Surprises According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

Main Character: Humphrey, a golden hamster
Location: undefined
Time period: Contemporary
Genre: J Fiction, School

Humphrey the hamster returns in his fourth book of adventures as the classroom pet of room 26. We're coming to the end of the school year and there is plenty going on. I-Heard-That-Kirk brings in a hamster ball so Humphrey can roam around the classroom. (Nobody knows about the lock-that-doesn't-lock and how Humphrey does plenty of roaming on his own when no one is watching.) On his weekend stay at Wait-for-the-Bell-Garth's house, Humphrey goes on an unexpected roll down the hill in his ball and comes face to face with a curious cat. When Aldo the janitor comes to clean the classroom speaking in a language Humphrey doesn't understand and then is replaced by a stranger, Humphrey becomes convinced that Aldo has been kidnapped by aliens. Most worrying, Mrs. Brisbane hasn't decided whether or not she wants to come back to teach next year.

There is a lot of charm in this series of books which looks at classroom activities through the eyes of a classroom pet. I like his use of repetition for emphasis--things aren't just fun, they're FUN-FUN-FUN! I also like his definitions which close each chapter. A suprise is "something totally unexpected and unplanned for...[it] can be both good and bad, like a shiny balloon (a good thing) that suddenly pops and scares you (a bad thing)." Humphrey cares deeply about the children in his classroom and wants to help them with their problems. He also has the opportunity to watch the teacher and get to know her in a way that the students don't.

Surprises for Humphrey is on the 2009-2010 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee List.