The World According to Humphrey

The first in the series about everyone's favorite classroom pet!

You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That's what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy is it true! There are always adventures in the classroom and each weekend he gets to sleep over with different students. Humphrey learns to read, write, shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course), turn off TVs, teach English as a second language, and more. With a lock-that-doesn't-lock and an adventurous spirit, what more could a mischievous hamster want?

With a fresh voice and an engaging, hamster's-eye view of school, families, and treats to hide in a cheek pouch, Betty G. Birney's Humphrey will elicit laughter and demands for hamsters in every elementary classroom.

Also available in Spanish as El Mundo de acuerdo a Humphrey.

Author: Betty G. Birney
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Published: 02/02/2004
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.90w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780399241987
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.2
Point Value: 4
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 77182 / World According to Humphrey


Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Golden Sower Award - Winner
Award: Nevada Young Readers' Award - Nominee
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee
Award: Iowa Children's Choice (ICCA) Award - Winner
Award: Black-Eyed Susan Award - Winner
Award: Massachusetts Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Sasquatch Award - Winner
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Winner
Award: Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award - Second Place
Award: Rhode Island Children's Book Awards - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 01/01/2004 pg. 33
Publishers Weekly 01/19/2004 pg. 76
Booklist 03/01/2004 pg. 1188
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2004 pg. 316
School Library Journal 04/01/2004 pg. 102
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2004 pg. 369 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2004 pg. 369 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw
Publishers Weekly 01/26/2004

About the Author
Betty G. Birney has won many awards for writing for television, including an Emmy, three Humanitas Prizes, and a Writers Guild of America Award, and she won the Christopher Award for Friendship According to Humphrey. In addition to the Humphrey series, she is the author of The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass Springs and The Princess and the Peabody's. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where her parents grew up as neighbors on Humphrey Street. Her website, bettybirney.com, is full of fun Humphrey activities and information.