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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #305695 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780805075359
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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

From Publishers Weekly
The creators of Promises offer a spry story starring a piglet determined to dance. Though his parents insist that "Pigs don't dance./ They grunt, they grovel,/ they snuffle for truffles," Dumpy La Rue "knew what he wanted to do," and kicks up his hooves in front of an audience of barnyard animals. When the sheep announce that they, too, want to dance, Dumpy offers some advice to his pals: "If you want to dance,/ if you want to glide,/ just close your eyes/ and listen inside." Caldecott Honor artist Lewin (Click, Clack, Moo) portrays the closed-eyed assemblage of critters including Dumpy's family spinning, twirling and gliding along with the prancing porker. Her animated pictures, created with black brush lines and watercolor wash, comically capture the animals' initial skepticism and eventual ebullience as they discover the thrill of dancing to their own internal beats. Though the verse intermittently falters in its rhythm and rhyme, the kid-tickling energy and silliness remain constant (e.g., "The goats did a two-step./ The fox did a three./ The mule danced the salsa/ with a neighboring tree"). And amidst the merriment, readers just may pick up on the importance of bucking stereotypes and listening to one's own drummer or whatever it is that is playing "inside." Ages 4-9.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-What fun! Dumpy La Rue is a pig who has lots of rhythm and just wants to dance, much to his family's distress. His parents are reproving and his sister says, "Boys don't dance./They fight, they march,/they sport, and they snort./And they're never ever/supposed to cavort." With wonderfully expressive watercolor illustrations and quick rhyming text, Dumpy not only shares his love of movement with the entire farmyard, but he also has them all kicking up their hooves in the end. "Folks would come from high and low/to see this most amazing show./The Barnyard Ballet/of Dumpy La Rue/The Pig Who Knew/What He Wanted To Do." The musical quality of the text makes it a perfect read-aloud even if all of the vocabulary words (glissade, jet‚d, pas de bourr‚e) aren't immediately familiar. Through Dumpy's warmth and enthusiasm, children will meet a youngster who marches to the beat of his own drummer, and who encourages others to do so as well.-Genevieve Ceraldi, New York Public Library

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

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.

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!

Dumpy will Capture your Imagination
Dumpy La Rue knew what he wanted to do. Though his family tried to discourage him...pigs grunt and grovel, they bellow and wallow and snuffle truffles, Dumpy knew his own mind and wouldn't be swayed. What he wanted to do was dance. And so while the rest of the barnyard watched, "He twirled in the sty,/ raised his snout to the sky,/ spread his hooves far and wide/ and pretended to fly." And pretty soon interest among the farm animals was brimming. They all wanted to dance too. But how to get started? So Dumpy offered a bit of advice. "If you want to dance,/if you want to glide,/just close your eyes/and listen inside."..... Elizabeth Winthrop and Betsy Lewin have authored a marvelously expressive story full of rhythm, motion, imagery and magic that will charm and delight both children and adults alike. The easy to read, rhyming text is complemented by their joyous, imaginative and detailed illustrations that will have everyone up and dancing with Dumpy in no time. Perfect for youngsters 3-8, Dumpy La Rue is a winner and a "must have" for all home libraries.