Everyone knows that Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall and Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after his fall? Dan Santat's brilliant new picture book After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again reveals the events that followed Humpty Dumpty's fall to the ground and how he gets back his confidence.
Humpty Dumpty is just your average Joe. He enjoys sitting on the city's high walls and bird-watching, taking in the scenery and bustle of the crowds around him. But after his fall, his whole world is turned upside down. He's now terrified of heights, which unfortunately prevents him from being able to reach his favorite cereals on the top shelves at stores, sleeping in his bunk bed, and partaking in his very favorite activity of bird-watching. After all, accidents do happen, and it hardly seems worth the risk to every up that high again. But one day he gets an idea that helps him build up his confidence again and reminds him of the joys that come along with taking risks.
The design of this book, you guys. It's just so on point. Take, for instance, the fact that we see HD sitting comfortably (almost jovially) on the wall on the front cover, but the moment we take off that dust jacket and peek at what's underneath, we see HD falling. We even get a bit more of it on the title page and endpapers as Santat builds out this world and life-altering event. The illustrations and book design perfectly frame the title "After the fall" because that's exactly what readers see — what happens after HD takes his fall. And the ending? The ending is perfection. Totally unexpected and yet totally fitting and full of promise. The buzz around this book is one thousand percent warranted!!
After the Fall publishes October 3 from Roaring Brook Press!
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