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Overview
The students in Room 26 are learning about boats and building their own for a race on Potter's Pond. Humphrey the hamster loves dreaming about being a pirate and watching his friends build ships. But when he mistakenly ends up at sea on the day of the boat race, he finds himself in the middle of more adventure than he bargained for! Humphrey is back in this charming story of a hamster on the high seas of hilarity.
Synopsis
Humphrey is in for his biggest adventure yet! When his friends begin studying the ocean and sailing, he not only discovers the new and exciting world of the library, but also stows away aboard a model boat and takes a very perilous sail on Potter's Pond. Even with all this excitement, he fi nds time to smooth rough waters between Gail and her free-spirited mom, help competitive Kirk see that winning isn't everything, and investigate whether his pal Aldo is really planning to become a pirate and sail the high seas.
Kids in seven states voted The World According to Humphrey the winner of their children's choice awards and consistently rave about Humphrey.
Children's Literature
Humphrey the Hamster makes a delightful and believable character in this book from the "Humphrey" series. As a classroom pet who can read, escape from his cage at will, and travel to stay with students each weekend, he knows and learns a lot. His ability to read and write helps him tackle subjects in the library and to be included in class projects. In this tale, with a pirate theme, he yearns to set sail with the kids in the class who are making boats and planning to take a class outing to a nearby pond to sail the creations. Child characters encounter conflicts with which readers can identify, and adult characters come across as likeable and real, as some of them need to learn a few things about children. The pirate theme of the story works well to move the tale along. A thrilling climax, in which Humphrey actually gets to sail in one of the boats at the pond, keeps readers turning pages. Humphrey's sharing his feelings with the classroom frog lets children see the positive side of having a good friend. Other Humphrey books have come away with several prizes. Adding this book to classroom shelves or using it as a read-aloud is sure to enthrall youngsters. Reviewer: Nancy Garhan Attebury