Module 9 * Mystery * March 17-23

Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?

by 

David Levinthal 

Bibliography: Levinthal, D.  (2012). Who pushed Humpty Dumpty?  New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Summary:

This humorous take on a fifties private-eye story is set in the forest of fairy tales and stars Detective Binky, a frog who solves fairy tale crimes.  He solves the mystery of who vandalized the Three Bears' house, a missing candy-house witch whose sister is looking for her, and the death of Humpty Dumpty, a member of a rock and roll band, among others.  All are based on classic fairy tales and all have a predictable ending that goes with the tale that kids are familiar with.  Each "case" ends with a Case Closed stamp when the culprit is caught or the mystery is solved.  

My Take: 

This book is hilarious!  I love that Detective Binky's dialogue is written with the classic cadence and verbiage of the classes private eye movies/novels.  The stories are fun and familiar, most with a newly discovered twist that keeps the reader interested and engaged.

Reviews: 

Did Humpty fall or was he pushed? Why was Snow White missing the morning of the beauty pageant? No mystery is too great for Officer Binky, who is on the scene searching for clues, following leads, and convincing suspects to confess as he solves five classic fairy tale crimes. Not since The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Viking, 1989), has there been such a perfect marriage of author and illustrator. Told in first person from the fedora-capped toad detective's point of view, Levinthal's descriptions read like vignettes from noir detective novels. Larger than life acrylic illustrations steal the show, capturing the emotions of both victim and suspect as Binky works relentlessly around the clock. Sure to have children laughing out loud, classes introduced to this title will be inspired to write spin-offs of their own to traditional fairy tales.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Presser, H. B. Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? (review).  (2013). Library Media Connection, 31(4), 90.

Officer Binky, a laconic and rumpled frog detective, investigates the events of fairyland: "The Three Bears" is a breaking and entering; "Snow White" is an attempted murder; Hansel and Gretel present a self-defense plea. Levinthal has a good time with scene-of-the-crime details, forensics, and witness testimony. Nickle's dramatic, hard-edged paintings, with their hint of grotesque misanthropy, are just the ticket. 

Ellis, S. Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? (review).  (2013). The Horn Book Guide, 24(1), 34. 

Use in a School Library: 
This book would be a blast to use in a genre study of fairy tales along with twisted fairly tales like The Stinky Cheeseman and Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.  This type of writing that is based on the familiar is of great interest to students and can really open their minds to using well-known stories and creating something new from them.  Groups could write their own fairy tale case with another classic tale and share with the class/school.