Every now and then, a children’s book arrives that makes one sit up and relish the simple genius of it.
“After the Fall : how Humpty Dumpty got back up again” is one such. Written by Dan Santat, it went on to win the Booklegger Award.
We all know Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
We all know Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
But ….
Do We all know that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Did put Humpty Dumpty together again?
The book starts off with the ‘Great Fall’ that poor Humpty Dumpty is famous for.
But something happened to the Humpty Dumpty who was put together again. He developed acrophobia (a fear of heights)
The illustration accompanying this is brilliant. Notice the cereal boxes in the bottom shelf? Bo-rings, Cardboard, Grown-Up Food, Bland
Compared to the all-so smile inducing Choco Duck, Rainbow Bites and Pirate Crunch occupying the higher shelves.
But one day, Humpty Dumpty is inspired – if not to fly himself, at least to design a paper plane that can fly like his dreams.
But accidents happen as Humpty Dumpty knows, and how Humpty Dumpty overcomes his fear of heights to morph into The Egg Who Got Back Up and realized far more than he had ever expected is a story that will leave you inspired and smiling.
A sublime change, and a very relatable tale of living: living with fear, and living with hope, and living with the faint possibility of overcoming our fears is what the book is all about. And isn’t that enough?
Isn’t that all we all yearn for in our lives?
That hope that we can overcome our own selves and go on to inspire ourselves beyond our wildest dreams?
Nourish-n-Cherish 