Dimity Dumpty: The Story of Humpty's Little Sister (review)

Rather than the pretentious bore of Lewis Carroll fame, Humpty Dumpty appears in this wistful tale as the reckless preadolescent older brother of timid Dimity. The Dumpty family have a circus act called The Tumbling Dumpties; her mother, father, and Dumpty perform death-defying feats on the flying trapeze, but Dimity demurs, preferring to play her flute quietly out of the spotlight. When her outlaw brother takes a tumble off a wall that he is in the process of tagging, cami-garbed soldiers passing by give him up for dead, but Dimity boldly marches to the center of the circus ring and demands that someone help her brother. After he's rescued and restored, Dimity is modestly emboldened to play her flute for the circus performers, who cease their bustle to attend to her gentle reminder that quietude has its place even in the boisterous environment of the circus. Richly detailed watercolors in eye-easing pastels give distinctive character to the egg family and their circus environs, with the tiny details of their home and the outlandish costumes of their fellow performers adding a light-hearted humor to the more earnest text. Though Graham forcefully claims that this is Dimity's tale, Humpty still garners more than his share of the action and attention, making Dimity's contribution seem rather pale by comparison. In fact, Dimity's character isn't developed well enough for her act to be recognized as fully heroic; she's never presented as actively fearing the spotlight, so that her being forced to take center stage doesn't carry the impact it might have. Still, readers will smile at the whimsical humor of the nifty little egg-carton caravan pulled by a harnessed and harassed-looking chicken, giggle at the graffiti-addicted Humpty, and applaud the graces of the shy girl who doesn't have to get over being shy to find her place in the world.