Review and Give Away: LaRue Across America

 This give away is now closed, and the winners have been notified.

LaRue Across America

Publisher description:

Ike's plan for a peaceful cruise with Mrs. LaRue are thwarted when their neighbor, Mrs. Hibbins, falls suddenly ill. Mrs. LaRue suggests that she and Ike care for her cats while Mrs. Hibbins is in the hospital, inviting them along on the cruise. But cats aren't allowed, and Mrs. LaRue decides to take them all on a week's vacation of road-tripping. Ike is beside himself and quickly takes up his pen to tell us why!

Join award-winner Mark Teague on this romping road trip across America.
Readers can follow along on the maps of the U.S. that span the endpapers.
Teague drives us to the story's satisfying conclusion, and we are left with
one profound question: Can cats and dogs really be friends?

Here is a book trailer.

Parental reaction: This is quite funny, and enjoyable to read aloud.  Sarcasm abounds.  The geography component makes for fun companion activities, like following along on a large U.S. map with toy cars, or mini state lessons after you read a postcard.  Here are some examples of the book's comedic value:

"I thought I spied the ocean today, but Mrs. LaRue said it is merely a 'great' lake.  I can see nothing great in something so fraudulent."

"The local postmaster claims that it would be illegal for me to send live cats through the mail.  I wonder if that could be true."

"The cats have been stealing my chew toys, shedding on my pillows, and clawing my suitcases.  Their poor manners have forced me to set limits, so I used masking tape to divide the car's passenger area in half."

Bibliophile's reaction: I thought he would love this one, because he's such a fan of geography.  Unfortunately, the sarcasm was all a bit over his head at this point, and the text probably too lengthy (he is only 3 1/2).  He didn't dislike it, though, and I hear that he and Daddy have read it together a bit also.  I'd recommend it for slightly older children, and of course for cat and dog fans.  I might give it another try with him by reading just one postcard at a time, and stopping to explain it to him.

Give Away: Thanks to Scholastic, TWO winners will receive a copy of LaRue Across America!

 To enter:
1) Leave a comment here.
2) Follow or subscribe in some way to Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile and leave a comment letting me know.
3) Tweet, facebook, or blog about this give away and leave a comment letting me know.

That's three possible entries per person. The deadline is April 22, 2011, midnight EST. Prizes ship to U.S. addresses only.  Please remember to leave your email address in your comment if it is not accessible from your profile.

Disclosure: We received a copy of La Rue Across America at no cost in order to write this review.  If you click on links in this post and purchase anything, we may earn a small commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.