Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?

Gr 1-4–These open-and-shut cases of nursery-rhyme mysteries are narrated by Officer Binky, a toad with a manner reminiscent of Joe Friday’s on the old Dragnet TV show, with his typical “Just the facts, Ma’am” style. In the first of five short stories, the officer gets a call from Mrs. Bear, who is upset because someone broke into the family home, ate their porridge, sat in their chairs, and slept in their beds. Based upon the evidence–a blond hair and an empty bowl, a piece of blue material caught in a chair that has seen better days, and a disheveled quilt on a bed–Officer Binky deduces that it “could only be one dame: Goldilocks!” When questioned, she admits to being the intruder. The intrepid cop assures readers that “they’ll feed her three meals a day where she’s going, and she’ll have plenty of time to rest.” Hansel and Gretel, Humpty Dumpty, Snow White, and Jack and the Beanstalk are all similarly treated in eight pages or less with the police officer quickly solving the mysteries behind the well-known tales. Illustrations are presented in a variety of sizes and set off by frames in different colors. At the end of each segment, a red stamp reading ‘CASE CLOSED’ is superimposed over Nickle’s richly colored acrylic artwork. The tongue-in-cheek telling of tales will tickle the fancies of children familiar with the originals.–Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI