Humpty Dumpty Lived Near a Wall by Derek Hughes (review)

Hughes, Derek Humpty Dumpty Lived Near a Wall; illus. by Nathan Christopher. Penguin Workshop, 2020 [48p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-9302-9 $14.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-9303-6 $8.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 4-6

Yes, you likely know the story of the hapless egg, but Hughes throws some anti-capitalist shade in this rendering, as Humpty's motivation to climb the wall is to escape his dreary life as an employee at King Corp., which is run by an evil, self-serving king. The shattered outcome is the same, but Humpty gets the last laugh as news of his elevating efforts inspires others to make their own foray over the wall and away from the king's grasp. Unfortunately, the rhyming text is strained and stilted and the conclusion anti-climactic and sentimental. The focus here, though, is really Christopher's intricate art; echoing Tenniel's engraving and Shaun Tan's strangeness (especially in his similarly themed Cicada, BCCB 12/18), Christopher offers up a visually rich world and invites readers to pore over the pages. Nods to fairy tales and nursery rhyme abound, from the frowning gingerbread man crammed into the employee elevator to the three little pigs' homes, each built with their according materials, to the various trolls, dragons, and goblins carousing through the streets. More intriguing, however, are the subtle details in the background that add to the creepiness: a throne that resembles a monster, rocks with skull-like features, and branches and thorns that curl around nearly every page. The simplicity of the text makes a jarring match to the sophistication of the illustrations, but this is a dark telling that ironically replaces the fatalism of the original tale with something like hope.