Friendship According to Humphrey

According to Humphrey #2

by Betty G. Birney

Friendship According to Humphrey [Paperback] Birney, Betty G.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Animals, Chapter Books, Fantasy, Middle Grade, School

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2005

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

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read for my book report is Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney
This book has two main characters:
• Humphrey* is a cute, golden brown hamster that is a class pet for room 26 at Longfellow School – which is where the story takes place.
• Another classroom pet is Og* – the green frog who becomes best friends with Humphrey and often helps him
Humphrey has a lock on his cage that doesn’t lock so he is free to get out whenever he wants. At first he doesn’t realize it, but Og is helping him. Such as before the school bell rings, Og says, “boing, boing, boing!” and that alerts Humphrey to get back into his cage. Humphrey gives names to the class such as: Stop Giggling Gail, I Heard that Kirk, or Crabby Abby because he hears the teacher Mrs. Brisbane, say those words to those kids all the time like “Stop Giggling” to Gail. Sometimes when he thinks they are friends he tries to get into Og’s cage. Once Og splashed him when he tried to do that. Another time he jumped at him. Once Aldo, the college boy that helps out at school and one of Humphrey’s good friends, came at his dinner break from his job and talked to Humphrey. That time Aldo said to Mrs. Brisbane and the principal, “I’m glad Og’s splashing because that means he’s happy.” At first Humphrey did not know that. And later, Humphrey realizes that jumping means he wants to play a game. As soon as he understood that, Humphrey and Og were best friends.
My favorite part was the Valentine’s and Poetry Festival. Humphrey made an 10 line poem* about Og for his Valentine’s gift to him.
A friend doesn’t have to be a work of art,
just have a heart.
A friend doesn’t need to have fur or hair
to care.
A friend doesn’t have a thing to do
but like you.
A friend doesn’t need to say a word
to be heard.
It’s not so hard to be a friend
in the end.
Yes, I would recommend this book. It’s a fun book about friendship and Humphrey is cute!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I introduced our oldest to the Humprhey series when I brought her home the first book from a trip to England. She has really taken to these books, for which I am thankful, since she's read virtually nothing but fairy books for the last two years. We both read these books separately and then discuss the plots and themes. These books involve a class of third graders and the stories have a lot of moral lessons that are very age appropriate for children this age.

In this book, friendship is a central theme and all kinds of situations are explored: bullying, making friends, best friends having a fight, etc. Other themes, such as pursuing your dreams, being funny at appropriate times, asking forgiveness, and writing poetry are also depicted. I really like these books and I'm greatful that we've discovered this series. Besides, who doesn't like a cute, furry and very smart hamster?

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great sequel to the World According to Humphrey. This one had really important lessons about friendship, forgiveness, understanding, jealousy, and looking beyond the surface of external behavior. Also there's a side plot of going after your goals, trying something new, even if it's difficult. I'm really enjoying this series. Some kids' books are kinda mind-numbing, but this is pretty entertaining! Humphrey is a very resourceful and observant little hamster! It's a really cute series and my kids are loving it.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it a lot!

[Nadia Nosek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh you know it, baby! Humphrey’s at it again and I’m obsessed! Casually teaching about empathy for children of divorce and the foster care system, among other diverse childhood experiences??

No. notes. Luvvvv u humphrey 🫶

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love Humphrey!!

[Ryan Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, I loved how it continued perfectly from the first book!

[Chelsea Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, with some sweet lessons about friendship.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet, this book made me want to cry in a few parts, mention of moving and being new at school, making new friends. Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver snd the other’s gold. Too many moves for me, each one harder than the last.

[Yvonne Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a good read. I'm thinking of using this as a read aloud selection for the second-grade class I'll be sharing with this year!

[Skylan DeAngelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Friendship According to Humphrey" is a book about a classroom pet hamster named Humphrey who meets a new friend Og the frog. In this book you go inside the mind of Humphrey and get to go on the adventures with him at night time. What allows him to go on these adventures is "The lock that doesn't lock". This is the lock on his cage which is broken allowing him to escape at night and go to places like the Library. Humphrey also has a notebook and pencil he uses to follow along in class.

I personally love this book because it always no matter how many times you read it, is entertaining. This is a great book for kids and is a really abstract and cool book concept. Part of the reason this book is so special is because of the unique events that take place in the book. I would rate this book 5 stars with all of that being said.

[Riho Uto · Rating 5 out of 5]

1/10=15min 1/11=30min 1/12=20min
frog-came-room26-silent-Humphrey-try-friend
Q. If you were Humphrey, could you become a friend with a frog?
A. No! Absolutely no! I don't like frogs. I thought Humphrey is very nice because he tried to become a friend. Frogs and hamsters are not the same kind of animal, so it is difficult to communicate each other. I heard that dogs and monkeys or cats can be a friend. But they are mammal, so it is possible. I am really curious how Humphrey do action to become a friend with frog.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great recommendation for elementary kids looking to move up in reading level, but wanting younger content - some on JE shelves, some on J - but all told from a classroom hamster's viewpoint - SOOO cute!

[Ali Wu]

absolutely baller

[Mataya B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friendship according to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney. I recommend this book to anyone who likes animals. Everyone in room 26 loves their classroom pet hamster named Humphrey. One afternoon a teacher came in with a surprise for room 26 and that surprise was another class pet the new class pet was a frog named Og and Humphrey was jealous the Og because that afternoon the class learned all about frogs and when it was time to leave all the students said bye to Og. Their is a new classmate named Tabitha Clark and Tabitha always carried a stuffed bear and Mrs.Brisbane asked who would like to walk around with Tabitha to show her where everything is in the school and "Me" a voice called out it was Raise-Your-Hand-Heidi Hopper who always forgets to raise her hand. So Mrs.Brisbane lets her so the rest of the day Heidi tries to stay beside Tabitha. Someone in the class is having a birthday party and everyone goes even Humphrey comes to the party and down stairs there are carnival games and when everyone is down with the carnival games there is a magic show. The next day at school everyone is talking about the party. Every weekend one student gets to take Humphrey home so Miranda got picked so once Miranda's dad picked her and Humphrey up there went to Miranda's step moms house and there was a girl who looked the same age as Miranda and her name was Abby and when ever Miranda came over Abby was mad because they did not like each other so when the girls went down stairs for dinner Humphrey opened the lock that does not lock and took 2 things from Miranda's bed and put them on Abby's bed and took 2 things from Abby's bed and put them on Miranda's bed when the girls came back up stairs they started to yell at each other but then they realized that they were both down stairs and they thought it was a ghost. Then when it was time for bed Miranda got scared and asked if she could sleep with Abby and Abby said yes then Humphrey made a noise and the girls yelled because they got scared then Miranda's dad came in and said what's wrong and the girls said they herd a scary sound and then Humphrey made the sound again and Miranda's dad said it was just Humphrey. In the morning the girls said bye and Miranda and Humphrey went back to school. The next day no one came to school and Humphrey tried to talk to Og but Og just jumped in his little pound. The next day and the next day no one can to school and Humphrey's water and food was getting low so Humphrey opened the lock that does not lock and got to the table and jumped on the counter and jumped on Mrs.Brisbane's desk and knocked over the bag of food but the bag fell on him. But Og got out of his tank and hopped to the counter then to Mrs.Brisbane's desk and started to ran into the bag of food and set Humphrey free and then Mrs.Brisbane and the principal walked in and Mrs.Brisbane thought how did they knock over the bag of food and get out of their cages but then the principal said that the lock on Humphrey's cage was not locked and that Og's top of the tank was open.A lot of the students came because they were worried about Humphrey and Og and they asked if they could take them home but Mrs.Brisbane said that her husband would be mad if she did not bring them home.Mrs.Brisbane put the pets back in their cages and the principal and Mrs.Brisbane got the pets in the car and took them home and unloaded all the stuff they brought back and went in side then they put all the stuff where they wanted it and then sat down for a cup of coffee. I rated this book four stars because I liked that there were talking animals and at school it felt like real school days. This book shows fantasy because it has talking animals.

[Cheryl Wedesweiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY
AGES 8-11

Mrs. Brisbane’s Elementary Students in Room 26 have adopted another classroom pet-this time a frog named Og. The current classroom pet, the hamster named Humphrey, is not sure that he can be friends with “this hairless creature with a large mouth”. He learns that he has to be patient and understanding of Og (who splashes water when he is happy, and, at first, Humphrey found this offensive.)Two of the boys have to deal with a bully, but after everyone involved makes more of an effort to be friend, things are back to normal.

Advice about FRIENDSHIP is offered at the end of the book:
1. If you act like a jerk and tease people, you won’t have any friends. Guaranteed. 2. If you do the opposite, and are nice to people, you’ll have friends. It might take a while, but you’ll have friends. 3. If you act like a jerk to your friends and they get mad, but you’re REALLY-REALLY-REALLY sorry and let your friends know it, they will probably forgive you. 4. Just don’t do it too often. (See Rule 1.) 5. A best friend can be your relative, like a stepsister, or even a wife. 6. People don’t always think so, but boys and girls can be friends. 7. Sometimes you may want to be friends with somebody but that person (or frog) doesn’t want to be friends back. That seems SAD-SAD-SAD, but it’s not, because there are other people out there waiting to be friends with you. You just have to look for them. Keep looking—don’t give up! 8. A friend is someone you like to be with and you don’t even have to talk. Or squeak. 9. Friendship has its own language. Even if you don’t understand the words your friend says, you can understand the meaning. 10. You might not know somebody’s your friend until he has a problem and you realize you care. P.S. Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras, a country in Central America. Look it up on the map!(less)

[Ryan Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the story, "Friendship According to Humphrey" we go on an adventure once again with our little furry friend named Humphrey and in this story things are different this time and he isn't the only class pet. There's a new pet in town this is an odd and he lives near Humphrey in the classroom.to begin the story we introduce the new character Og to all the other characters like Miss Brisbane and also to the classmates.And, to continue this story we go throughout the adventures with Humphrey and Of. Og starts becoming really close to Humphrey and Humphrey is starting to get used to him and it's really cute how it's a little friendship between them. I recommend this book to 5th graders and under because it's not really a challenging read but it's certainly a fun one. And, it teaches the morals of friendship and looking outside of people than what they normally give off of.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son and I received this book free from Kelloggs and weren't quite sure what to expect. We were immediately enamored with Humphrey and all his antics. This particular story tackles quite a tough subject, jealousy, as Humphrey comes to terms with sharing Room 26 with a second class pet. If I were Betty G. Birney, I would have left this topic for later in the series, but it introduces Og who becomes a main character in future tales, so I guess she tackled it in this order for that reason. I like the format of provided a quote about friendship at the end of each chapter. We will probably read the third at some point.

[Shelbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids loved this book, and I loved reading it to them. There were multiple moments that were tear-inducing (for me at least). The kids, on the other hand, eagerly remembered where we left off each week and were excited to remind me where we left off with our characters. I love how it all tied together in the end with Abby the upset stepsister, Og the froggy new neighbor, and the nods to psychology. I loved the morals it had for the kids about friendship, jealousy, and kindness. I think it's a great book to get kids invested into reading because it was just as good as the first one. The story continues in a splendid way that keeps it interesting and emotional. Love Humphrey!

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is disappointing that there is a message in the book encouraging children to change their friends rather than be understanding and accepting. The author had a great opportunity to guide children to be kind and explain the uncertainty many children in foster care face. Instead another student encouraged the new student that was in foster care to give up a small token of stability and comfort so that peers would "not think you are so weird". I discussed this scenario with my kiddo and encouraged them to show compassion for peers rather than quick judgment.

[Caroline Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a couple months ago. It was sometimes a relief and sometimes mystifying. Humphrey, the hamster, who is the main character, enjoys being a classroom pet. But one
day, a frog named Og comes in and Humphery is jealous and angry because he thinks the
teacher, Mrs.Brisbane, is trying to replace him with a frog. But one day, a snowstorm comes
and Humpery had nothing left to eat. What will he do? He survives because of the help of Og.
I hope you read this book one day too.....

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one with my 6 year old (first grader). We liked it. Perhaps not as much as the first one in the series, but it’s a great book. Humphrey is so adorable! I think some of the conflict and themes of friendship are probably above a first grade level as far as what they’ve experienced in friendships at their age, but he still enjoyed it, and any older kiddo would enjoy reading this themselves, I’m sure!

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 of the “According to Humphrey” series is another winner, as Humphrey observes friendship at its best and worse. The main plot is that a frog is purchased as a second pet to join Humphrey in an elementa n the classroom and school bus, as children make or break general rules of friendship. In addition to a cute story, the book includes “Humprey’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Friends” and several other little extras in the back of the book. Best read with a child.

[Kyra Carmack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a great read. It was heartfelt and talks about what it really means to be a friend to someone. I had to read this book specifically for an event that my library is going to be hosting and I'm glad that I read it. Humphrey was a cute protagonist and I loved seeing things through his point of view as the classroom hamster.

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

My two eight year olds love Humphrey because he’s funny and cute and has lots of adventures. I love Humphrey because through his perspective on the students in his classroom, serious topics like bullying, losing a parent, empathy, divorce, and the importance of kindness are discussed in an age-appropriate manner. great conversations have happened within my family from this series of books.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 is another winner in the Humphrey series, this one exploring themes of friendship as Humphrey has to make friends with a new classroom pet and help the students in room 26 navigate the waters of friendship, like personality differences and new students. We really this one as much as the first one!

[Noelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read aloud the first Humphrey book to my daughter a while back and she recently asked if there were more books about her favorite hamster friend so off to the library I went. My 7-year old reads this series on her own now. She loves Humphrey’s humor and adventurous spirit and his ability to solve problems in the kindest and most creative of ways. It’s a sweet series.

[Sara Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tells the same story as Life According to Og the Frog, but from Humphrey's point of view...and it is a much more interesting POV. We get to go home to a couple of student's houses with Humphrey and he makes his Plans to help others. He is irritated with Og for a bit too long, but it resolves just fine. We get the full plot instead of vague references to the plot points that are in Og.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humphrey in room 26 is introduced to a new student, a new pet and a new class setting. At first, Humphrey does not like Og, the new frog pet. But as he makes an effort to get to know Og, he begins to realize that Og was liking him the whole time, so Humphrey changes his attitude towards Og.

The story is very humorous and Humphrey is good at planning as he was in the first book.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this for Texas Reads One Book. All of our fourth and fifth graders and their parents were supposed to read it at home. I read it so that I could post trivia on Facebook for our parents.

What a treat! It's a sweet book about being a good friend. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.