I Like Ike: Of Dog-Day Daydreams and Some Wonderful Reads

Hi!

      I'm dog-tired after a spirited game of chase with Allison. She's becoming quite good at it; her barking is getting better, and her pounces are almost wolf-like. True, she'll never have a tail like mine (which helps a pup like me balance and bounce), but my loveable human is learning! Allison says that she's afraid the heat might drive us "stir-crazy" and so makes sure we are doing different things - even while we're stuck inside.

     Lately I guess I have been a little crazy. A howl here and there, long sessions of barking (I swear I smelled a skunk last night, even if my humans didn't believe me!), and lots of dives under the couch. To keep me busy, Allison decided to show me some of her postcards and guidebooks from when she went exploring around England and other fun places. We couldn't adventure far in the heat, but we could adventure with our imaginations!

An afternoon nap: Italy at my snout and England at my hind-paws.

     Continuing on an imagination adventure (once I'd finished my nap), Allison and I read a book about a dog named Ike who has his own journey. He too collects a bunch of postcards from the places he visits. Anyone up for a roadtrip? Ruff!

In Mark Teague's LaRue Across America, Ike LaRue is faced with a problem. When Ike's human does a very silly thing and agrees to take the neighbor's cats on vacation, our canine hero decides to send a number of postcards home throughout the cross-country trip. Mainly to tell his neighbor that her pesky felines are putting a cramp in his carefree style! The cats, for example, refuse to play at the water slides and even cause chaos in the giftshop of a dinosaur park. Arooo! Silly kitties!   

   Not all is as it seems, though. What the imaginative Ike writes in his postcards is maybe a little bit...dramatic. Readers will laugh when they realize the contrast between Ike's adventure's and his increasingly desperate-to-escape-cats-as-car-companions messages. Mark Teague has made Ike's imaginings black and white, while the narration features colored illustrations, as Allison points out (see the above example taken from Teague's Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School). Even human grown-ups will appreciate the finer details of the story and the skillful illustrations. Happily, Ike's vacation ends with a wonderful twist that human-pups will love, the postcard-penning pooch finally getting his dream vacation. Two paws up and a tail wag for this book and also for Letters From Obedience School. Best for human-pups from K-4, the Ike LaRue books are a must-read! 

*Note: My human Allison has had the fun of meeting Mark Teague in person at a book signing. She says he's very nice, and she highly recommends checking out the rest of his books!

I wonder if I could get Allison to plan a road trip for us? Hmmm. A dog can dream. Woof!

Yours in postcards and imagination vacations,

Sam I Am

Mushroom Hunting for Puppies

Hi!

     I've been here, I've been there - lately I feel like a pup always on the move! Sneak-up surprise visits to see Jacob and fantastic times trotting around the library's grounds have kept me busy. But do you know the best adventure I've had lately? I went on a Mushroom Hunt with Rachel in the Wilds of Slater Park!

     Imagine this: A forest setting with dusty leaves underpaw. There are gritty bits of branches painted with dew. Our canine explorer's nose snuffles across the morning-lit grass. See how wolfish his smile is? His tail waves, and his ears perk up to listen to the woods. With his faithful human by his side, he pads forward to seek...MUSHROOMS.

Unfortunately, Rachel never told me what a "mushroom" was (Allison calls something called oatmeal "mush," so I thought a mushroom might be a room filled with oatmeal), so I was looking in the wrong places...

     After a few false sniffs up trees, Rachel finally thought to tell me what a mushroom is. I wiggled my bum and sat back to listen to her explanation.

     "A mushroom is something called a fungus," she said. "It looks kind of like a little puffy umbrella, and it grows in dark, damp spots and eats dead things."

     Woof-roo? Why would anyone want something like that?

     Rachel continued, "There are lots of different colors and sizes of mushrooms; some are poisonous and some you can eat. I just want a few for an art project."

     Ah. Now that I understood. Thinking back to my humans' strange habits of crushing veggies and fruits and leaves for other painting projects, this didn't surprise me. After a quick stretch, we were off again. At last we found clumps of mushrooms (which - upon sniffing- I decided NOT to eat), and our quest was done! 

Rachel and I look at the mushrooms we found in the woods.

She's using the tops to make pretty designs on paper. Humans are strange.

      When I had settled back onto one of my favorite napping spots in Allison's room, Allison pulled out a book. Smiling, she told me that she was happy that I had been such a brave, smart adventurer. The following book tells the story of three adventurous pigs (one of whom travels especially far) and their own mushroom hunt. 

     In Holly Hobbie's Toot and Puddle: Wish You Were Here, Toot sets off for "Wildest Borneo," leaving his best friend Puddle and her cousin Opal at home in Woodcock Pocket. Much of the story allows readers to see both Toot's adventures in Borneo (through his postcards home) and Opal and Puddle's happy spring in Woodcock Pocket (through the narration). Toot discovers new plants; Puddle and Opal plant marigolds. Three very close friends with very different interests! Aroo!

Human-pups will gasp at what happens next! Toot comes home sick and the only remedy is a smelly mushroom tea. And these mushrooms may just be hidden somewhere in Woodcock Pocket...

I give this book two paws up and a tail wag. The book's wonderful message is that adventures are available even in your own backyard - and that friends may be very close even if they are like very different things. Be yourself! And always be open to adventure! Aroooooo! The illustrations too are funny and imaginative (especially the postcards from Toot), the characters' faces showing just what they are feeling. Recommended for human-pups Pre-K-3.

Allison and I would also like to recommend the other Toot and Puddle books! 

Oh dear. My family has just discovered that I had a nibble on Suz's rocking chair. I think I'm in trouble...have to go try the puppy eyes and woof a quick "sorry." 

Yours in feisty adventures and silly mushrooms,

Sam I Am    

   

      

Of Couches and Magical Thumps that Make Things GO

Hi!

     After a very pleasant day of bone-chewing, napping, and playing chase, I was happy to snuggle up with Allison for a good book. I gnawed gently on Allison's toes while she picked one out. What book next? What new reading adventures for me and my human? As it turns out, she had adventure, exploring, and travel on her mind. (Allison's been thinking a lot lately about her adventure of Library School starting in the fall - so we're going to read more books about new places and new experiences.) Frowning a little, Allison looked down at the stack in her paws. So many to pick from! Then she spoke:

     "Where's the best place to start an adventure, Sam?"

      Ruff? I stopped trying to wiggle under a kitchen chair and thought. Then I got distracted by a piece of my bone hiding beneath the table. What can I say? I try to help, but I'm just a pup. It didn't matter though, because Allison answered her own question:

      "At home, silly! We can start with one of my favorites..."

     With that, my human pulled a worn paperback book from the shelves:

Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch by Susan Seligson and Howie Schneider tells the tale of a dog's adventures on a magic couch. His silly humans no longer take him anywhere (I trotted out of the room, quite upset, when Allison read that part - how sad for Amos to always be left all alone!), so he spends a lot of time on his couch. One day he discovers that a well-aimed thump makes the couch go VAROOM and zoom off like a car. So start his adventures as he and his couch-mobile follow his family out of the house! Finally his humans discover his secret hobby, and human-pups will smile at the book's ending.

I give this book a definite two paws up and a tail wag for its plucky red-furred hero, its imaginative plot, and its comical illustrations. Tail-wagging and heart-warming, this book shows that whether you are young, old, human, pup, etc., YOU can have adventures and happily "embrace the unexpected" as Allison says! Woof!! With a little imagination, you can have adventures anywhere - even on your own couch. This story is best for human-pups grades PreK-2. (Or anyone with a passion for couches, transportation, creative exploration, or all of the above.)

*There are also other Amos books by this author, including Amos Camps Out for fans of the outdoors.

Usually I prefer underneath my couch, but I decided to try to make it go VAROOM...

Sigh. No luck getting this couch to move.

Still a great place for pre-adventure snuggles though!

Now I'm off to bed; my dreams are adventures themselves! Ruff! Besides, a pup needs to rest up before seeing more of the world...

Yours in comfy furniture and exploring,

Sam I Am