Customer Reviews

What REALLY Happened to Humpty? (from the files of a hard-boiled detective)

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The sub-title of this book, "from the files of a hard-boiled detective," immediately tells us this is going to be a comic take on a favorite nursery rhyme. It doesn't tell you that it's going to be laugh-out-loud funny. I'm stymied as to what age level to recommend this for - let's just say the family as adults will enjoy it every bit as much as young readers. Do bear in mind that the very young will probably miss much of the humor unless they're quick enough to remember Miss Muffet's relationship with the spider and Bo as in Bo Peep's quest for what was lost.

Joe Dumpty (the hard-boiled detective) is Humpty's brother and he doesn't believe for one minute that Humpty simply fell off the wall. Joe's convinced that he was pushed. The eye witness testimony of Miss Muffet almost convinces all that it was an unfortunate accident. Police Chief Goose thinks that a claim of intentional harm and detective work will just cause more trouble but finally relents enough to let Joe have until 5:00 o'clock that day to prove that it was a dastardly deed.

Joe is firmly convinced that he's right when he discovers something under Miss Muffet's tuffet. He sadly sees all the king's horses and all the king's men trundle his brother off to the hospital and then begins his investigation in earnest.

Let it simply be said that good triumphs and it's a great deal of fun seeing how it does. Stephen Axelsen's illustrations are boldly colorful, every bit as imaginative as the story itself.

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

"What Really Happened to Humpty?" is a pitch perfect blend of fairy tale meets detective story.

Joe Dumpty, Humpty's younger brother narrates a classic detective story as he investigates the circumstances following Humpty's fall from the wall. After all, he'd been sitting up there for ages with nary a wobble. And then the very week he becomes captain of the neighborhood watch he suddenly falls? What are the chances?

In true detective fashion, Joe interviews the residents of Mother Gooseland - Little Miss Muffet, Goldilocks, Old Mother Hubbard, Chicken Little, the Three Little Pigs - looking for witnesses and suspects while gathering clues along the way. Deducing from the cracks in the witnesses' stories, Joe pieces together the shell of a story, then waits for the main suspect to put in an appearance. Miss Muffet's Spider wraps up the case tidily and Police Chief Goose hauls the perpetrators off to jail. And they all live happily ever after (hey, it's a fairy tail - it's not like I spoiled the ending).

Joe's story, as told to Jean Frantz Ransom, is masterfully woven, intertwining the narratives of some of the best-known fairy tales to create a plausible narrative as to how Humpty Dumpty happened to fall off the wall. The humor is eggsellent, including several well placed (admittedly corny) puns. Steven Axelsen's cartoonish illustrations are the perfect compliment to the story, and really bring it alive. There's even a helpful map of Mother Gooseland.

My only objection is that Amazon's product description indicates that the book is for children ages 4 to 8, which I think is a little young. My own almost-four-year-old basically enjoyed the story, but she was a bit confused and a lot of the humor went over her head. She also didn't like the picture of Humpty after his fall and she was rather upset by his injury. Older kids will get the humor and the point of the story better. I would say the book is best for ages 6 to 10 or so. And adults, of course.

If parents can appreciate the average Pixar "kids" movie for the referential humor embedded to keep them awake, then "What Really Happened to Humpty?" demonstrates a mastery of the art -- this is a kids' book, to be sure, and the set of five and six year olds I read it to certainly enjoyed it -- but most any adult will feel compelled to imitate the voice work which characterized '50's radio drama. At the same time, it is tough to keep in character on the first read, because some of the jokes really are laugh-out-loud funny.

Few kids' books are as much fun to read the fifteenth time as the first; this one is as close as any. It's one that kids can ask grandma or grandpa to read to them, and which everyone will enjoy!

The sub-title of this book, "from the files of a hard-boiled detective," immediately tells us this is going to be a comic take on a favorite nursery rhyme. It doesn't tell you that it's going to be laugh-out-loud funny. I'm stymied as to what age level to recommend this for - let's just say the family as adults will enjoy it every bit as much as young readers. Do bear in mind that the very young will probably miss much of the humor unless they're quick enough to remember Miss Muffet's relationship with the spider and Bo as in Bo Peep's quest for what was lost.

Joe Dumpty (the hard-boiled detective) is Humpty's brother and he doesn't believe for one minute that Humpty simply fell off the wall. Joe's convinced that he was pushed. The eye witness testimony of Miss Muffet almost convinces all that it was an unfortunate accident. Police Chief Goose thinks that a claim of intentional harm and detective work will just cause more trouble but finally relents enough to let Joe have until 5:00 o'clock that day to prove that it was a dastardly deed.

Joe is firmly convinced that he's right when he discovers something under Miss Muffet's tuffet. He sadly sees all the king's horses and all the king's men trundle his brother off to the hospital and then begins his investigation in earnest.

Let it simply be said that good triumphs and it's a great deal of fun seeing how it does. Stephen Axelsen's illustrations are boldly colorful, every bit as imaginative as the story itself.

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

This picture booked sized short story with the occasional comic book (graphic novel) page linking the text and picture pages forms an interesting sequel to the classic Humpty Dumpty tale. It also is a sequel to quite a few other children's fairy tales as well through their character's cameo appearances such as Goldilocks is now a house sitter at the three bears house. Plus there's a few other fairytales which this one seems to interrupt such as Little Red Riding Hood while she's getting the food for her basket in the pre visiting grandma part of that fairytale stressed due to no muffins being sold by the shopkeeper (of course who is the muffin man). Children you're reading it to/with, assuming you've read them those stories will immediately know and want to yell out that's whoever from whatever it is. This makes the story even more fun. Although you will probably have to track down those original stories shortly after reading this.

This is a through the eyes of the main character journey through Mother Gooseland. That main character is a private detective named Joe Dumpty. When he hears his brother Humpty has fallen off his Neighbourhood Watch chair on top of the wall he rushes to the scene. Joe knows his brother wouldn't just fall off the wall, after all he is an experienced wall sitter, however Miss Muffet who was the one to dial 911 swears it was windy and he just fell. Finding his binoculars hidden under her tuffet he knows she's not telling the truth but a spider backs up her story and that's good enough for police chief Mother Goose. She does however give Joe until 5pm to prove otherwise which is when she will file her report. Why when he's a private detective and not one of her officers he worries about this time frame is never explained but he is against the clock to solve his brother's assault before it is written off as an accident. Joe Humpty visits and interviews a number of other fairytale characters and the clues are easy enough for a child to enjoy working out what actually happened to Humpty before the final page is reached. An interesting and worthwhile read.

If you like Fairytale prequels or sequels check out the picture books Porkenstein a sequel to the Three Little Pigs by Kathryn Lasky where the remaining and now very lonely pig decides to make a new friend. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf by Lane Smith is another great picture book told from the wolf's own mouth of what really occured surrounding the events of the destruction of the houses of straw and twigs and the demise of thier occupants. Whatever Happened to ....?: The Ultimate Sequels Book is a paperback style book that interviews and tells the stories of what happened to many fairy tale characters in the years afterward. Dave Barry's Peter and the Starcatchers series is also a great paperback series prequel to Peter Pan.

We read books every night from the library before bedtime for our 4 and 7 year old. We found this book and it seemed like a good one and we weren't disappointed! The whole family, dad included, sat down and listened as I read this book and it had everybody giggling. It's like the current Disney movies...there's humor in there for the little ones as well as humor in there for the adults so that everybody has a good time. There's a ton of play on words and several nursery rhymes which are referenced in the story. It's a modern twist on the classics...everybody has a cell phone, afterall. This was definitely one of our better finds!