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Summary
Summary
With whimsy and warmth, Graham, author of Oscar's Half Birthday, tells the lesser-known tale of a shy little soul who saves the day, paying tribute to a famous nursery rhyme figure and bringing smiles to his readers once again. Full color.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-"Everyone knows the story of Humpty Dumpty. Not so many know the story of his little sister, Dimity." So begins the tale of his quiet, diminutive, and painfully shy sibling who prefers the background to the limelight of her circus family's acrobatics. The perfect foil to her reckless brother's antics, Dimity finds solace and meaning in her flute music. But when Humpty takes his proverbial fall while spray painting graffiti, it is Dimity who comes to his rescue. She runs to the big top and, finding her voice, mobilizes everyone to save her brother. After the rescue, she remains her timid self, but those around her come to appreciate her quiet center. The full-color watercolor illustrations are a delight-from the egg carton "mobile home" pulled by a hen to the emotional expressions Graham can pull out of an eggshell. The language is lyrical ("the spotlight pushed like a bright finger across the tent," "gentle as a beetle's breath," "high notes fly like swifts on a summer's morning") and makes a perfect read-aloud. This story of a quiet child who shuns attention and remains true to herself will resonate with children and their parents, who know that everyone has special gifts and talents.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Young readers may think they know all there is to know about Mother Goose's clumsy egg character, but Graham (Oscar's Half Birthday) sets them straight in his hilarious picture-book profile of the whole Dumpty family. As members of a traveling circus, Dorothy and Dominic Dumpty and their children, Humpty and Dimity, have built a happy life riding from town to town in their cozy egg-carton camper. As the Tumbling Dumpties, mother, father and son adore the spotlight under the Big Top each night. But little sister Dimity much prefers playing her flute and seeking out solitude whenever she can. It's not until Humpty ("something of a rascal") takes a fall while spray-painting graffiti on a wall that timid Dimity boldly steps up to save her brother. Part fractured nursery rhyme and all sweet-natured fun, Graham's story envisions a completely believable egg's-eye-view of the world. The trappings of the Dumpties and their fellow circus folk (all humans), rendered in cheery watercolor-and-ink are often laugh-out-loud funny in their detail. The trapeze-act scenes alone are worth the price of admission. Ages 3-up. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Egg Dimity, ""shy and timid as a field mouse,"" lives in an egg-carton caravan with her more outgoing circus-acrobat family. When her troublemaker brother, Humpty, takes his well-documented fall (while spray-painting his name on a wall), reticent Dimity finds her voice and rescues him. Graham's fancifully detailed watercolor and ink illustrations are the main attraction of this rather diffuse tale. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Graham throws new light onto a familiar nursery rhyme, casting Humpty as the reckless scion of a family of circus acrobats, and giving him a very shy little sister who bravely comes through in the clutch. The writing and the art are equally exquisite. While the rest of her family is wowing crowds under the Big Top, Dimity takes her flute (made from a ball-point pen core) outdoors, to play "as soft as a snail on a cabbage leaf, / quiet as the grass growing on the hill." Dimity's retreat from the spotlight comes to a brief end, however, when her feckless sibling falls from a wall while spraying it with graffiti. Having competently splinted his broken leg and patched his leaky shell with her shirt, she dashes into the ring to plead for help from the crowd. The illustrations combine delicacy of line and color with lots of richly comic details, depicting the diminutive Dumptys and their comfortably appointed egg-carton trailer amid a full-sized circus, and giving Humpty a suitably raffish look. The tale's entire cast pauses at the end to admire Dimity's quiet courage, and listen as she plays, to quote the Ringmaster, "the music of the heavens." You can almost hear it. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Perhaps you didn't know that Humpty Dumpty had a sister. Young Dimity (and all the Dumpties) are part of a circus, traveling the highways and byways in an egg carton hitched to a horse. Humpty is a rascal, but Dimity is timid, preferring to play the flute rather than be part of the Tumbling Dumpties. Children will wait to see how Humpty has his great fall--unexpectedly, he is tagging, spray painting his name on a wall. Despite a grim prognosis, he is saved by Dimity, who comes out of her shell (figuratively) to get the help he needs. The story rambles, but Graham, whose books often turn on understated wit, tweaks out every bit of humor in both the story and the enticingly detailed ink-and-watercolor art. Much of the fun comes from the diminutive egg family interacting with the rest of the world (the king's soldiers are British troops), and a lot of the pleasure derives from watching a quiet little sister use her strength and smarts. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist