Sloppy Kisses by Elizabeth Withrop illustrated by Anne Burgess

Tuesday Treasure

"Emmy Lou's family loved to kiss."  

When she arrives at school, Rosemary sees Papa giving Emmy Lou a great big sloppy kiss.

"EEEE-YEW!' said Rosemary.
'Your father still kisses you? That's just for babies.'
'Is it?' asked Emmy Lou.
'Kissing is yukky,' said Rosemary.
And she went off to hang up her coat.
'It is?' Emmy Lou whispered."

Everything changes in this moment for Emmy Lou. She tells her family she does not want to be kissed any more. She informs them that kissing is for babies. So that night, after Papa and Mama kiss her sister Dolly they give Emmy Lou a little pat on the shoulder. Poor Emmy Lou - she finds it so hard to get to sleep. Day after day and night after night Emmy Lou refuses to be kissed until finally one night she just cannot get to sleep.

Papa and Mama try all the things you would expect - Is Emmy Lou thirsty?; Does she need another blanket?; How about a story?  Then Papa steps in and picks up Emmy Lou and he "gave her a great big sloppy kiss. Then he handed her to her mother, who gave Emmy Lou a nice soft warm kiss. Emmy Lou smiled."

Emmy Lou has a wonderful sleep but what will happen at school when Papa drops her off and what can she do about Rosemary?

Here is a photo of the last page:

I cannot think why I have not talked about this book here on this blog. It is an absolute favourite of mine hence it is a Tuesday Treasure. If I don't convince you this is a treasure here is a little trivia to think about. I spied a copy of Sloppy Kisses for sale (paperback) for US$135. The original paperback from 1980 cost US$3.95 and strangely less here in Australia only Au$3.50.

Elizabeth Winthrop has a Ted Talk on her web site. She is the author of over sixty books. Here is a Spaghetti Book Club review of Sloppy Kisses by two readers aged 6 and 7.  Back in 2008 I was thrilled when Elizabeth Winthrop commented on my blog after I mentioned Sloppy Kisses should come back into print.

My friend at Kinderbookswithevery thing has a post about Kisses. Here are some of the books from her splendid library.

Beetle and the Hamster by Hilary McKay

I have a good friend who adores the writing of Hilary McKay but she has never mentioned this little series to me. There are four Beetle and Friends titles and I think Beetle and the Hamster might be the second book and so I plan to look for Beetle and Lulu which perhaps introduces these characters. I am curious about how Beetle got his name.

Henry has a hamster but it took him weeks to persuade his mother to let him have this special pet. Beetle, his friend, also has a hamster but he didn't seem to have any family problems. This hamster just appeared or so it seems.  Henry asks Beetle to explain but he refuses.

"I can't tell you because I said I wouldn't. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone.
Not far away sat a girl called Lulu. Beetle carefully did not look at Lulu, and Lulu carefully did not look at Beetle. They were the only people in the world who knew how Beetle had got his hamster."

I hope you are full of questions. I cannot tell you how Lulu is involved, where the hamster came from or why Beetle says this is is such a huge secret.  You need to look for Beetle and the Hamster to discover the truth but I do guarantee you will never guess this plot and it will leave you and the youngest readers in your life laughing out loud.  You might also discover something about loyalty and promises.

Sadly this is a very old book (2002) so it is long out of print. This is especially a pity because this is another one of those little easy chapter books with a terrific story that is just perfect for beginning readers.  Read more about the writing of Hilary McKay here.  You might also read my review of Lulu and the Hedgehog in the rain. I cannot find anything to confirm this but I think the Lulu series (2012-2013) are an offshoot from Beetle and Friends (2002).