According to Humphrey
"You can learn a lot by taking care of another species." Humphrey should know. He takes care of his friends in Room 26 as they navigate the trials of school, friendship, family and so much more!
Humphrey, everyone’s favorite classroom pet, is starring in chapter books perfect for younger readers. Each adventure is full of hamster-iffic humor, friendship and fun. (From Penguin Random House)
I discovered Humphrey while looking for a book to read aloud to a class of second graders, back before I even had a child of my own. The class fell in love with Humphrey and so did I. When my daughter was in kindergarten, I introduced her to Humphrey, and (even without illustrations) she was hooked. We quickly ate up the whole series. My son was a little more hesitant. We read the illustrated Humphrey Tiny Tales series to him first, but in second grade I got him to give The World According to Humphrey a try, and just like my daughter, he was hooked. We have gone from one book in the series to the next.
What Mom loves about this series:
- Humphrey has a unique perspective as an observer in a classroom. He notices things that other's miss. It's a great way to teach empathy organically, parents!
- Humphrey goes home with students on the weekend and discovers the reasons why those students act the way they do in class. I found myself using this story to talk to my kids about different people and how everyone is dealing with feelings and situations we don't know about.
- Because Humphrey is not human he often misunderstands situations, and this can lead to some funny results!
- Humphrey is caring and a great friend, but he experiences jealously, fear, worry, etc. -- just like us humans!
Why my kids love about this series:
- Humphrey is adorable, sweet and funny!
- Humphrey may only go from classrooms to the homes of students, but he has LOTS of adventures!
- Humphrey doesn't know what anything is.
- Humphrey has a big imagination! Sometimes he imagines things that aren't real... like an alien visiting the classroom (it wasn't actually an alien).
Don't miss out on the shorter illustrated Humphrey's Tiny Tales and the new books narrated by Og the Frog!