Now this is what you call a fractured fairy tale, quite literally. Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again tells the continuing story of Humpty Dumpty, who wasn't just an egg hanging around the King's kingdom, but a daring and sometimes careless mountain climber who had one fall too many and consequently suffered a severe lack of confidence. As written and illustrated by the always humorous Dave Horowitz (The Ugly Pumpkin is my hands down fave Thanksgiving book, by the way) this book has two elements guaranteed to appeal to readers: recognizable references to other nursery rhymes (for that "Ah ha!" moment,) and an egg in his underpants.
What's not to love?! In terms of humor and appeal, this version works better than 2007's Dimity Dumpty, by Bob Graham, which sidelined the Humpty story in favor of his quieter, sensitive sister, Dimity and seemed to be more of a morality tale than nursery rhyme. Horowitz, however, by working with the visual and theoretical joke of an egg who likes to climb, presents to his readers a tale of foolhardy yet admirable behavior. This Humpty is, indeed, a good egg.
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