Friendship According to Humphrey
Written by Betty Birney
Reviewed by Aanika R. (age 8)
Have you ever felt jealous that someone is getting all the attention? Well, Humphrey, the class pet of Room 26, feels jealous in the book Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney. In the beginning, Humphrey hears that there are a few changes in the classroom and has many questions. Soon he realizes that it is not the best change. It’s a new classroom pet! Next, Humphrey finds out a lot of things about the new pet. His name is Og (the frog), he eats crickets (yuck!), and he takes away all the attention from Humphrey. Even Pay-Attention-Art pays attention to Og! It makes Humphrey feel SAD-SAD-SAD. In the end, Humphrey realizes Og is not so bad. Og even does some heroic acts! You will have to read this book to find out if Og and Humphrey become pals, or they stay enemies.
I know that you will have to agree that Friendship According to Humphrey is a book that you will never want to stop reading! First of all, it teaches you to make new friends. For example, Tabitha, the new girl of Room 26, has no friends. She only plays with a stuffed bear until Mrs.Brisbane teaches a song about friendship and suggests she leave her stuffed bear at home. Second of all, it is adventurous. For example, Humphrey keeps opening the door that everyone thinks is locked but isn’t. Humphrey calls it the lock-that-doesn’t-lock and solves problems and has adventures in (and out) of the classroom! Equally important, it teaches you to trust people. For example, Humphrey does not like Og but on a snow day Humphrey is hungry so he opens the cage door. When the Nutri Nibbles bag falls on him Og hops out of his tank and pushes the bag off of him. All in all, Friendship According to Humphrey is a GREAT-GREAT-GREAT book!
If you enjoy friendship with any species (in this case hamsters and frogs) you’ll love the book Friendship According to Humphrey. Do you like taking care of cute, furry hamsters and green, floppy frogs? I give this book 5 stars for all of the author’s descriptive language and teaching how to take care of animals. If you like reading about new friendships and trying to solve problems, then this is the right book for you. I highly recommend Friendship According to Humphrey. You don’t want to miss it! SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK!