The Egg Incident

K-Gr 3–The traditional Humpty Dumpty story gets a unique upgrade in the tale of Humphrey, Dumpty’s nephew. Humphrey’s parents worry that their young egg will follow his uncle’s footsteps and fall off of a wall, so they have taught him to be extra cautious to avoid any “cracks.” When Humphrey runs into Princess Jean (PJ), he has no choice but to be more adventurous and answer her question, “Why are you so scared of everything?” All eggs in the story have astonishingly accurate emotional expressions. The artistic effect of the watercolors and black inks show Humphrey clearly dizzy, alarmed, and worried. In addition to the emotion, the movement of the eggs’ small limbs is so obvious that the action and mood of the story becomes even more engaging. All readers will be able to appreciate the story of Humphrey “coming out of his shell” and teaching his family how to do the same. In an added bonus, readers learn what really happened to Humpty.