After the Fall How Humpty Got Back Up Again

I am always looking for alternate fairy tales and nursery rhymes. When I saw Dan Santat's After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) I decided to borrow it from the library to see if it was worth adding to my list of alternate titles.

This is actually a different kind of tale than the ones I usually write about for my alternate tale reviews. Other than changing the premise that the King didn't have the resources to put Humpty back together again, the story doesn't try to change the basic premise that Humpty liked to climb and fell. It instead is aimed at teaching children how to cope with a painful, scary accident that can lead to someone not wanting to do something again.

In this story after his fall Humpty doesn't want to resume wall climbling even though prior to his fall it was a great passion. He simply can't face the thought of the damage he could do to himself again. The author doesn't push Humpty up the ladder again, but instead leads Humpty there by acknowledging that his fears are logical and giving him some time to heal by exploring a new interest. Mind you this is a picture book so it isn't a long healing process, but it does give the reader enough time to understand that Humpty isn't giving up climbing forever, but he needed time to deal with his near death experience and to realize accidents do happen, it is just a part of life. There is no way to live an accident free life. Through his new hobby, Humpty comes to terms with the reality that nothing he does will be safe from accidents and he resumes his climbing.

This book packed a powerful message and it would be good to share with children because at some point most kids deal with fear, frustration, accidents, and failures. This book isn't the solution, but it is a way of talking about how hard it is to want to try again and how with time it is possible to overcome fears and challenges and to try again.