The egg incident

K-Gr 3--The traditional Humpty Dumpty story gets a unique upgrade in the tale of Humphrey, Dumpty's nephew. Humphrey's parents worry that their young egg will follow his uncle's footsteps and fall off of a wall, so they have taught him to be extra cautious to avoid any "cracks." When Humphrey runs into Princess Jean (PJ), he has no choice but to be more adventurous and answer her question, "Why are you so scared of everything?" All eggs in the story have astonishingly accurate emotional expressions. The artistic effect of the watercolors and black inks show Humphrey clearly dizzy, alarmed, and worried. In addition to the emotion, the movement of the eggs' small limbs is so obvious that the action and mood of the story becomes even more engaging. All readers will be able to appreciate the story of Humphrey "coming out of his shell" and teaching his family how to do the same. In an added bonus, readers learn what really happened to Humpty. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries and the best of what graphic novels have to offer.--Danielle Schwessinger

Visions of his uncle Humpty's fate curtail a cautious young egg's actions on an outing to the park. With the warnings of his anxious parents ringing in his ears ("AND NEVER, EVER SIT ON A WALL!"), rotund Humphrey ventures timorously outside, where he falls in with a disheveled, red-haired, light-skinned dynamo named Princess Jean ("call me PJ") who urges an uncertain Humphrey to join her in climbing trees, playing catch, and like terrifying business. When PJ's tales of her own misadventures prove so absorbing that neither notices the park closing, the only way to get out is…climbing the high wall. "Just don't look down!" she warns. Oh, dear. If this were a Jon Klassen story, that would likely be the end, but Hanaor and Wynter have a different idea. Humphrey may be depicted in the loose-lined cartoonish illustrations as a deceptively fragile-looking egg with stubby stick limbs and an anxious expression, but he emerges from his great fall unexpectedly intact, and PJ squires him off to her family's castle, where he gets an earful from one of the king's horses about what really happened to his yarn-spinning uncle. His worldview undergoes a transformation. "It's important to be careful. But if you're too careful all the time, you miss out on all the fun!" The human cast is diverse. Lays a liberating message on helicopter parents and their overprotected offspring. (Graphic fiction. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.