Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?: And Other Notorious Nursery Tale Mysteries

Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?: And Other Notorious Nursery Tale Mysteries
Co-Authors / Illustrators
Genre(s)
Age Range
4+
Release Date
September 25, 2012
ISBN
978-0375841958
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Break-in at the Three Bears family home? It could only be one dame. Wicked witch gone missing from her candied cottage? Hansel and Gretel claim it was self-defense. Did Humpty Dumpty really just fall off that wall, or was he pushed? Here are five fairy-tale stories with a twist, all told from the point of view of a streetwise police officer called Binky, who just happens to be a toad in a suit and a fedora. When Snow White doesn't make it to the beauty pageant, Officer Binky is the first to find the apple core lying by her bed. When an awful giant mysteriously crashes to the ground, upsetting the whole town, Binky discovers exactly who is responsible. Author David Levinthal and illustrator John Nickle retell these classic stories in the style of a 1940s noir detective novel—for kids!

Break-in at the Three Bears family home? It could only be one dame. Wicked witch gone missing from her candied cottage? Hansel and Gretel claim it was self-defense. Did Humpty Dumpty really just fall off that wall, or was he pushed? Here are five fairy-tale stories with a twist, all told from the point of view of a streetwise police officer called Binky, who just happens to be a toad in a suit and a fedora. When Snow White doesn't make it to the beauty pageant, Officer Binky is the first to find the apple core lying by her bed. When an awful giant mysteriously crashes to the ground, upsetting the whole town, Binky discovers exactly who is responsible. Author David Levinthal and illustrator John Nickle retell these classic stories in the style of a 1940s noir detective novel—for kids!

Editor reviews

2 reviews
A Detective/Police Officer Dishes the Truth on Some Classic Fairy Tales
Overall rating
 
3.5
Plot
 
N/A
Characters
 
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Writing Style
 
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Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
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Told from the perspective of Mr Binky, a detective/policefrog, this book features 5 classic fairy tales which get a reworking from the original. This book has a fun ‘voice,’ as I found myself reading it in my mind as if I were in a 40’s-black-and-white, detective-smoking-behind-the-desk-with-his-feet-up-and-a-fancy-broad-in-his-office type voice. Know what I mean? Just the thought of talking about what happened to Snow White, Humpty Dumpty, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel, and Jack (of beanstalk fame) in that way is enough to make me crack up. Mr. Binky gets to the bottom of every story and gets all of the culprits (minus two) where they belong—-in the slammer. Hee hee hee…

I wasn’t as big a fan of the illustrations, though they are the type that may be appealing to some. They are slightly more of the ‘grotesque’ style than I would like for my young children (ages 4 and 2). There are also a couple of images that could be frightening to some (Gretel kicking a witch into a fiery oven, for example), but I think this book should be fine for kids 7 and up.
Good Points
Fun and silly to read out loud.
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