kirkus Review Rating: Hornbook review of 3. Summary: Detective Larue Letters from the investigation is a book about Ike Larue being a suspect in a crime. The crime involves the disappearances of two neighbor cats that go missing. Ike believes he is being falsely accused and decides to solve the crime himself. Larue writes letters to his owner who is on vacation informing her of what is happening to him. But Ike isn’t telling the truth in some of the letters he is writing. Summary of Professional Review: According to Horn Book Reviews, Detective Larue Letters from the Investigation received a rating of a 3. The review gives a brief yet detailed summary of the book. It also emphasizes on the humor being used in this book especially in the colorful illustrations. This book would be useful when teaching... Mystery books like this one would be very beneficial in a fourth grade classroom. First the teacher should read the book to the students and then allow time for discussion after. This book wouldn’t be used in a lower grade because of the illustrations and the strong, descriptive vocabulary and idioms that young students would not understand.This is perfect for literacy and language instruction for older readers.Teachers could use this book to teach letter writing to students and how to correctly punctuate and different ways to address a letter. After teaching students how to properly write a letter a teacher can have the students create their own sets of letter to anyone they would like. This allows growth in writing skills that will benefit the student. |
Review by Sasha Ishak: Detective Larue Letters from the Investigation is a humorous book that school age children will enjoy reading. The book is extremely funny and was created with a lot of creativity in mind. The story is interesting because it is written from a dogs perspective. The vocabulary is somewhat difficult for elementary school students to read alone just because some of the words are complex and descriptive words that a second or third grade would know how to read by themselves. The illustrations are wonderful and very detailed, they help the story flow along very well. The black and white illustrations really make the book interesting especially when they are found mixed in with the colored illustrations. This allows for the illustrations to stand out. The format of the book isn’t exactly like any other children’s book and that is what makes it eye catching. The story line is written as a series of letters between the dog and his owner. Detective Larue is a great book for readers who like to read mysteries and like solving mysteries.
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