The World According to Humphrey

By; Betty B. Birney

Humphrey is the classroom pet hamster of Room 26 and the narrator of this story.  Each weekend, Humphrey visits the home of a different student, and learns a little bit more about each of them. Life, school, friendship, and family, are seen through the eyes of a hamster, and Humphrey makes a difference in the lives of the families who care for him.  Humphrey helps everyone from Mrs. Brisbane's angry husband to Aldo's lonely social life, but the story also shows that people have many different reasons for acting the way they do.


This is a great book. I really enjoyed reading it for a number of reasons.  Reading a book from a hamster’s perspective is very interesting and could teach children to understand life as seen through someone else’s eyes. Children would also be able to make many connections to this book since it is set in a classroom.  The story describes students and teachers and therefore would be easy for a student to associate with the context and identify with the activities and adventures which take place. The end of each chapter has funny and informative nonfiction tips about hamsters. There are also fun pages at the end with games and comprehension questions and a fun quiz on how well you know Humphrey! This would be a great book for literature circles and/or class discussion.