Product Description
After her friend tells her kissing is for babies, Emmy Lou tries to make do with a pat on the shoulder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

is it ok to kiss your child good night?
You betcha! The story of Emmy Lou, a pig, who hates getting kissed goodnightby her parents, until they stop when she asks them to, and then....

Picture book with full color watercolor illustrations on every other page. So sweet. Very scarce. Highly recommended.

We love 'Sloppy Kisses'
I have purchased this book for five children in my life, it is the favorite of all.It's lesson is one of love and affection, and that it is ok to kiss your dad when everyone is looking.

One of the best childrens books available.
One of the best books available to show children you are never too old for kisses.

reassures all ages that your never to big for a kiss
My children have been raised as family members of the United States Marine Corps... Their Papa is gone quite a bit.This little story has had a special place in our hearts as the encouragement it has given for ourchildren to continue to value affection from their Papa withoutembarrassement....Even at 3rd and 4th grade, at Millington CentralElementary School, they would kiss in the hallway as they took differentroutes to their own classes... it did not matter who looked or what theysaid because "kissing is for everybody" ... Read more

Product Description
When one of her eggs is taken to be used in the Easter egg hunt, Mother Duck waddles off to the rescue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

MIDWESTBOOK REVIEW
This is the story of Spring on the farm.
All the animals are having babies, the horse and the cow, the hen and the goat, and even the duck.Something strange happened with Mrs. Ducks eggs though, only 4 out of 5 hatched.

Well, Mrs. Duck knew number 5 must be really special, and was waiting for just the right moment to hatch; but to her horror the little girl from the farm house came and got her egg for Easter.What was mother duck to do?

She marched right up to the farm house and found her egg and sat down right on it not willing to let her little duckling be destroyed.
That was one brave Mama Duck!

To everyone's surprise on Easter morning
her little duck baby was born.
Happy Easter little duck, welcome to the world! A very cute story! ... Read more

Product Description
"He's a porker with passion,
a dancing fool, a pig with rhythm-
this breaks every rule,"
said the normally reticent mule.

Now in paperback-Dumpy La Rue, about a pig who knew what he wanted to do.

Elizabeth Winthrop's romping, rhyming story and Betsy Lewin's exuberant illustrations will have readers tapping their toes, jumping for joy, and dancing a jig with this passionate pig as they follow him and the barnyard animals from farm to fame.
Amazon.com Review
Call it a tale of bold and balletic self-actualization (of the porcine kind) the stirring story of young Dumpy La Rue, "the pig who knew what he wanted to do."

Despite all sorts of well-intentioned advice to discourage him ("'Pigs don't dance,' said his mother. 'They bellow, they swallow, they learn how to wallow'"), Dumpy can't ignore the tantalizing beat he hears in his head: "He twirled in the sty, raised his snout to the sky, spread his hooves far and wide, and pretended to fly." Not surprisingly, an at-first-reluctant barnyard audience begins to catch on, first the sheep--"'We want to dance too,' cried the sheep. 'It looks like fun. Why should he be the only one?'"--then even, eventually, Poppa Pig himself.

A fun and muddy romp, with plenty of glissades and jetés, Dumpy La Rue ably displays the talents of Elizabeth Winthrop (of The Castle in the Attic fame) and firecracker illustrator Betsy Lewin, returning to the farm after her Caldecott Honor winner Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Ages 4 to 8) Paul Hughes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Billy Elliot in pig form
Let me explain to you the process that I follow when I review picture books.First, I read tons of professional reviews of the newest books coming out.Then I systematically make a list and work my way through it, often including old standbys and books from my own youth that I'd like to reexamine.THEN I finally check out a book or two and review it for fun.I almost never deviate from this pattern except on special occasions.Such an occasion arose just the other day when I was pawing through my local library.I was in a new library attempting to find some of the books on my list when the title, "Dumpy La Rue" caught my eye.I'd never heard of "Dumpy La Rue".I was familiar with the illustrator Betsy Lewin (of "Click Clack Moo" and "Duck For President" fame) but not author Elizabeth Winthrop.But one glance on the cover of a delightful pig in a spotlight and I was sold.I mean, with a title like "Dumpy La Rue" and a fun frolicsome pig, how could I resist?Out the window goes my careful selection process.Into my home comes "Dumpy La Rue".

The first sentence of the book sums it up."Dumpy La Rue wanted to dance".Of course, Dumpy has a couple facts not in his favor.First of all he's a pig.As his father is quick to inform him, "Pigs don't dance".Second, he's a boy.His sister points out that "They fight, they march, they sport, and they snort.And they're never ever supposed to cavort".None of this discourages Dumpy one little bit.Soon he's dancing in full view of the entire barnyard (much to the embarrassment of his family members).Before you know it the sheep want to join in.Then everyone wants to.Instructing them to listen to the music inside everyone closes their eyes and does so.Before you know it everyone's in on the act, even Dumpy's ma, pa, and sister.Says the last sentence in the book, "The Barnyard Ballet of Dumpy La Rue.The pig who knew what he wanted to do".

The story's got a catchy rhyming beat that difficult to resist.Winthrop also knows exactly which dance terms to include.For those with a basic background in ballet, note the phrase, "He did a glissade and pas de bourree.From slop heap to bucket, he jeted his way".I advise you to help kids learning to read with that part (and to learn the pronunciation of the French yourself if you've a mind to).As catchy as the words are, however, they're nothing compared to Lewin's illustrations.You know, I liked "Click Clack Moo", but I always felt that Lewin's accompanying pictures were the weak point of that tale.They lacked a kind of verve and technical accomplishment.Had I but known that she was capable of the kind of fabulous energy and bounce found in "Dumpy La Rue" I would have definitely taken her to task.In this book Lewin has gone all out.From the sheep chorus line on the endpapers to the lengthening shadows on the dancing animals throughout the day, Lewin's got it going on.She uses watercolors to give the night sky behind the barnyard dance a kind of blue/purple distinctness.I've never seen her give such great movement and character to her drawings before.Heck, if you can look at the adorable title page containing a smiling Dumpy La Rue perched on a sign and NOT want to read this book then you're a hard hard case.

The message I can take or leave.Stories about "being yourself" abound and this one's hardly any different.Far better (and worth the price of the book alone) are Betsy Lewin's illustrations.I kid you not, they're the best dancing animal illustrations I've ever seen.I know that Steven Kellogg wrote a fairly similar story to this one recently about a dancing cow ("Clorinda") so you might consider pairing the two together.Both have their charms, but "Dumpy La Rue" includes an entire barnyard conglomeration of dancing animals.Few books can boast as much.Few books are as good as this.

A Pig Who Believed in Himself
This book is great for ages 3-7.Dumpy wants to be a dancer but no one thinks he should be because he is a pig.This book has very good illustrations and is very easy to read.At the end EVERYBODY starts to dance!That is why we gave it five stars.

Delightful new children's classic!
I have given this book several times to children in the 6-8 year range and all have enjoyed it thoroughly (especially children who like to dance).The verse is delightful, the animals charming, and the message is very positive.If you want to give a gift but are afraid that the child has many of the older classic picture books, this one is a great choice.

A wonderful story
This is a great book for kids, adults and music lovers. The story is a good lesson in believing in your dreams and trying to achieve them! Despite who you are or what you are, you can do most anything.This story has become one of our family favorite read-aloud books!Buy one for your favorite music teacher, too!

Dumpy LA Rue
Dumpy La Rue is a fun book.I read it to a group of third graders and they loved the rhyming words and thought of more that would rhyme with them.The loved the pictures as well as the story.They wanted me to read it to them again and again! ... Read more

Product Description
The Bible's nativity story has been retold in simple, beautiful text with soft, sensitive illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Engrossing
The story of three generations of women in one family, In My Mother's House is well-written and kept my interest. The story begins with Lydia in 1888, continues with Lydia's daughter Charlotte, and ends with hergranddaughter Molly in 1971. There's a family secret--something thathappens to Lydia as a young girl--which shapes the destinies of all threewomen and how they relate to one another.Lydia's story(which doesintersect and impact the others) was by far the most interesting and Ithought her character was the best of the three women. It may just bebecause she's the one who bears the secret and she also is in the booklonger than anyone else.The book is a fine and engrossing study of howkeeping the truth hidden can cause misunderstanding and pain in a family. ... Read more

Product Description
Sequel to "The Castle in the Attic".Recommended for ages 8 and up. ... Read more

Product Description
A boy and a girl build a castle and play in it. ... Read more