What Really Happened to Humpty?

By Jeanie Franz Ransom

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Or--as his brother Detective Joe Dumpty thinks--was he pushed? This case isn't all it's cracked up to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charlesbridge
• Release date: Jun 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9781607341031

Book preview

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Reviews for What Really Happened to Humpty?

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nursery rhyme goes noire in this hard-boiled detective story from Jeanie Franz Ransom, whose long-standing relationship with the Dumpty family stretches back (so we are told in the biographical blurb on the rear dust-jacket flap) into her youth. When the famous Humpty takes his fall, his younger brother Joe - that's P.I. Joe Dumpty to you! - isn't buying the idea that it's an accident, immediately setting out to find those responsible. Chasing all over Mother Gooseland, Joe is hot on the trail of the wrong-doers, chasing after clues and eventually arriving at the (not-so-surprising) solution.Chosen as one of our February selections over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme was "Fractured Nursery Rhymes," this amusing tale works quite a few well-known characters into the story, from Mother Goose herself (Police Chief Goose!) to Chicken Little and Little Miss Muffet. There are entertaining puns aplenty - Joe's a hard-boiled detective, get it? - and the cartoon-style artwork adds to the sense of fun. I particularly appreciated the map of Mother Gooseland that appears on the endpapers. All that said, I was a little disappointed to see that, revisionist or not, the Big Bad Wolf is still the villain. It would have been more amusing if it had been entirely the doing of Little Miss Muffet. Leaving that issue aside, this was an entertaining tale, one I would recommend to young readers who love nursery rhymes and fractured fairy-tales. Perhaps to be read with Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again, or Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?: And Other Notorious Nursery Tale Mysteries.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is really more of a nursery rhyme book then a fairy tale book but it's a fun mystery all the same. Joe figures out what really happened to his brother Humpty when he fell of the wall. Lots of favorite nursery rhyme characters are mentioned or appear.

[kbesaw-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book, written from from the point of view of Joe Dumpty, Humpty Dumpty's brother, tells a story of his detective work as he investigates the REAL cause of his brothers death. Joe must follow a long trail of clues in order to find out what happened to his brother.

[wwrawson · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A LOT of puns.

[leighfer23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book I can see all ages enjoying but would probably focus on Kinder through third grade because it is a play on the Nursery Rhyme of Humpty Dumpty. This book is through the perspective of Joe Dumpty, Humpty Dumpty's younger brother, a detective who investigates Humpty's mysterious fall from his neighborhood watch tower. Joe learns to fallow his instincts and finds out how Humpty truly fell off the wall. I love the illustrations in this book because there is so much detail and size comments within the illustrations that adds humor to this interesting twist on the mother goose rhyme.

[kivarson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Joe Humpty, the younger brother of Humpty Dumpty, sets out to discover just who is responsible for Humpty's great fall. This story brings in the whole cast of characters from fairytale land, from Miss Muffet to the Three Little Pigs. The fact that the font looks like it was done on a typewriter is a nice touch.This is better for a young reader to tackle independently, rather than being a good read-aloud.

[kdemott_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun,smart, good for storytime. I actually wondered "whodunnit?"