{"id":8949709383,"title":"What REALLY Happened to Humpty?","handle":"what-really-happened-to-humpty","description":"\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/jeanie-franz-ransom\"\u003eJeanie Franz Ransom\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/stephen-axelsen\"\u003eStephen Axelsen\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA scrambled mess...\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumpty Dumpty had a great fall. Or--as his brother Detective Joe Dumpty thinks--was he pushed? This case isn't all it's cracked up to be. Suspects are plenty (as are the puns) in this scrambled story of nursery rhyme noir. Was it Little Miss Muffet? There's something not right about her tuffet. Or could it have been Chicken Little, who's always been a little cagey? Or was it the Big Bad Wolf, who's got a rap sheet as long as a moonless night? Joe's on the beat and determined to find the truth. Readers of all ages will delight in the word play and hilarious illustrations in this mystery of what really happened to Humpty Dumpty on that fateful day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/charlesbridge-books.com\/previews\/what-really-happened-to-humpty\/humpty_preview1.html\" target=\"new\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead an excerpt!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these:\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/products\/the-crown-affair\" title=\"The Crown Affair\"\u003eThe Crown Affair\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/products\/ace-lacewing-bug-detective\" title=\"Ace Lacewing\"\u003eAce Lacewing: Bug Detective\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-cvr.jpg?14968034928844906658\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-hires.zip?14968034928844906658\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeanie Franz Ransom, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJeanie Franz Ransom has written several books for children, including \u003cem\u003eWhat Parents Do When You're Not Home\u003c\/em\u003e (Peachtree),\u003cem\u003e Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal: A Tale of Tattletales\u003c\/em\u003e (Magination Press), and \u003cem\u003eGrandma U\u003c\/em\u003e (Peachtree). She lives with her family near St. Louis, Missouri.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/jeanie-franz-ransom\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e about Jeanie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStephen Axelsen, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStephen Axelsen has illustrated numerous children's books, including \u003cem\u003eVikings Maze Book\u003c\/em\u003e (Little Hare Books), and the Piccolo and Annabelle series (Oxford University Press), which he also wrote. He lives on the east coast of Australia\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/stephen-axelsen\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e about Stephen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumpty Dumpty's hard-boiled brother tackles the mystery of this infamous fall. In a big gold trench coat and matching fedora, private eye Joe Dumpty makes a bold assertion--\"Humpty Dumpty was pushed\"--and sets out to crack the case, supported by police Chief (Mother) Goose. His droll investigation covers a rogue's gallery of nursery-rhyme characters. Miss Muffet proves a tough cookie; Joe finds a key piece of evidence under her tuffet. Other suspects include Goldilocks (who's house-sitting for the Three Bears and answers the door in pajamas and bedhead), a Zoot-suited Wolf, a skittish Chicken Little and the bickering Three Little Pigs. Ransom's execution of her delicious premise is scattershot, but with many more hits than misses, and her text is substantial, appropriate for her target school-age audience. Axelsen's watercolor-cum-pen-and-ink illustrations offer additional laughs and surprises. While done with a bit more polish and 'tude by Margie Palatini and Richard Egieski in 2001's \u003ci\u003eThe Web Files\u003c\/i\u003e, this nursery-rhyme caper will please.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClever wordplay marks Ransom's (What Do Your Parents Do? [When You're Not Home]) fast-paced, noir-styled offering. Detective Joe Dumpty unravels the real reason his brother, Humpty, took a spill, interviewing characters that hail from the pages of Mother Goose (she puts in an appearance, too). The puns, a little more subtle than in similar stories, are on target for the suggested audience, e.g., “I looked at my brother. He wasn't moving. Whoever did this was gonna fry!” Axelsen (the Piccolo and Annabelle series) provides plenty of humor with busy cartoon illustrations, many of them inset with boxed vignettes; Chicken Little and her offspring, for example, wear crash helmets and reside in a fortified bunker. The noir conventions add a layer of sophistication to the nursery-rhyme setting, ratcheting up the book's appeal for primary-grade readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-58089-391-6\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eE-book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-60734-103-1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 6-9\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 40\u003cbr\u003e8 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e x 11\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]","published_at":"2016-09-07T16:36:00-04:00","created_at":"2016-09-07T12:24:02-04:00","vendor":"Charlesbridge","type":"Children's Book","tags":["Browse by Age_Ages 3-6","Browse by Age_Ages 6-10","Browse by Format_Picture Book","Browse by Language_English","Browse by Subject_Humor"],"price":795,"price_min":795,"price_max":795,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":29702638215,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"93916","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"What REALLY Happened to Humpty? - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":795,"weight":193,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_quantity":9,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"978-1-58089-391-6","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-cover.jpg?v=1586807095"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-cover.jpg?v=1586807095","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":"What REALLY Happened to Humpty? book cover image","id":5804998623311,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.778,"height":771,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-cover.jpg?v=1586807095"},"aspect_ratio":0.778,"height":771,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-cover.jpg?v=1586807095","width":600}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/jeanie-franz-ransom\"\u003eJeanie Franz Ransom\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/stephen-axelsen\"\u003eStephen Axelsen\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA scrambled mess...\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumpty Dumpty had a great fall. Or--as his brother Detective Joe Dumpty thinks--was he pushed? This case isn't all it's cracked up to be. Suspects are plenty (as are the puns) in this scrambled story of nursery rhyme noir. Was it Little Miss Muffet? There's something not right about her tuffet. Or could it have been Chicken Little, who's always been a little cagey? Or was it the Big Bad Wolf, who's got a rap sheet as long as a moonless night? Joe's on the beat and determined to find the truth. Readers of all ages will delight in the word play and hilarious illustrations in this mystery of what really happened to Humpty Dumpty on that fateful day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/charlesbridge-books.com\/previews\/what-really-happened-to-humpty\/humpty_preview1.html\" target=\"new\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead an excerpt!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these:\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/products\/the-crown-affair\" title=\"The Crown Affair\"\u003eThe Crown Affair\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/products\/ace-lacewing-bug-detective\" title=\"Ace Lacewing\"\u003eAce Lacewing: Bug Detective\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-cvr.jpg?14968034928844906658\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/what-really-happened-to-humpty-hires.zip?14968034928844906658\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeanie Franz Ransom, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJeanie Franz Ransom has written several books for children, including \u003cem\u003eWhat Parents Do When You're Not Home\u003c\/em\u003e (Peachtree),\u003cem\u003e Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal: A Tale of Tattletales\u003c\/em\u003e (Magination Press), and \u003cem\u003eGrandma U\u003c\/em\u003e (Peachtree). She lives with her family near St. Louis, Missouri.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/jeanie-franz-ransom\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e about Jeanie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStephen Axelsen, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStephen Axelsen has illustrated numerous children's books, including \u003cem\u003eVikings Maze Book\u003c\/em\u003e (Little Hare Books), and the Piccolo and Annabelle series (Oxford University Press), which he also wrote. He lives on the east coast of Australia\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/stephen-axelsen\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e about Stephen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumpty Dumpty's hard-boiled brother tackles the mystery of this infamous fall. In a big gold trench coat and matching fedora, private eye Joe Dumpty makes a bold assertion--\"Humpty Dumpty was pushed\"--and sets out to crack the case, supported by police Chief (Mother) Goose. His droll investigation covers a rogue's gallery of nursery-rhyme characters. Miss Muffet proves a tough cookie; Joe finds a key piece of evidence under her tuffet. Other suspects include Goldilocks (who's house-sitting for the Three Bears and answers the door in pajamas and bedhead), a Zoot-suited Wolf, a skittish Chicken Little and the bickering Three Little Pigs. Ransom's execution of her delicious premise is scattershot, but with many more hits than misses, and her text is substantial, appropriate for her target school-age audience. Axelsen's watercolor-cum-pen-and-ink illustrations offer additional laughs and surprises. While done with a bit more polish and 'tude by Margie Palatini and Richard Egieski in 2001's \u003ci\u003eThe Web Files\u003c\/i\u003e, this nursery-rhyme caper will please.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClever wordplay marks Ransom's (What Do Your Parents Do? [When You're Not Home]) fast-paced, noir-styled offering. Detective Joe Dumpty unravels the real reason his brother, Humpty, took a spill, interviewing characters that hail from the pages of Mother Goose (she puts in an appearance, too). The puns, a little more subtle than in similar stories, are on target for the suggested audience, e.g., “I looked at my brother. He wasn't moving. Whoever did this was gonna fry!” Axelsen (the Piccolo and Annabelle series) provides plenty of humor with busy cartoon illustrations, many of them inset with boxed vignettes; Chicken Little and her offspring, for example, wear crash helmets and reside in a fortified bunker. The noir conventions add a layer of sophistication to the nursery-rhyme setting, ratcheting up the book's appeal for primary-grade readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-58089-391-6\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eE-book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-60734-103-1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 6-9\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 40\u003cbr\u003e8 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e x 11\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]"}

What REALLY Happened to Humpty?

By: Jeanie Franz Ransom / Illustrated by: Stephen Axelsen

A scrambled mess...

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Or--as his brother Detective Joe Dumpty thinks--was he pushed? This case isn't all it's cracked up to be. Suspects are plenty (as are the puns) in this scrambled story of nursery rhyme noir. Was it Little Miss Muffet? There's something not right about her tuffet. Or could it have been Chicken Little, who's always been a little cagey? Or was it the Big Bad Wolf, who's got a rap sheet as long as a moonless night? Joe's on the beat and determined to find the truth. Readers of all ages will delight in the word play and hilarious illustrations in this mystery of what really happened to Humpty Dumpty on that fateful day.

Read an excerpt!

Maximum quantity available reached.

Jeanie Franz Ransom, author

Jeanie Franz Ransom has written several books for children, including What Parents Do When You're Not Home (Peachtree), Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal: A Tale of Tattletales (Magination Press), and Grandma U (Peachtree). She lives with her family near St. Louis, Missouri.

Read more about Jeanie.


Stephen Axelsen, illustrator

Stephen Axelsen has illustrated numerous children's books, including Vikings Maze Book (Little Hare Books), and the Piccolo and Annabelle series (Oxford University Press), which he also wrote. He lives on the east coast of Australia

Read more about Stephen.

Kirkus Reviews

Humpty Dumpty's hard-boiled brother tackles the mystery of this infamous fall. In a big gold trench coat and matching fedora, private eye Joe Dumpty makes a bold assertion--"Humpty Dumpty was pushed"--and sets out to crack the case, supported by police Chief (Mother) Goose. His droll investigation covers a rogue's gallery of nursery-rhyme characters. Miss Muffet proves a tough cookie; Joe finds a key piece of evidence under her tuffet. Other suspects include Goldilocks (who's house-sitting for the Three Bears and answers the door in pajamas and bedhead), a Zoot-suited Wolf, a skittish Chicken Little and the bickering Three Little Pigs. Ransom's execution of her delicious premise is scattershot, but with many more hits than misses, and her text is substantial, appropriate for her target school-age audience. Axelsen's watercolor-cum-pen-and-ink illustrations offer additional laughs and surprises. While done with a bit more polish and 'tude by Margie Palatini and Richard Egieski in 2001's The Web Files, this nursery-rhyme caper will please.

Publishers Weekly

Clever wordplay marks Ransom's (What Do Your Parents Do? [When You're Not Home]) fast-paced, noir-styled offering. Detective Joe Dumpty unravels the real reason his brother, Humpty, took a spill, interviewing characters that hail from the pages of Mother Goose (she puts in an appearance, too). The puns, a little more subtle than in similar stories, are on target for the suggested audience, e.g., “I looked at my brother. He wasn't moving. Whoever did this was gonna fry!” Axelsen (the Piccolo and Annabelle series) provides plenty of humor with busy cartoon illustrations, many of them inset with boxed vignettes; Chicken Little and her offspring, for example, wear crash helmets and reside in a fortified bunker. The noir conventions add a layer of sophistication to the nursery-rhyme setting, ratcheting up the book's appeal for primary-grade readers.

Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-58089-391-6

E-book
ISBN: 978-1-60734-103-1

Ages: 6-9
Page count: 40
8 1/2 x 11