Bad Egg: The True Story of Humpty Dumpty

by Sarah Hayes

A prose elaboration on Humpty Dumpty's experience on the wall, based on the familiar nursery rhyme

Genres: Fairy Tales, Picture Books

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Suzi]

The best thing about this book is its title. The illustrations are cute but it is a sad complicated story . I love children's books and used to sell them. This bad egg is sorta a bully.

[Zoe Mills]

Great rhyming and a extension to the nursery rhyme

[Lamar Daniel]

Humpty dumpty is one of my favorite books because of its rhyming

[Monty]

This is a Humpty Dumpty story, but not as we know it. Humpty Dumpty is a mean-spirited egg who sits on the wall and dares his friends to stand on the wall. Of course, they then fall off and hurt themselves and he laughs! Eventually, he boasts that he can stand on the wall - but he falls off. His friends - the king and the horses - are initially cross with Humpty, but then put him together again and he finally sees the error of his ways.

It is written in a lyrical rhyming style which is perfect for very young children, and they loved joining in with the actions. The repeated sections such as "he wobbled and wobbled and then he fell off..." are great for kinaesthetic learners and making it really active engages even the most reluctant children.


I used this book for a carpet session in my nursery class. It linked in well with additional provision as part of a nursery rhymes topic - the children made Humpty Dumpties out of card to stick on a wall for display (EA & D), and re-arranged magnetic pictures on a board while retelling the story (C & L). I also linked it to PSED, and it formed a nice basis for a discussion with the children about how it is nice to be kind to each other and help our friends.

[Courtney]

I thought that this book was good but definitely a difference from the original story. This book could be used to teach kids how to compare and contrast. I also read this book while working at the child care center this weekend and the kids seemed to enjoy it. It definitely has rhyming aspects to it and the illustrations are interesting. I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely love to have it in my future classroom. I love the front cover of the book. The colors are very welcoming and definitely draws you closer to it.

[Katelyn Warner]

* Predictable text
* Different take on the original story (compare/contrast texts)
* I didn't care for the ending, but some children liked it.
* Good for paired reading activities

[Alycia Boyce]

A twist on the story of Humpty Dumpty. A great book for rhyming.