Summer According to Humphrey

According to Humphrey #6

by Betty G. Birney

The sixth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!When Humphrey hears that school is ending, he can't believe his ears. What's a classroom hamster to do if there's no more school? It turns out that Mrs. Brisbane has planned something thrilling for Humphrey and Og the they're going to Camp Happy Hollow with Ms. Mac and lots of the kids from Room 26! Camp is full of FUN-FUN-FUN new experiences, but it's also a little scary. There are fur-raising wild sounds and smells, and there's something called the Howler to watch out for. Humphrey is always curious about new adventures, but could camp be too wild even for him?Look for all twelve of Humphrey's adventures!

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

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2009

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

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dare say this is my favorite book in the series so far.

It's summer, and Humphrey and Og find themselves at Camp Happy Hollow. (It was especially fun reading this book to the kids because their school is named Happy Hollow, too!) Some of the counselors and campers are familiar faces from Longfellow School, but there are plenty of new faces as well. I particularly liked reading about Humphrey's new friend Goldenrod!

With the new camp setting, this book has a lot of opportunities for all kinds of new lessons. One camper has a bad attitude because he doesn't think Happy Hollow is anywhere near as great as the camp he went to last summer. Another camper is homesick, and yet another isn't happy with the competitive nature of the Clash of the Cabins contest. I have to admit, in this day and age when every child gets a trophy just for showing up, I really liked that the Clash of the Cabins had one winning cabin that earned a prize that none of the other cabins got. There were lots of related lessons to learn, like how competitors can still be friends, and how a team should not rely on just one person to do all the winning, and how even when you aren't favored to win, you should still try your best and your hard work just might pay off. The author even managed to include a small bit in the end that allowed the losing cabins to not feel so left out, without actually taking anything away from the winners.

A really fun read!

[Sarah Beneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story with a favorite character--Humphrey! My son loved it and as he says after all the others we finished, "That was his favorite." I did like this one but it wasn't my favorite - not sure if it didn't contain all the same characters from school (Humphrey goes to summer camp) or what. We are both anxious to read the next one to see if Humphrey goes back to Mrs. Brisbane's class and who the new students will be.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humphrey and his classmates leave Room 26 of Longfellow School at the end of the school year to attend summer camp. Humphrey the hamster is an upbeat, likable narrator always willing to lend a paw to help his friends, but the lessons imparted in the story feel heavy-handed. This is the sixth book in this chapter book series, but is easily understood if read out of order.

[Aneesa]

Unfortunately, not my favorite Humphrey.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole series is great for elementary school kids. This was our last one and I will miss that little guy Humphrey and also the pleasure of reading them with my own little guy.

[Malissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still don't LOVE the way Humphrey gives people nicknames and I don't think the joke played on the one group of campers was as fun as made out to be, but overall these books are cute and my 7yo loves them. It's a good balance to his Minecraft obsession for sure.

[Meg Benton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated by my 7-year-old, who loved that the animals "had a voice and a fun summer."

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read with my 8 year old son who loves these books!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when school ends for the year and the students go home? Summer camp, of course! A super cute and fun sequel that follows the summer adventures of Humphrey (the hamster) and his classmate, Ogg (the frog).

Perfect as an audiobook for summer road trips!

[Jamie Vandenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book to read to my kids but they liked it. It was read at their insistence. Next time, I think they'll need to read the Humphrey books on their own

[Mary-Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humphrey, the class hamster, spends the summer at camp (with co-class pet Og the Frog). He reports on the events that occur. There are regular summer camp events that go on, but not one big dramatic build up. As an adult, I found the storyline slow and not especially exciting.

The book is more about character development than action. Humphrey talks about how a boy who did not like camp at the start changes to like camp at the end. Also, a cabin that relied on one star athlete learns to work together. Another girl who misses her friend becomes more involved in camp as the summer goes on.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was Ryan's free book from the Barnes and Noble summer reading program. As it turns out, it's the 6th in the series, but stands alone nicely. A perfect read-aloud for the animal-obsessed Ryan...it's well-written, engaging, the kid characters and their dilemmas ring true, and Humphrey is both observant and endearing, but never gets too cutesy or annoying, as the hamster narrator. We'll be seeking out the first book (The World According to Humphrey) very soon.

[Megan Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really captured my niece and nephews imagination. I’ve never read a book so fast with them and they kept telling me “Just one more chapter....pleeeease!”
I loved hearing them laugh and make connections to their own summer camps they get to go on. I recommend this as a read aloud to age 6-10.

[Brianna]

Childhood favourites <3

HUMPHREY I LOVE YOU

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my fourth-graders at the end of the school year, and it is adorable! Humphrey is a classroom hamster, and the narrator. In this book, it is summer vacation, so Humphrey and his friend Og the Frog (from the same classroom) go to Camp Happy Hollow with some of the teachers and students from their school.

It's a lot of fun to see summer camp events from the point of view of a hamster. Humphrey doesn't understand that school only closes for the summer, so he panics thinking that school is closing for good. My students liked discussing how people, such as ESL learners, might feel the same way because of difficulties in communication.

Summer According to Humphrey is in a series of books narrated by Humphrey about his life as a classroom hamster. I definitely recommend them for middle grade readers for their humor, cuteness, and relatability.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

10yo: 100/5 stars. My favorite part was when all the campers played a trick on the winning cabin and they ran around screaming. Did they need to be scared? I also liked when they set Jake and Lovey free.

7yo: 3/5stars (mind you we read this because he’s obsessed with hamsters!) my favorite part was when Humphrey used the stickers to unite the friends that weren’t really into the camp! The cuteness of the hamster is so adorable! He has a tiny notebook!!!

*Recommended for kids who love hamsters. There are a lot of fun facts about hamsters in this book.

Fun summer read aloud. as far as I can tell, it didn’t matter that this is book 6 in the series. You can pick up wherever and the author makes sure you know whatever you need to! Cute and quick. Appeals to a wide range of ages. Gotta love a talking animal who knows how to read and write!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humphrey is a happy little hamster who is typically the class pet. This was the first book I have read from the series and it was pretty cute. in this story, Humphrey goes to summer camp. He watches the kids and sneakily helps when he can and even has a few adventures all on his own.

My girls liked the book, but it's probably just a little too old for them. I had to force them to sit still and let me finish the book with them. It's getting harder for me to judge reading difficulty, but this one had some bigger words that they might not have understood.

all that said, it's a cute series and i intend to read more of it with them when we have the chance.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

MG - BL: 4.3 - AR Pts: 5.0

The Suisun El. students seemed to like this series.
Humphrey repeats important words, like WORRIED-WORRIED-WORRIED. All the kids from the classroom are called cutesy names, like Lower-Your-Voice-AJ and Stop-Giggling-Gail. The only animal he "speaks" the same language as is the mouse he encounters in the woods; the classroom frog just says "BOING." There are cute "notes to self" at the end of each chapter which sum up in a less than 10 words what Humphrey learned.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another cute Humphrey story which I enjoyed reading with my son. It has all the usual, amiable characters. Humphrey goes through his usual learning process, and gets up to his usual, sneaky hamster mischief in the name of helping his human friends. This book is a little different in setting as it takes place at summer camp, but with most of the usual children and staff from school. As an adult reading my way through the series, I am starting to find the format a little repetitive, but my seven year-old son really enjoys these books.

[Charlotte S · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is this? School's ending? Where is a classroom hamster to go when school is ending?! To Camp Happy Hollow, that's where! Ms. Mac is taking Humphrey the hamster to a summer camp for, well, you guessed it, the summer! Join him and a bunch of the kids from Room 26 for loads of summery fun and surprises! According to Humphrey books are great and make for easy reads. This would be an awesome read-aloud book for the summer, too! I enjoyed this book and I hope you do, too! Thank you for reading! Follow @bronteandwilder on Instagram for more fun book recommendations!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this alongside my 8 year old granddaughter. The story is narrated by Humphrey the hamster, a classroom pet. The schoolyear comes to an end and he frets about the children leaving and what he'll be doing all summer. He goes to summer camp! And some of the children he knew from school are there as well. Cute story! Each chapter ends with "notes to self", wise insights that Humphrey learns along the way.

[Marie Angus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betty did it again!!! She wrote a great story and taught us more about why people act the way they do. I love the fun in these stories and also the empathy we gain in reading them. I highly recommend these books.
The reader of the audio books does an excellent job reading them! If you're looking for books for your children to listen to, I highly recommend these. I love them as an adult!

I think children of a pretty large age range could really get into them. Maybe 5-11 years old...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summer According to Humphrey has a cute concept and works fine as a standalone, though some minor characters got a little mixed up in my mind. Some of Humphrey's quirky phrases ("unsqueakably", "lock-that-doesn't-lock", "VERY-VERY-VERY", etc.) became too repetitive--the target audience probably wouldn't find it annoying. Three stars.

[Zac Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another bedtime book where I gave the 12yo the option of switching and she held firm. I know I'm not the intended audience here, so I'd say this is a good one for somewhere around the 5-6 grade crowd. Especially if hamsters are your bag.
We realized it's part of a series, and now are searching for book 1, so that speaks to engagement and continuity.
Overall, a decent juvenile/my book.

[Charisa Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kid liked it. He liked that when Og went missing Humphrey was there to help. He would change Noah wanting to let everyone out. He thought it was good that Sam got poison ivy since everyone was relying on him. Some themes he identified were summer, friendship, letting animals go.

I liked it too. I like the friendship between Og and Humphrey and feel it was really showcased in think one

[Aria Boucher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Summer according to Humphrey because Humphrey thinks he’s never going to go back to room 26 ever again. But then he has a lot of fun at camp Happy Hollow. He forgets all about room 26 but when he sees his friends from school he wants to go see his friends agin. I didn’t like it at the end but Humphrey goes back to school again. I liked that book

[Cottontailfarm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend reading the "scary" climax to the story while tent camping with 3 little kids I would love to know what the campground neighbors thought about my scary "Howler" noises and the shrieking children.
There is a companion book to this one, told from Og's point of view, that we can't wait to read next.

[Natalie Pietro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well we tried. My son and I could not for the love of me get through this book. It was annoying and not interesting. Even my son said please stop reading I want a different book. Maybe the other books in the series were good but this one was blah. To bad.

[Amanda Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute story in the Humphrey series. After reading several of the in-the-classroom booksthe camp theme of this story came as a nice diversion.

The losing of Og near the middle of the book made it more suspenseful than some of the other books.

[Jessica]

S. had enjoyed a different book in this series at school, and requested we read one at home. She enjoyed it, and I didn’t mind it. Good messages about friendship . . . From the point of view of a precocious hamster.