Dumpy La Rue - Hardcover

Winthrop, Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805063854 ISBN 13: 9780805063851

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2001

Synopsis

Everyone told Dumpy La Rue that pigs don't dance. But Dumpy knew better. He closed his eyes and twirled to the tune inside his head. The whole barnyard gathered around, and soon hooves were stomping, wings were flapping, and feet were stamping out a beat.

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.

About this title

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

About the Author:

Elizabeth Winthrop has written more than forty books for readers of all ages. These books include Promises, also illustrated by Betsy Lewin; Shoes, illustrated by William Joyce; and the award-winning novel, The Castle in the Attic. Ms. Winthrop lives in New York City. She wishes she could dance as well as Dumpy.

Betsy Lewin is the Caldecott Honor Award-winning illustrator of Click, Clack, Moo! Cows That Type, by Doreen Cronin and A Houseful of Christmas, by Barbara Joosse. She has illustrated more than thirty books for children, many of which she also wrote. Ms. Lewin lives with her husband, artist Ted Lewin, in Brooklyn, New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0805063854
• ISBN 13: 9780805063851
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Lewin Betsy