LaRue Across America: Postcards from the Vacation

When avid letter-writer Ike LaRue's neighbor, Mrs. Hibbins, is hospitalized, LaRue's owner, Gertrude, cancels their cruise to take the neighbor's cats on a road trip. A distraught canine writes harried postcards to Mrs. Hibbins, imploring her to let him send them home, while doing his part to torment the skittish kitties. Growing weary, Ike writes, "Is it really a ‘Grand' Canyon? In my sad state I can no longer tell." Luckily, "fate" intervenes in Death Valley, and the travelers get their cruise. With Ike's memories and exaggerated fantasies captured in b&w thought bubbles, Teague's cagey cat caricatures and Ike's melodramatics are spot-on hilarious. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)