Larabee

by Kevin Luthardt

Larabee likes everything about delivering mail, except that he has never received any himself!
Every morning, the mailman Mr. Bowman and his dog Larabee wake up very early to deliver the mail. Larabee likes riding in the mail truck and carrying the mailbag. He likes delivering the mail, and he always, always makes sure it is delivered on time. There’s only one thing Larabee doesn’t There is never a letter for him! Then one day, after all the mail has been delivered, Mr. Bowman reaches into his bag and finds a letter…addressed to Larabee!
Kevin Luthardt utilizes his highly expressive, comical, full-color illustrations and minimal text to poignantly and humorously dramatize this special tale of the pure joy that can result from the simplest expression of friendship.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Animals, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Shel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luthardt, K. (2004). Larabee. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers.

1561453005


Appetizer: Larabee the dog accompanies Mr. Bowman as he delivers the mail each day. But more than anything else, Larabee would like to receive a piece of mail for him just once.

The illustrations are cute, colorful and child friendly. They also include a subtle jokes to encourage young readers (or adults who are reading the book aloud for the twentieth time this week) to spend time looking at the illustrations.

There is also quite a bit of multicultural representation in the illustrations and in the text (a number of characters say hello to Larabee in different languages or dialects).

The text does include a few three syllable words. A teacher could read aloud the book, but have a young reader supply some of the simpler or repeated words.


Dinner Conversation:

"This is Mr. Bowman. His is a mail carrier. This is his dog. His name is Larabee."

"Larabee likes to ride in the mail truck. He likes to help carry the mailbag too. But most of all he likes the mail. He wishes someone would send him a letter."

"Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza get a letter from their son in the army."

"But Lacey McNabb loves Larabee the most."


To Go with the Meal:

Young students will find Larabee to be very relatable. After all, what kid doesn't want to receive some mail just for them. (As a child, my mom would always let me open all the holiday mail addressed to the entire family. But it ended up being more of a pain, because I never knew the people the cards were from. But never fear, as an adult I regularly order books online. I getz me lotz of packages. I'm sure my postman secretly hates me. Or thinks I'm a crazy person who doesn't leave the house ever to go shopping like a normal person.)

This is a great picturebook for new readers to learn about how the mail is delivered and how to write letters. As an activity, students could write letters to Larabee, the mailman, their own pet or a family member.

Kids can also try to guess what each of the characters are getting in the mail. (One of the pages directly encourages this when Bruno the Butcher receives a package. But to be honest, in that particular case, I didn't want to think about what was in the box. Team Veggie for life!)

Since there are dialogue bubbles, a teacher could describe to young reader how to read those.


Tasty Rating: !!!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larabee helps his owner, the mailman, deliver letters every day and all he wants is to receive a letter himself. Sadly, dogs don't get mail. I absolutely love the illustrations which are bright and colorful and full of diversity! The story line and resolution are simple, but kids will love it. Probably better for toddlers than preschoolers, but it would make a nice last book in the preschool lineup because of its simplicity. Also, it's easily shortened by skipping a page or two if the kids are getting restless.

[1000springs · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute😊

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A postman’s dog makes friends all along his route

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Larabee is the mail man's dog. He loves to help deliver the mail. Larabee would love to get some mail of his own, but dogs don't get mail. One day, Larabee's friend Lacey sends him a letter and makes him one happy puppy.

What I thought: A lovely book. Mail is one of my favorite things. I'm glad Larabee received some. The illustrations are bright and colorful. They are almost reminiscent of a cartoon.

[Renate]

Larabee is a dog who helps deliver mail with the mailman, Mr. Bowman. He wishes he could get a letter but dogs don't get mail. But he still wishes and at the end of the book, his wish comes true. The reader can use this book to point out thought bubbles (with pictures) and word bubbles. At the end of the book, there is a picture of the author getting a letter. During my read-aloud with this book, the students were excited to talk about getting and sending mail.

[Monalisa Johnson-brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about a dog who helped his mail carrier owner deliver the mail. sometimes he moves fast sometimes slow. He was excited to deliver mails but wanted to receive one too. he had a friend name lacey who tied flowers on his ears and gve him hugs finally one day sent him a letter in the mail. He was so excited he kept on jumping all over the place.

[Dodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific illustrations and a story that preschoolers can relate to - what happens when the mail comes and there is never anything for me? Larabee and his mail carrier owner are best friends, and Luthardt's illustrations are full of affection for his characters.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second year I've used Larabee during the PreK student's Community Helpers unit at my school. They just love hearing about a mail dog, plus this talks about a community helper they don't normally study. Very fun!

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children adored this story when they were smaller. The illustrations really bring the story to life and they always smiled so big when Larabee FINALLY gets his letter!! Such a heartwarming tale of a mailman and his dog. I recommend it for all ages!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dog deserves mail too :-)

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appealing illustrations in gouache, colored pencil and acrylic on paper; short story; suitable for story time.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used as part of Valentine's Day storytime 2/11/2016

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think preschool children will love it.

[Lisa Houlihan]

There is no good reason for dogs not to receive mail. The postal carrier doesn't have an answer for the dog who asks that question and neither do I. Sadly, cat-loving Ms. Fellini does not suffer any comeuppance for not liking dogs.