Most of us grew up with the same grim ending for that clumsy egg. He falls. He breaks. The king’s horses and men—who, honestly, weren't the right crew for a medical emergency anyway—can't put him back together. End of story. But in 2017, author and illustrator Dan Santat decided that was a pretty terrible way to leave things. He gave us After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again, and it changed the way parents and educators talk about trauma.
It's a picture book. Yeah. But it’s also one of the most profound meditations on anxiety you’ll ever find in the children’s section of a bookstore.
The Problem With the Original Nursery Rhyme
The original rhyme is actually a riddle. Did you know that? Historically, it didn't even mention he was an egg. Some folks think it was a massive cannon during the English Civil War. Others think it was a clumsy king. Regardless, the rhyme ends at the tragedy. It stops at the broken pieces on the pavement.
Dan Santat’s After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again starts exactly where the rhyme quits. We see Humpty after the hospital. He’s bandaged. He’s literally "put back together" with some heavy-duty tape and a lot of gauze, but he’s not whole.
Fear does that.
He’s terrified of heights now. This isn't just "being careful." It’s paralyzing. He can't sleep in his bunk bed because it’s too high. He shops for cereal on the bottom shelf because he’s too scared to climb a ladder for the good stuff. If you’ve ever lived with a phobia or PTSD, these pages hit like a ton of bricks. Santat captures the claustrophobia of a life lived in fear. You’re physically healed, sure, but your world has shrunk to the size of a door mat.
Why After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again Feels So Real
Santat is an absolute master of visual storytelling. He won the Caldecott Medal for The Adventures of Beekle, and you can see that same DNA here. In After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again, the color palette does the heavy lifting.
When Humpty is looking up at the wall—the scene of the "accident"—the wall is massive. It’s grey. It’s imposing. It looms. The perspective makes the reader feel as small as a cracked eggshell.
The story takes a turn when Humpty decides to make a paper airplane. He wants to fly. He wants to be near the birds again. He spends days, weeks, months perfecting this plane. It’s his way of interacting with the sky without actually leaving the ground. It’s a coping mechanism. We all have them. We find ways to touch the things we love without actually risking the "fall" again.
But then, the plane gets stuck.
Right on top of that same wall.
The genius of this book is that it doesn't offer a magic cure. Humpty doesn't just "stop being scared." He is terrified the entire time he’s climbing back up. His legs shake. He’s sweating. He’s crying. Santat shows kids—and adults—that bravery isn't the absence of fear. It’s doing the thing while your knees are knocking together.
That Ending (Spoilers, Kinda)
If you haven't read the last three pages, go do it. Seriously.
The twist in After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again is one of the best in modern literature. As Humpty reaches the top, the physical shell starts to crack again. At first, you think, Oh no, not again. But he isn't breaking. He’s hatching.
He was never just an egg. He was a bird.
The "fall" wasn't a failure of a fragile object; it was the premature ending of a journey that hadn't even started. He had to face the height to realize he was meant to soar through it, not just stand on top of it. It’s a metaphor for post-traumatic growth. It suggests that our scars aren't just reminders of where we broke, but markers of where we changed into something more capable.
Real-World Impact in Classrooms and Therapy
This book isn't just for bedtime. Child psychologists use it. Teachers use it for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).
Why? Because it’s honest.
Most kids’ books about "trying again" are a bit patronizing. They suggest that if you just "believe in yourself," everything is easy. After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again says the opposite. It says it’s going to be hard. It says you might miss out on the "good cereal" for a long time. But it also says that the view from the bottom is never as good as the view from the top, even if the climb is hell.
I’ve seen kids talk about their own "walls" after reading this. Maybe it’s a math test they failed. Maybe it’s a divorce. Maybe it’s just the fear of the dark. By using a character as recognizable as Humpty Dumpty, Santat gives them a safe way to talk about very unsafe feelings.
Practical Insights for Facing Your Own Wall
If you're reading this and feeling a bit like a cracked egg held together by duct tape, here’s how to actually use the logic from the book.
First, acknowledge the "Bottom Shelf" life. Humpty spent a long time settling for the boring stuff because he was scared. Recognizing that your world has shrunk is the first step toward expanding it. Don't beat yourself up for being on the bottom shelf; just admit you'd rather be higher up.
Second, find your "Paper Airplane." Humpty didn't start by climbing the wall. He started by building something that could fly. Find a low-stakes way to engage with your fear. If you’re scared of public speaking, don't book a TED Talk. Talk to three people at a coffee shop.
Third, prepare for the "Cracks." Growth feels like breaking. When Humpty started to hatch, it looked exactly like his initial accident. If you’re trying to recover from something and you feel like you’re falling apart, consider the possibility that you’re actually just shedding a shell that doesn't fit anymore.
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again reminds us that the king’s men couldn't fix Humpty because they were trying to turn him back into what he was before the fall. That’s impossible. You can't go back to the person you were before life cracked you open. You can only become the thing that comes next.
👉 See also: Why T Bone One Piece Still Hits Hard After the Cross Guild Shock
What to do next
- Read the book with a lens on mental health: Look specifically at the "grey" pages versus the "colorful" pages to see how depression and anxiety are visually represented.
- Identify your "Wall": Write down one thing you've stopped doing because of a past "fall."
- Small Scale Exposure: Like Humpty's paper airplane, find one small, safe way to interact with that fear this week.
- Audit your "Support Crew": Notice that the King's Men (the experts) couldn't help Humpty as much as his own gradual, terrified persistence did. Trust your own process of "hatching."
The story of Humpty Dumpty doesn't have to be a tragedy. It can be a transformation. It just takes a lot of tape, a lot of time, and the willingness to climb even when your hands are shaking.