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Sweet Valley Kids #2
Runaway Hamster
Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield love being the only twins in their second-grade class. They wear matching outfits to school every day and always sit together.
But twins don't always like the same things. Elizabeth is excited about taking the class hamster, Tinkerbell, home for winter vacation. But Jessica thinks Tinkerbell is disgusting.
When it's Jessica's turn to feed the hamster, she forgets to shut the cage door tightly--and Tinkerbell escapes! Will the twins find Tinkerbell? If they don't, what will they tell their friends?
73 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1989
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,151 books1,857 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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March 20, 2023Every weekend, one of the students in Mrs. Becker’s second grade class is chosen to take home the class pet, a hamster named Tinkerbell. Most of the kids are super excited by the prospect, but Jessica dreads her name being pulled from the box, as she’s more than a little scared of the tiny rodent. In the end, it’s Elizabeth who is chosen to take Tinkerbell but, as she’ll have the hamster for all of the winter break, Jessica is expected to be equally responsible for looking after it.
In a different kind of book series, this might have led to Jessica’s family helping her to work through her fears. This is Sweet Valley, though, so everyone is completely indifferent to her genuine distress. And then, when Tinkerbell escapes from her cage because the door doesn’t shut properly, Jessica is treated as though she is at fault, when really people should be blaming the shoddy cage.
Two books in and I’m already feeling frustrated due to Jessica-related injustice. These may be aimed at little kids, but they definitely have that in common with the other series.
In a different kind of book series, this might have led to Jessica’s family helping her to work through her fears. This is Sweet Valley, though, so everyone is completely indifferent to her genuine distress. And then, when Tinkerbell escapes from her cage because the door doesn’t shut properly, Jessica is treated as though she is at fault, when really people should be blaming the shoddy cage.
Two books in and I’m already feeling frustrated due to Jessica-related injustice. These may be aimed at little kids, but they definitely have that in common with the other series.
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February 10, 2026Runaway Hamster
It’s the day before holiday break and Jessica is hoping she (or Liz) won’t get picked to take the class’s pet hamster home. Liz tho wants to be picked to take care of Tinkerbelle. Mrs. Becker picks Liz and tells Jessica she wants her to help. Winston says the hamster will starve if Jessica *helps*.
Some third grade girls and Steven notice the hamster on the bus ride home. Liz tells them *they’re* taking care of it. Jessica says she is. Tinkerbelle gets a little anxious and starts to thumb her foot. When they get home, Jessica wants to put her in the basement. Liz wants to put her in their room so she’ll be close. Jessica is worried that she’ll get out, climb up in her bed, and bite her, but Liz says they’ll keep her inside the cage.
Jessica says she doesn’t think she likes it in the cage but Liz says she does. When Liz lends down to look at her, the hamster gts on the wheel. It’s LOUD and the twins wonder how they’ll sleep. Liz says hopefully she’ll go to sleep when they do. Alice comes in the room and says she knew about Tinkerbelle coming and she told the teacher it was fine. Liz says they’ll take care of her. Jessica says well your on your own. Her mother looks surprised by this and tells her she has to do her share of the work. Liz decides just in case she’ll keep a constant check on the hamster in case Jessica doesn’t do it.
Liz likes to feed Tinkerbelle and play with her, but Jessica keeps her distance. One day, Amy comes by and they decide to put Tinkerbelle in the bath tub. Then they put doll house furniture in the tub with her. Jessica and Lila come in the room and Jessica is furious. She claims the hamster is eating the furniture. Now she’ll never been able to touch the stuff again. Plus it’s leaving “seeds” all over the room. Lila says she can’t wait for her turn which REALLY? Liz just wishes Jessica would give Tinkerbelle a chance.
On Saturday, Jessica has to be reminded by Alice it’s her turn to take care of the hamster. She goes to feed it and give it water but Steven calls her to his room and shows her a mouse trap he made. He asks if he can try it out on her hamster and she says no. Even tho she doesn’t like Tinkerbelle that doesn’t mean she wants to hurt her. Steven prmises it won’t hurt her. So, they go to her room
Liz comes in the room to check on Tinkerbelle and sees the cage open. She’s gone! She looks under the bed but she’s not there. Jessica comes back in the room and tells Liz what Steve planned to do. When she finds out the hamster is gone she hops on the bed. Liz tells her to stop it. Jessica worries that they’ll get in trouble. Liz says if they find her their parents won’t have to know.. So, they look all over the room. She’s not there. They look in their parents room. She’s not in there either. Jessica asks what if they don’t find her. Liz says they just have to keep looking.
Jessica comes up with a plan that to keep her out of trouble they’ll just get another hamster that looks like Tinkerbelle -because all hamsters look alike-. They only have fifty one cents tho. Liz says they have to tell their mom. She tells Jessica she won’t get in trouble. She just made a mistake. So, they tell Alice who says they have to tell Mrs. Becker and she’ll take them to the pet store to get another hamster. Liz still worries where Tinkerbelle could be.
The twins take the new Tinkerbelle to school. Jessica doesn’t want to tell Mrs. Becker and the rest of the class because she thinks they’ll hate her. But Liz says they have to. Everyone is excited to see “Tinkerbelle”. They notice tho that she isn’t getting on her wheel like she usually does. Jessica says maybe she’s just tired. Mrs. Becker asks if they had any problems with her and Jessica breaks down and confesses that (that’s) not Tinkerbelle. The others wonder where she can be. Charlie thinks his cat might have eaten her. It didn’t eat that morning and it looked fatter. Tom McKay says he might still be in the house. Mrs. Becker thinks if it got outside it might just have found a nice hole. Liz likes Tom’s guess best and knows that she’ll never get it off her mind if she doesn’t find her. (Oh, and they all start saying that this hamster isn’t as fun as Tinkerbelle and Todd surprisingly says it was Liz’s fault).
Mr. Wakefield comes home, goes to the kitchen to have a snack (crackers) and sees there’s a hole in the bottom of the box. This confirms that Tinkerbelle is still in the house. They look all over the kitchen. Then Steven calls to them that he caught something in his trap. It turns out to be Tinkerbelle. Jessica catches her before she runs off the desk. Steven can’t wait to tell his teacher his trap worked. The Twins take Tinkerbelle to school and everyone is happy to have her back, Now they have two hamsters and Tinkerbelle has a friend. They name the new hamster Thumbelina.
My Thoughts:
HORRIBLE! What kind of teacher forces a student to take a pet home that’s scared of the pet? She might as well have just said “Oh you don’t want to take care of Tinkerbelle. TOUGH! DEAL WITH IT!” If this was my teacher and she tried to force me to take care of a pet that I was scared of I would have just left it there. So, in part Tinkerbelle escaping was Mrs. Becker’s fault. That’s just how I see it. I know Jessica didn’t *mean* to but that was just bad karma all around. And then Alice wasn’t any better. She didn’t take Jessica’s fear seriously either. Do you really think if I was a parent and my daughter were scared of a certain animal I’d allow the teacher to make her take care of it. I don’t know maybe this was Mrs. Beck’s way of trying to make Jessica get over her fear and at the same time learn responsibility but NO. What Mrs. Becker *should* have done is let the kids VOLUNTEER to take care of Tinkerbelle. Clearly, there was no shortage of ones who actually wanted to care for her that hadn’t even gotten picked yet. And then I’m sorry but Lila being anxious to watch her? COME AGAIN?! Lila Fowler has never wanted to take care of anything in this whole series that involves work. So, whoever wrote this needed to go back and familiarize thereselves with this character. Even when Lila had a horse in middle school, she didn’t take care of it. She tried to pawn it off on Liz and Ted (the stable boy).
Rating: 5
It’s the day before holiday break and Jessica is hoping she (or Liz) won’t get picked to take the class’s pet hamster home. Liz tho wants to be picked to take care of Tinkerbelle. Mrs. Becker picks Liz and tells Jessica she wants her to help. Winston says the hamster will starve if Jessica *helps*.
Some third grade girls and Steven notice the hamster on the bus ride home. Liz tells them *they’re* taking care of it. Jessica says she is. Tinkerbelle gets a little anxious and starts to thumb her foot. When they get home, Jessica wants to put her in the basement. Liz wants to put her in their room so she’ll be close. Jessica is worried that she’ll get out, climb up in her bed, and bite her, but Liz says they’ll keep her inside the cage.
Jessica says she doesn’t think she likes it in the cage but Liz says she does. When Liz lends down to look at her, the hamster gts on the wheel. It’s LOUD and the twins wonder how they’ll sleep. Liz says hopefully she’ll go to sleep when they do. Alice comes in the room and says she knew about Tinkerbelle coming and she told the teacher it was fine. Liz says they’ll take care of her. Jessica says well your on your own. Her mother looks surprised by this and tells her she has to do her share of the work. Liz decides just in case she’ll keep a constant check on the hamster in case Jessica doesn’t do it.
Liz likes to feed Tinkerbelle and play with her, but Jessica keeps her distance. One day, Amy comes by and they decide to put Tinkerbelle in the bath tub. Then they put doll house furniture in the tub with her. Jessica and Lila come in the room and Jessica is furious. She claims the hamster is eating the furniture. Now she’ll never been able to touch the stuff again. Plus it’s leaving “seeds” all over the room. Lila says she can’t wait for her turn which REALLY? Liz just wishes Jessica would give Tinkerbelle a chance.
On Saturday, Jessica has to be reminded by Alice it’s her turn to take care of the hamster. She goes to feed it and give it water but Steven calls her to his room and shows her a mouse trap he made. He asks if he can try it out on her hamster and she says no. Even tho she doesn’t like Tinkerbelle that doesn’t mean she wants to hurt her. Steven prmises it won’t hurt her. So, they go to her room
Liz comes in the room to check on Tinkerbelle and sees the cage open. She’s gone! She looks under the bed but she’s not there. Jessica comes back in the room and tells Liz what Steve planned to do. When she finds out the hamster is gone she hops on the bed. Liz tells her to stop it. Jessica worries that they’ll get in trouble. Liz says if they find her their parents won’t have to know.. So, they look all over the room. She’s not there. They look in their parents room. She’s not in there either. Jessica asks what if they don’t find her. Liz says they just have to keep looking.
Jessica comes up with a plan that to keep her out of trouble they’ll just get another hamster that looks like Tinkerbelle -because all hamsters look alike-. They only have fifty one cents tho. Liz says they have to tell their mom. She tells Jessica she won’t get in trouble. She just made a mistake. So, they tell Alice who says they have to tell Mrs. Becker and she’ll take them to the pet store to get another hamster. Liz still worries where Tinkerbelle could be.
The twins take the new Tinkerbelle to school. Jessica doesn’t want to tell Mrs. Becker and the rest of the class because she thinks they’ll hate her. But Liz says they have to. Everyone is excited to see “Tinkerbelle”. They notice tho that she isn’t getting on her wheel like she usually does. Jessica says maybe she’s just tired. Mrs. Becker asks if they had any problems with her and Jessica breaks down and confesses that (that’s) not Tinkerbelle. The others wonder where she can be. Charlie thinks his cat might have eaten her. It didn’t eat that morning and it looked fatter. Tom McKay says he might still be in the house. Mrs. Becker thinks if it got outside it might just have found a nice hole. Liz likes Tom’s guess best and knows that she’ll never get it off her mind if she doesn’t find her. (Oh, and they all start saying that this hamster isn’t as fun as Tinkerbelle and Todd surprisingly says it was Liz’s fault).
Mr. Wakefield comes home, goes to the kitchen to have a snack (crackers) and sees there’s a hole in the bottom of the box. This confirms that Tinkerbelle is still in the house. They look all over the kitchen. Then Steven calls to them that he caught something in his trap. It turns out to be Tinkerbelle. Jessica catches her before she runs off the desk. Steven can’t wait to tell his teacher his trap worked. The Twins take Tinkerbelle to school and everyone is happy to have her back, Now they have two hamsters and Tinkerbelle has a friend. They name the new hamster Thumbelina.
My Thoughts:
HORRIBLE! What kind of teacher forces a student to take a pet home that’s scared of the pet? She might as well have just said “Oh you don’t want to take care of Tinkerbelle. TOUGH! DEAL WITH IT!” If this was my teacher and she tried to force me to take care of a pet that I was scared of I would have just left it there. So, in part Tinkerbelle escaping was Mrs. Becker’s fault. That’s just how I see it. I know Jessica didn’t *mean* to but that was just bad karma all around. And then Alice wasn’t any better. She didn’t take Jessica’s fear seriously either. Do you really think if I was a parent and my daughter were scared of a certain animal I’d allow the teacher to make her take care of it. I don’t know maybe this was Mrs. Beck’s way of trying to make Jessica get over her fear and at the same time learn responsibility but NO. What Mrs. Becker *should* have done is let the kids VOLUNTEER to take care of Tinkerbelle. Clearly, there was no shortage of ones who actually wanted to care for her that hadn’t even gotten picked yet. And then I’m sorry but Lila being anxious to watch her? COME AGAIN?! Lila Fowler has never wanted to take care of anything in this whole series that involves work. So, whoever wrote this needed to go back and familiarize thereselves with this character. Even when Lila had a horse in middle school, she didn’t take care of it. She tried to pawn it off on Liz and Ted (the stable boy).
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 19, 2016READ WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY BETWEEN AGES 6-10.
REVIEW INTENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING:
1. For parents looking for something to give their elementary grade kids
2. For myself to look back to if I will ever be in need of Sweet Valley recommendations for kids these days who might choose a book over their Ipads or who knows, my future kid might be a reader too
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A hamster is missing and in the eyes of a kid, it's a life changing dilemma. This story shows that kids need to own up to their mistakes and learn to find solutions to problems. Just because you are a kid doesn't mean that you are to be babied and solutions will be given to you all the time.
REVIEW INTENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING:
1. For parents looking for something to give their elementary grade kids
2. For myself to look back to if I will ever be in need of Sweet Valley recommendations for kids these days who might choose a book over their Ipads or who knows, my future kid might be a reader too
---------------------------------
A hamster is missing and in the eyes of a kid, it's a life changing dilemma. This story shows that kids need to own up to their mistakes and learn to find solutions to problems. Just because you are a kid doesn't mean that you are to be babied and solutions will be given to you all the time.
February 25, 2024
Elizabeth and Jessica had to take the class pet, a hamster home during the winter holidays. Elizabeth loves the hamster but Jessica, not so much. Anyhow, when it was Jessica's turn to take care of the pet she loses her. And they buy a new identical hamster.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2019
These books are so cute! How did I never read any of these until now!?
July 12, 2022
Sorry Tinkerbell, but I’m Team Jess when it comes to hamsters.
January 30, 2026
I read this in like an hour and something less if wasn't doing other stuff too.
I just got this recently, but have had some since I was in elementry-high school. Like BSC and Wishbone never read til now.
Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield have their turn of taking care of the class pet Tinkerbell the Hamster. The only thing is Jessica hates the idea and can't stand Tinkerbell. She is whispering for the teacher not to pick them, but Elizabeth her identical twin gets her wish of taking care of the cute little critter for winter break.
Jessica wants nothing to do with it and if her mom hadn't made her she never would have done her share of the work. Too bad that their older brother Steven told Jessica to come to his room when was her turn to change cage.
Jessica didn't shut the cage door tight enough and Tinkerbell got lose in the house. They did everything to find her, but couldn't. Jessica didn't like her, but never wanted to lose her. She is convinced that everyone will hate her now.
They tell their mom and get a new hamster, but every one knows that its not Tinkerbell. The new hamster gets named Thumbelina but Jessica didn't like it cause sounded like Tinkerbell.
However, when their dad gets home from his trip they find out something has been in the crackers. Then their brother Steven tells them he caught something in his friendly mouse trap that is a shoe box.
The girls find out that Tinkerbell is in the box and they take her back to school. The class now has two hamsters that are identical just like the twins.
I thought it was cute and I have to say I like Elizabeth the most.
I just got this recently, but have had some since I was in elementry-high school. Like BSC and Wishbone never read til now.
Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield have their turn of taking care of the class pet Tinkerbell the Hamster. The only thing is Jessica hates the idea and can't stand Tinkerbell. She is whispering for the teacher not to pick them, but Elizabeth her identical twin gets her wish of taking care of the cute little critter for winter break.
Jessica wants nothing to do with it and if her mom hadn't made her she never would have done her share of the work. Too bad that their older brother Steven told Jessica to come to his room when was her turn to change cage.
Jessica didn't shut the cage door tight enough and Tinkerbell got lose in the house. They did everything to find her, but couldn't. Jessica didn't like her, but never wanted to lose her. She is convinced that everyone will hate her now.
They tell their mom and get a new hamster, but every one knows that its not Tinkerbell. The new hamster gets named Thumbelina but Jessica didn't like it cause sounded like Tinkerbell.
However, when their dad gets home from his trip they find out something has been in the crackers. Then their brother Steven tells them he caught something in his friendly mouse trap that is a shoe box.
The girls find out that Tinkerbell is in the box and they take her back to school. The class now has two hamsters that are identical just like the twins.
I thought it was cute and I have to say I like Elizabeth the most.
December 5, 2021
As copied from my Instagram account - Sweetvalleyrecaps -Really, the title tells it all! Liz and Jess take home the class hamster for Winter Vacation (bummed there was no mention of Christmas!) and it escapes from its cage after Jess doesn’t close it properly. To be fair, she didn’t want to look after it in the first place, because she’s scared of it, but Alice makes her. Jess is scared everyone in the class will hate her for losing Tinkerbell, so Alice takes them to buy a replacement. But she doesn’t even help them search properly 🙄 The class calls the new hamster Thumbelina, but it’s not as cool as Tink. That afternoon the twins discover a hole in a cracker box and Ned (with more sense than his wife) has everyone search properly. But they didn’t need to bother, because Steven caught it in his mouse trap. Now there are twin hamsters, and all is well! Oh and Jess likes hamsters now? My rating - 3/10 - I felt bad for Jess even though her fear was short lived and a bit irrational.
November 18, 2016
Elizabeth and Jessica have to share the responsibility of caring for their class's hamster during break. While Elizabeth is overjoyed, Jessica wants nothing to do with it. What could possibly go wrong?
August 13, 2010
"Shannon 11-7-90"
July 26, 2012
I could definitely relate to the hamster antics!
June 22, 2013
I remember the cover but just not the story
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews