The Roly-Poly book

In Short

First published in 1910 and updated in 1923, The Roly-Poly Book by Laura Rountree Smith is an episodic children's reader following the gentle misadventures of the Roly-Poly family—Papa, Mama, twin brothers Teddie and Freddie, and the fragile Humpty Dumpty. Left in the care of story-loving Grandpa Grimes while their parents travel, the young Roly-Polys navigate ruined hats, schoolhouse dunce caps, and runaway circus careers. Interspersed with traditional fairy tales told by Grandpa and the children, the book has endured as a charming, rhythmically repetitive primer designed to build early reading confidence through playful nonsense and cozy domestic comfort.

The Story

The story opens in the bustling Roly-Poly home, where breakfast is routinely interrupted by physical comedy. Humpty Dumpty tumbles down the stairs with a loud thump, and the twin brothers, Teddie and Freddie, burn their mouths on hot oatmeal. Facing school with sore mouths and rain-ruined red caps, the children struggle through their morning. Humpty Dumpty, weeping tears that flow in little streams, must be wheeled home in a barrow while counting numbers aloud. When they arrive, they discover Papa and Mama Roly-Poly have vanished, leaving behind only a note promising that Grandpa Grimes will watch over them.

Grandpa Grimes arrives to find Humpty Dumpty with a crack in his back, which he promptly repairs with glue. To distract the children, Grandpa demands supper and then settles in to tell the fairy tale of Amaryllis, a poor fiddler who dances with a fairy and eventually wins a princess and half a kingdom. The following day brings more trouble at school: distracted by their missing parents, Teddie and Freddie fail their spelling lessons and are forced to sit on stools wearing dunce caps. That evening, Grandpa comforts them with pennies and tells the story of the Tree Fairies, explaining how the Pied Piper's stolen children were transformed into spirits housed inside trees until set free by Prince Charming.

Order returns when Papa and Mama come home, only to announce an astonishing scheme: they have accepted a one-year contract to join a traveling circus as the world's fattest family. Grandpa Grimes agrees to buy their house and hire Little Red Riding Hood as his housekeeper. The Roly-Polys set off for the circus grounds, where they ride in a parade inside a cage with a stuffed, sawdust-filled lion. Their side-show performance—rolling across tables and enacting fairy tales—is a massive success, but the family quickly grows homesick.

One night, the family sneaks out beneath the tent wall into the moonlight. Wandering through the countryside, Humpty Dumpty is briefly mistaken for a hen's egg by two little girls and trapped in a playhouse, where a friendly clock gives him directions to escape back to a red barn. Reunited at a haystack, the family unexpectedly runs into Grandpa Grimes, who has spent two weeks searching the woods for them. Lost together, they build a brush wigwam for the night. The next morning, Little Red Riding Hood trips down the forest path with a basket of cookies. After feeding the hungry travelers, she tucks all the Roly-Polys into her basket and carries them safely back to their home.

How It Unfolds

The tumbling morning Humpty Dumpty falls down the stairs, the twins burn their mouths on hot oatmeal, and wet caps ruin their trip to the schoolhouse.

Grandpa fixes the crack Left home alone by their parents, the children welcome Grandpa Grimes, who glues Humpty Dumpty's cracked back and tells them the fairy tale of Amaryllis.

Dunce caps and tree fairies Unable to focus on spelling, Teddie and Freddie earn dunce caps at school, but Grandpa cheers them up at home with new pennies and a story about trapped tree spirits.

Joining the circus Mama and Papa return with news that the family has been hired by a circus manager, prompting them to sell their house to Grandpa Grimes and hit the road.

Riding with the stuffed lion The Roly-Polys join the grand circus parade, discovering to their relief that the lion in their cage is stuffed with sawdust rather than dangerous.

Escape by moonlight Growing tired of rolling on command for side-show crowds, the family rolls under the tent wall at night and escapes into the surrounding countryside.

Rescued by Red Riding Hood After Humpty Dumpty escapes a playhouse with the help of a talking clock, the family meets Grandpa in the woods and is carried home in Little Red Riding Hood's cookie basket.

The People

Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly These twin brothers look so much alike that no one can tell them apart. They share the same impulses, from complaining about hot porridge to missing their spelling words out of concern for their absent parents. Throughout their travels, they want nothing more than to stay together, play outdoors, and listen to fairy tales.

Humpty Dumpty A round, exceptionally fragile little fellow who is constantly falling out of bed, rolling off sofas, or tumbling down stairs. Self-conscious about being mistaken for an egg, he relies on glue to repair his cracked back and needs constant re-assurance, yet shows surprising bravery when navigating a strange playhouse alone.

Grandpa Grimes An old, gray-haired grandfather with a perpetual twinkle in his eye who pretends to be hard of hearing to tease the children. He loves hot food, clean dishes, and telling long fairy tales, ultimately buying the family home just to keep them close.

Mama and Papa Roly-Poly The rotund parents of the household who take immense pride in their spherical figures. Though prone to sudden decisions—like joining a traveling circus on a whim—they remain affectionate caretakers who comfort their children with lemon-drops and leading them safely back home.

In Its Own Voice

The water from their wet caps had run down their cheeks.

Before they even enter the schoolhouse, Teddie and Freddie arrive with streaked faces after wearing soaking wet headgear in the rain.

He played such a merry tune that the princess revived.

In Grandpa Grimes's bedtime story, Amaryllis uses the king's magical fiddle to bring a fainted princess back to life at the grand ball.

He was angry. He was frightened, and kept saying to himself, “Keep a stiff upper lip.”

Mistaken for a hen's egg by local children, Humpty Dumpty repeats his father's favorite advice while trapped inside a dark playhouse.

What It's Really About

Beneath its playful nursery-rhyme surface, the book explores the tension between security and wanderlust. The Roly-Poly children crave routine, familiar home comforts, and bedtime stories, yet they are repeatedly pulled into unpredictable circumstances by absent parents and sudden circus contracts. The story constantly examines childhood resilience—summarized in Papa's repeating advice to "keep a stiff upper lip"—showing how young characters cope with minor physical bumps, public failure at school, and being lost in the woods. By weaving classic fairy tales directly into the main narrative, Smith suggests that imaginative storytelling is not just entertainment, but an essential tool for comforting frightened minds, passing time during hardship, and keeping families connected across unexpected journeys.

Why Read It Today

The Roly-Poly Book appeals to early readers, educators, and collectors of historic children's literature who appreciate early 20th-century instructional readers. It offers a gentle, comforting read that relies on rhythmic repetition, simple vocabulary, and predictable sentence structures designed to build literacy in young minds. Reading it today provides a nostalgic glimpse into early American pedagogy, where nonsense rhymes and folk classic mashups were used to make classroom learning engaging.

Modern readers should be prepared for the repetitive, episodic nature of the plot, which reflects its original function as a primary school reader rather than a complex novel. The prose deliberately loops back to familiar actions—washing dishes, pouring milk for the cat, counting numbers, and sitting down for stories—which may feel simplistic to older audiences. Additionally, the casual blending of classic folklore characters like Humpty Dumpty and Little Red Riding Hood into a single contemporary domestic setting reflects a period style of children's publishing that values absurd playfulness over strict logic. What remains enduring is its warm, unhurried affection for family life and the timeless comfort of a well-told story.