APA Reference of Book: Levinthal, D.,
& Nickle, J. (2012). Who pushed
Humpty Dumpty?: and other notorious nursery tale mysteries. New York, NY:
Schwartz & Wade Books.
Summary: A police detective named Binky investigates
various nursery rhymes from the point of view of a mysterious crime scene. He solves
the case of who broke into the three bears’ house, ate their porridge, sat on
their chairs and slept in their beds, who turned out to be Goldilocks. Then he
investigates the case of a missing witch who
lured Hansel and Gretel into her candy house. Hansel and Gretel were presumed
guilty until their story proved to be a true case of self-defense. Next, Binky discovers
the identity of the culprit who pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall. The villain
turns out to be a pig who was not allowed to sing in Humpty Dumpty’s band,
called All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men. Binky also solves the case
concerning who poisoned Snow White during the Forest Beauty Pageant. In his
final case he investigates the cause of an earthquake and an explosion, which came from Jack growing the beanstalk and escaping from the giant,
who falls and crashes to the ground.
Impressions: This
is a very interesting picture book that has unique perspectives on various
nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Goldilocks is normally seen as the victim of
the well-known nursery rhyme, but this particular tale focuses on the point of
view of the Three Bears instead. Hansel and Gretel’s story is also an
interesting one, because Binky does not know if he should believe in Hansel and
Gretel’s story at first. It is interesting to think that they could be children
who are lying, which would mean that the witch is innocent. The crime scene
investigation theme is an interesting spin on these familiar stories, because
it dramatizes the situation of each story and turns each of them into a
mystery. Children would have fun seeing these tales from a new perspective. It
would allow them to exercise their creativity in reimagining these stories and
other fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
Professional Review:
“Binky, a stout, warty police detective toad who looks like he's downed a
few donuts over the years, gets the call when things go bad in the forest in
this latest entry in the flourishing genre of nursery noir. The Three Bears
report a housebreaking; Hansel and Gretel are acquitted on
self-defense in the murder of a witch; a pig chef who runs an omelet stand
confesses to pushing Humpty Dumpty off the wall; Snow White is rushed to the
hospital on a 911 call from a dwarf; a boy named Jack caught high-tailin' it
away from a scene of devastation proves to be the hero who rescued a kidnapped
Golden Goose from a giant. The stories are too underdeveloped to carry much
weight, and they're not nearly as amusingly manic as episodes in Scieszka's
venerable Stinky Cheese
Man. Nickle's acrylic illustrations, however, are more
than up to the job, with their eerie, other-worldly cast of ne'er-do-wells.
Scene setting and visual characterization are aimed at kids who know the
stories thoroughly and can therefore appreciate the unrepentant, blue-eyed
glare of Goldilocks behind bars; the shell shard and tighty-whities wreckage of
Humpty Dumpty; and the rotten teeth and distended bellies of the animals who
have gorged on the witch's candy house. Readers who are just starting to
question all those happily-ever-afters might find a few answers here.”
Bush, E. (2012). Who pushed Humpty Dumpty?: and other
notorious nursery tale mysteries (review) [Review of the book Who pushed Humpty Dumpty?: and other
notorious nursery tale mysteries, by D. Levinthal & J. Nickle]. Bulletin
of the Center for Children's Books 66(2),
94-95. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2124/article/486501
Library Uses:
Assign each group of children to reinvent a favorite nursery rhyme and
creatively change the ending or add a twist to it. They can act out these
re-imagined nursery rhymes as a play, dramatically acting like the characters.
Props and costumes are optional but are encouraged.
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