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Hamster Princess #5

Hamster Princess: Whiskerella

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A funny, feminist twist on the Cinderella fairy tale for fans of fractured fairy tales

Princess Harriet Hamsterbone is not the kind of princess who enjoys fancy dresses or extravagant parties. Cliff-diving, fractions, and whacking people with swords are more her thing. So when she's forced to attend a boring ball in honor of a visiting ambassador, Harriet is less than thrilled--until a bewitchingly beautiful stranger arrives. Who is she? And where did she come from? The mystery leads to a not-so-wicked stepsister, an incontinent lizard, and a fairy's spell that's really more of a curse. Luckily, Harriet knows a thing or two about curses...

Smart, funny, and filled with swashbuckling adventure, book five in the critically acclaimed Hamster Princess series is a hilariously re-told fairy tale for the modern age.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2018

72 people are currently reading
645 people want to read

About the author

Ursula Vernon

80 books1,529 followers
Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher, is an author and illustrator. She has written over fifteen books for children, at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends.

Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, studied anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.

Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her husband and his chickens.

Her work has been nominated for the Eisner, World Fantasy, and longlisted for the British Science Fiction Awards. It has garnered a number of Webcomics Choice Awards, the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature, the Nebula for Best Short Story, the Sequoyah Award, and many others.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
Profile Image for Lata.
5,036 reviews259 followers
March 17, 2018
Harriet's at it again, attempting to avoid her mother's attempts to get her to act like a princess. Nope, never going to happen! This time, she has to help Whiskerella get out of good fairy's desire to get a prince to sweep Whiskerella off her feet into a marriage. Never mind what Whiskerella wants! Well, Harriet does, and chaos ensues as she and Wilbur work hard to thwart the good fairy, and cause lots of damage--no, let's be fair, Harriet causes the damage, while Harriet also befriends a visiting bat ambassador. There are numerous funny comments by each character (Harriet's father saying they should have named Harriet COLLATERAL DAMAGE was hilarious) and the story moves along briskly and now I have to wait for book six!
Profile Image for Rachel (Kalanadi).
790 reviews1,510 followers
March 11, 2018
I enjoy the "You're my favorite daughter"/"I'm your *only* daughter!" joke cuz my dad does it with me all the time too.
Profile Image for Mary Catelli.
Author 57 books204 followers
January 26, 2018
Book 5. Minor spoilers for earlier books ahead.

In which Harriet collides, full strength, with Cinderella. Her mother holds a costume ball, nominally in honor of the bat ambassador, actually to get Harriet to meet the princes without their past dislike coming into play. It doesn't work, but an astoundingly beautiful hamster shows up.

The rest involves a pet lizard, disease quail are prone to, a stepsister who likes to claim to be wicked, the bat ambassador's sense of humor, and more.
Profile Image for Andrew.
1,999 reviews127 followers
September 4, 2017

I'm so in love with the Hamster Princess books! Whiskerella marks book #5 in the series, and it doesn't disappoint!


Harriet's castle is hosting a costume ball for the bat ambassador (much to Harriet's chagrin) and a stunning hamster named Ella makes an appearance. Who is this mystery rodent? She hadn't been sent an invitation... A second party is hosted soon after, and Ella comes again. Harriet and the gang follow her home, & find out there's some magic behind all of this, in the form of a fairy that won't mind her own business!


Adorable illustrations, witty dialogue, and enchanting antics ensue once again from our favorite beady-eyed heroine!

Profile Image for Kristen.
1,961 reviews25 followers
August 13, 2023
Another delightful entry in this fantastic series! My favorite quote:
"'Is your mom afraid something will happen to you?'

'I,' declared Harriet, with absolute confidence, 'am something that happens to other people.'"
Profile Image for Heidi.
2,913 reviews67 followers
March 16, 2018
In a version of Cinderella turned on its head, Princess Harriet sets out to help Ella (who she names Whiskerella when they first meet) get out of an unwanted fairy's spell. Harriet isn't thrilled to be at the ball in the first place, but when she spots Whiskerella, she's intrigued by this unknown beautiful hamster. She wants to know why Whiskerella slips in dances with all the princes and then slips out in her glass slippers. She also finds it odd that Whiskerella's quail and coach driver behave rather strangely. With the help of her friend, Wilbur, Harriet determines to find out what is going on with their strange visitor. And naturally, she finds herself up to her chin in trouble. I found myself laughing out loud at a number of parts in this story. I found this book in the series to be funnier than the others for some reason. Maybe it's because the story of Cinderella is such a well-known one that to see it turned on its head like this is just hilarious.
Profile Image for Aimée.
Author 5 books8 followers
December 29, 2024
Wie der Titel schon impliziert, geht es diesmal um eine junge Dame, die auf einem Ball von Harriets Mutter auftaucht. Leider ist auch hier wieder eine übereifrige "gute" Fee am Werk - denn das Mädel will gar keinen Prinzen kennenlernen und heiraten! Harriet mischt sich natürlich direkt ein und ... wird diesmal in eine Wachtel verwandelt! Was die Kommunikation etwas erschwert, aber sie mit ihrer treuen Reitwachtel Mumfrey näher zusammenbringt.



"It was occasionally Harriet's job to go around and explain why eating the neighbors was frowned upon in civilised society, and then to hit them repeatedly with a sword until they understood the explanation."



~ 29.12.2024
Profile Image for Nicole (bookwyrm).
1,376 reviews4 followers
May 27, 2021
This is a super cute Cinderella retelling featuring our favorite hamster princess, Harriet. As with the fairy tales in the rest of the series, it turns the regular Cinderella story on its head, while still keeping the heart of the story. The art is fun, the story is written for kids but appropriate for all ages, and the text is immensely quotable. I love the hamster princess series!
Profile Image for Julia.
942 reviews64 followers
March 22, 2018
I love this snarky, feisty heroine who would rather bash things with swords and break curses than sit around in a castle and go to balls. This whole series of feminist fairy-tale retellings featuring Harriet the Hamster Princess has been both hilarious and delightful. Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Linda Quinn.
1,379 reviews31 followers
June 11, 2018
Whiskerella, book number 5 in this series, is also in my opinion the best one yet. A re-write of Cinderella, this one looks at the tale from a different angle. What if the fairy godmother is an interfering busybody and Cinderella doesn’t want to marry a prince? Hilarity ensues.
Profile Image for Kenya Starflight.
1,697 reviews21 followers
October 2, 2018
The "Hamster Princess" books keep getting better, and I've highly enjoyed reading about Harriet, her friend Wilbur, and her loyal battle-quail Mumphrey as they happily fracture and subvert many classic fairy tales together. These books not only have fun and cute illustrations but a feisty and fun heroine, plenty of action, and a generous helping of humor that both kids and adults can appreciate. And "Whiskerella" continues the tradition, giving us a splendid new take on the Cinderella fairy tale.

Harriet's mother is insistent that she settle down and find a prince, and so arranges a ball and invites as many eligible princes as possible. But when a mysterious, beautiful stranger crashes the ball, drawing the eye of every prince there, Harriet is instantly suspicious and enlists her reluctant friend Wilbur to figure out what's going on. Sure enough, there's a fairy godmother at the heart of this... but this particular Cinderella doesn't want the happy ending the fairy godmother has in mind, and said fairy godmother isn't taking no for an answer. Can Harriet and Wilbur, with a little help from a bat ambassador and a lovestruck stablehand, stop a fiendish fairy plot and save the day?

Just like with the previous books in this series, "Whiskerella" is fun, exciting, hilarious, and gives us memorable characters and a well-done female protagonist. Despite the cutesy cover and the word "princess" in the title, it's a book that I can see boys reading and enjoying as well as girls, especially for the subversion of classic fairy tale tropes and the humor. It was also nice to see some returning characters from previous books, especially Ratpunzel the rat princess.

I'm a huge fan of reading new takes on classic fairy tales, and Cinderella in particular is one that has been told and retold MANY times. This retelling, however, takes on a twist I've never seen before in making the fairy godmother the villain, and in doing so it raises some thought-provoking and interesting questions about "traditional" female roles and the dangers of trying to force young girls into these roles. I don't know if it was Ursula Vernon's intention to raise the issue in a children's chapter book, but I saw it there nonetheless and applaud her for showing that not every girl considers a "Prince Charming" to be their happily-ever-after, and pushing this fate onto young girls can make them very unhappy.

An entertaining, thought-provoking, and downright hilarious skewered fairy tale, "Whiskerella" shows that the adventures of Harriet Hamsterbone are still going strong, and I hope this series continues. There are still quite a few fairy tales, both well-known and obscure, that Harriet can tackle, after all...
Profile Image for Becky B.
9,435 reviews189 followers
July 26, 2018
The Hamster Queen is hosting a ball in honor of the Bat Ambassador's visit. At least, that's the excuse she's using. She really is husband hunting for Princess Harriet even though Harriet is only twelve and has years before marriage would be a reality. (Never mind the fact that Harriet has zero interest in marriage and even less interest in the nearby princes.) But the ball isn't entirely as boring as Harriet foresees. For a strange and stunningly beautiful hamster crashes the party. Harriet is grateful that the princes were so preoccupied all evening, but she is curious where the hamster came from. When the mysterious princess shows up at her mother's second ball, Harriet is officially itching to solve the mystery. She knows everyone on her mother's invitation list, and that hamster was a stranger. Her coach and quail were strange too, according to the castle groom. So Harriet, Mumfrey, and Wilbur are on the case to figure out what is going on and why.

This is a Cinderella fractured fairy tale like it's never been fractured before. And of course, because Harriet is involved, it's splendid and most entertaining. I can't say too much without spoiling the fun of the twists and turns Vernon takes with this fairytale. Gotta love Princess Harriet. Mumfrey rocks like never before in this one. And Wilbur I think has gotten resigned to his fate of being Harriet's sidekick (and possibly secretly likes it). I like that Ratpunzel returns in this one and is part of the crew for some of the action. Also, a huge fan of the father/daughter bonding moment Harriet and the Hamster King get. Another very enjoyable Hamster Princess adventure, but I wouldn't expect anything less.

No content issues.
Profile Image for Becky.
6,224 reviews306 followers
November 7, 2018
First sentence: The castle of the hamster king was a bustle of activity.

Premise/plot: This is the fifth novel in Ursula Vernon's fantasy series for young readers starring Princess Harriet Hamsterbone. Harriet and her good friend, Wilbur, team up once again to save the day.

Depending on your point of view, Whiskerella has either been blessed or cursed by a fairy godmother. What matters in this story--and in any story really--is how she herself feels about it. Whiskerella is anything but pleased. She welcomes the assistance of her new friends. Unfortunately, the fairy godmother learns of Harriet's eagerness to help her break the spell...and well...Harriet and Wilbur face some challenges when a spell is cast over them. Can they persevere and still save the day?

My thoughts: This is a twist on the classic fairy tale Cinderella. Whiskerella has little interest in attending balls or marrying royal princes. I enjoyed it--for the most part. But I found it slightly tedious in places. (I would have found even one sentence about lizard pee tedious....let alone it being a running gag throughout the entire novel.)
Profile Image for Diana.
442 reviews22 followers
November 26, 2018
I realize that I have evangelized about the Hamster Princess books before, but my five-year-old and I just finished Whiskerella and it is, no joke, a masterpiece of children's literature. I am utterly enthralled by how fun and great the story is, with a capable, fierce, obstinate yet not obnxious Harriet, and the steadfast not-a-warrior-yet-also-capable bff Wilbur. In this installment, we also have a reasonable adult, the bat ambassador, who is utterly charmed by Harriet's shenanigans and beomes a gleeful accesory to chaos, and a scene where after Harriet and Wilbur are

Guys. It's so perfect, I had ordered Little Red Rodent Hood to stick in the child's stocking and instead busted it out today under the guise of "you're sick, I'll humor you." But mainly, I just wanted to start reading it myself.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
1,162 reviews114 followers
March 1, 2018
I really enjoy this series. This book proves to be just as fun and quirky as it's companions. I love the sense of humor this fairy-tale retold has, but this book does rely a bit more on potty humor than the previous books. I wish it had been a bit wittier with the humor. Thankfully some of the adults were useful this time around, and her father got some much needed character development. Her friend Wilbur and several other male characters also got to be useful and shine a bit more in this book. I just wish they got to shine more often as a counter to Harriet. She tends to overshadow the others and while she is a fun character, it'd be nice if the guys also got to be amazing and have a balance between the two different kinds of strength. Fun read, and enjoyed it even though it does have some problems. These are problems the series has as a whole and there has been improvement but would like to see more when it comes to writing both male and female characters. That being said both boys and girls can find these books hilarious.
Profile Image for The Captain.
1,540 reviews528 followers
December 15, 2025
Ahoy there mateys! I originally read book 1 in paper format back in 2021.  I loved the story and illustrations.  This year I saw they were available in audiobook format read by Eva Kaminsky.  I wondered how they would fare in that format given that they were graphic novels.  They are short and I quickly binged the 6 book series.  I don't do well with graphic novels.  I really enjoyed listening to series even if the details faded too fast.  I don't own them but would like to.  I think listening to the audio while looking at the pictures would be fun.  I keep meaning to experiment with this idea but never seem to get around to it.  I really do like Harriet and her trusty riding quail, Mumfrey.  It showcases twists on fairy tale tropes and has Vernon's signature humor.  I would have adored this as a kid.  I get why kids love this series but us middle-aged adults do too. Arrr!
Profile Image for Ritika Chhabra.
519 reviews56 followers
August 8, 2019
Follow Just A Girl High On Books for more reviews.

So the fifth installment in the Hamster Princess series is a re-telling of Cinderella. And well, I love myself a good Cinderella story. I guess there is just something about a girl who gets everything served to her in a platter that really attracts me. (Yeah, I'm a very lazy person. Don't judge me!)

So anyway, Whiskerella is about a Cinderella who doesn't like all the things served to her in a platter. So everything the fairy gives her...well, she doesn't want all that. No prince, no magic slippers, no enchantments. All she wants is a stable boy and that is just about enough for her. But do the fairies understand that? No, no. Because apparently, everyone wants that.

I guess what I really loved about this book was that along with Harriet, we also witnessed a girl who wanted anything but to be a princess. I mean, there are not many girls who don't want that so naturally, that makes it all the more special.

But other than that, I also loved the humour in this one. As usual, Harriet was at her best. And so was the family situation at Harriet's parents' place. (Oh god, I'm still laughing at the conversations including the bat ambassador!)

Overall, it was a great installment in the series and I would definitely recommend it!
203 reviews
May 31, 2018
We love everything Ursula Vernon writes. A little dialogue from this book to show why.... "Every little girl dreams of marrying a prince", " I didnt, I wanted to be a vampire and a knight.... I managed the knight one okay, vampire had some practical issues, as it turns out." I have a little girl who hates pink, and hates almost all princess movies, it took me 3 years to convince her to watch Mulan. Hamster Princess is one of maybe 4 princesses she will admit is cool (including Milan finally). The books are a hoot, I get as excited about reading one when it comes out as she does.
6 reviews
February 8, 2024
This book was very imaginative and fun it's funny but sad, this is one of the best comic/chapter books ever. I love how it has some comics but then just words like a real book it gave me a fun perspective of the book, it is amazingly creative. It's also so cute I love whiskerellafallingbin love with Ralph instead of a prince, I love how the fairy sorta turned evil and turned wilber and Harriet into quale and turned misty into a driver in my mind I was like 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯😲😲😲😲😲😲it was just a surprise plot twist and I love it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sarah Workman.
102 reviews
February 10, 2025
My daughter loves to pick out books for me at the library and the Hamster Princess series is her favorite to choose. I can't complain because they are absolutely joyous reads.

Whiskerella is a little repetitive in its plot (i.e. ball after ball after ball), but charming and sassy as ever. The problem reveals itself with more build up than other books in the series and I really enjoyed that element. The resolution really didn't make Harriet the hero and that was also a nice change. This is probably one of my faves of the Harriet novels.
Profile Image for Kelley.
671 reviews16 followers
August 15, 2025
Hamster Princess continues to be the feminist icon I need in my life.

This time she is forced to attend a ball held by her mother in honor of the Bat Ambassador. However things turn weird when a mysterious beauty attends the ball in glass slippers. Harriet knows something is amiss. This has all the markings of fairy magic and she knows those crazy fairies can't be trusted.

My favorite part of this book is finally getting to hear Mumfrey's "voice," which I definitely read with a Brooklyn accent. Who knew?!
1,139 reviews5 followers
October 7, 2025
Harriet, sorry, Princess Harriet, is being forced (by her mother) to attend balls to find her one true Prince. But Harriet doesn't WANT a Prince, she just wants to keep being an adventurous hero for the people. An evil fairy (and is there any other kind in these stories?) wants Ella (now known as Whiskerella) to find a Prince and live HAPPILY EVER AFTER! Or else! Harriet feels people, sorry, hamsters should make their own choices. I am reading these along with my granddaughter and there is lots to discuss. And a heck of a lot of laughs!
Profile Image for Danielle Hammelef.
1,466 reviews204 followers
February 6, 2018
I have read every Hamster Princess book and still enjoy the unconventional princess. Harriet is fun, brave, and would rather cliff dive than go to a ball. These books are quick reads with fun illustrations throughout that also break up the text for even the most reluctant readers. I recommend these books, which don't have to be read in order of publication to get to know Harriet and her friends, family, and beloved quail.
Profile Image for Yapha.
3,323 reviews106 followers
January 13, 2018
Another great adventure with Princess Harriet Hamsterbone! In this, she must help undo a fairy's gift to Ella, who doesn't actually want to go to the ball and meet a prince. Full of the same clever writing and witty commentary, this is a must read for fans of the series. Highly recommended for grades 1 & up.
Profile Image for Brenda.
1,350 reviews21 followers
January 28, 2018
I still love Harriet Hamsterbone. I love how she suffers through her role as Princess, but understands that isn't a something for everyone. Happily ever afters cannot be mandated or manufactured for you. You have to make that happen on your own. No one should wish for a Fairy Godmother to save them. Follow Harriet's lead, and save yourself.
Profile Image for Jessie Bond.
366 reviews8 followers
February 3, 2018
Nonconformist, butt-kicking princess genre meets cute animal graphic hybrids. Princess Harriet is a charming, assertive, cliff-diving hamster princess who sets out to free Whiskerella from the unwanted spell of her fairy godmouse in an upending of the traditional story. Good humor in places. Great for fans of Babymouse, Princess in Black, and the like.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews

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