The World According to Humphrey

by Betty G. Birney

The first book 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! In addition to having FUN-FUN-FUN in class, each weekend this amazing hamster gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up-Sayeh. Soon Humphrey learns to read, write, and even shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course). With lots of friends to help, adventures to enjoy, and a cage with a lock-that-doesn’t- lock, Humphrey's life is almost perfect. If only the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, wasn’t out to get him!

Boys and girls can't help falling in love with Humphrey! Kids will be eager to get their paws on all 12 books in the series!

Genres: Childrens, Chapter Books, Audiobook

144 pages, Library Binding

Published January 1, 2004

About the author

From kindergarten through graduation, I attended school in Affton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Then I graduated from Webster College (now Webster University) in Webster Groves, Missouri. Of course, I majored in English and kept on writing.

After working in advertising in St. Louis, Missouri and in Chicago, Illinois, I eventually moved to Southern California. First, I worked for Disneyland (fun job!) in the advertising department. The monorail whizzed past my window all day long. Then I worked at the Disney Studio in Burbank, where I had another fun job, writing and producing television and radio commercials and theatrical trailers (previews of coming attractions) for everything from re-releases of "Cinderella" and "Fantasia" to "Tex."

When the Disney Channel was started, I became a writer and story editor for WELCOME TO POOH CORNER. Since then, I've written more than 200 episodes of animated and live-action television programs including MADELINE, DOUG, BOBBY'S WORLD, DUMBO'S CIRCUS, THE PUZZLE PLACE, CAMP CANDY, LITTLE MOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, WHERE'S WALDO, FRAGGLE ROCK and ZOOBILEE ZOO. That's right, I write cartoons! I also wrote a number of award-winning afterschool specials and many interactive CD-ROM programs, including the award-winning "Berenstain Bears on their Own," "Richard Scarry's Busiest Neighborhood Ever," and "The Crayon Factory."

A made-for-television family movie I wrote, MARY CHRISTMAS, starring John Schneider, Cynthia Gibb and Tom Bosley, aired on the PAX network in 2002. It was the highest rated movie in PAX history and has aired each Christmas season since then.

I have been fortunate enough to win a Writer's Guild of America Award and three Humanitas Prizes (as well as two other nominations). In 2002, I won a Daytime Emmy Award for MADELINE, after two previous Emmy nominations. More recently, I received the Christopher Award for FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY, many children's choice awards for THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY and was inducted into the Affton (MO) School District Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good characters, fun concept, great narrator/POV. Recommend!

[Micah Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE-LOVE-LOVE this book (IYKYK 😅)! It was a read aloud with our homeschool curriculum, and my kindergartener and second grader both loved it. It was so cute and kept their attention, because we were all invested in what Humphrey would do next!

The whole story was such a sweet lesson on how you really never know what someone is going through, and that so often their poor behavior or attitude towards others is due to going through a rough time in their personal life. An important lesson for all ages!

[Lisa Moncur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one. It was heartwarming, funny, and just plain fun. Humphrey is such a fun character and it’s fun to hear his perspective on all the happenings in the classroom. I loved the inclusion of lots of different family situations and struggles too, even the bully in the book was treated in an empathetic way.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told from the point of view of Humphrey, The World According to Humphrey describes the day to day adventures of Humphrey, a hamster living in an elementary school classroom. The humans always get better through what they learn from Humphrey, sometimes with Humphrey setting up a situation for them to learn from. This is a great book for middle grade kids.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My younger daughter and I have fallen in love with this series. This is the second time through this one and we LOVE-LOVE-LOVE it! Humphrey is such an adorable classroom pet. He's just what every human needs to make life a little brighter. Great book, great series!

[Judi Souther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent children’s book. Enjoyable to adults as well. This book explores a variety of issues that children and adults face, from the perspective of a hamster who always has a plan to fix his friends’ problems. Nice, tidy ending.

[Brittany Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I read this together and we really enjoyed hearing about Humphrey and all his classroom antics. It was educational and heart-warming. I am happy with any book that gets my son excited about reading. We want to continue the series.

[Courtney Tewalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids loved this one, we enjoyed reading together and talking about the story over lunch. AT1 liked how a small hamster could have such a big impact on the people around him. A cute and fun read aloud.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading this aloud to my 8 and 10 year old grand-kids on a roadtrip. They laughed out loud, giggled and empathized with certain situations. Excellent writing!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going to have to convince my admin to let me get a class hamster now!

[Marie Angus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this fun story. Humphrey is a smart hamster that helps the people he meets. I highly recommend the Humphrey books for children, but I enjoy them too.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful to read and a big hit with my hamster lover.

[Michelle McNeely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great kids novel. My son enjoyed reading this one before bed each night.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book! I read this with my 8yo. It was entertaining and easy for her to read and understand. Definitely recommend

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle of the Books. Cute and a really fun read.

[Gayle Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

[Camille Marsella · Rating 5 out of 5]

The importance of living with another species. A delightful story

[Bridget Hancox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love loved this book so much!!!❤️❤️❤️😄😄😄🐹🐹🐹

[Marie Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute! My son loves these books!

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book for a first grade read aloud. They loved it!

[Marta Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids book that I am considering reading out loud to my grands.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that Humphrey helped the people. Reminded me a little of mouse and the motorcycle.

[Lynna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Grandson Henry LOVES this book. He’s adventurous and a good character.

[Mary Babin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great story for a read aloud or younger independent readers. Lots learned about human nature through the eyes of a hamster. It was delightful.

[the zombie stomper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humphrey was going back to ms Brisbane room and wanted out of their Humphrey did not like mis Brisbane so he thought of a way out of the classroom and a new student took Care of Humphrey it was a.j but if there is a hamster in a book I expected it to not be so hateful to the hamster.