Product Description
Two hamster roommates with wildly different personalities crammed in one cage--what could go wrong in this hilarious story about introverts versus extroverts?
It's been two hundred and five days since Henry has had peace. That's because it's been two hundred and five days since Marvin has come to live with him. Marvin, who loves to talk in the tunnels, talk while they're eating, talk while they're running. Marvin, who drives Henry up the cage walls. But when Henry finally loses his cool and gets exactly what he wanted, both hamsters have to figure out a way to live together and work through their communication mishaps.
From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-Brown hamster Henry and white hamster Marvin are here to show emerging readers all the reasons they are terrible roommates. With repetition and style, Klein's furry anti-hero Henry is fed up with Marvin's natural exuberance and daily good cheer. Marvin talks and demonstrates and engages with Henry all day long. In Alwar's comic illustrations, drawn to show the constant contrast between Marvin's antics and Henry's face, readers learn that our disgruntled narrator has questions: "He's always talking, while I'm nice. I don't bother him. Why won't he do the same for me?" It's the classic friction between introverts and extroverts, and Henry can't take it any longer. Exploding in anger at Marvin, he gets a day of peace and quiet, and witnessing Marvin's sad apology, at last has answers: "I like the quiet. But he didn't know that. He wanted me to talk. But I didn't see that. Maybe if we talk more, we can be quiet more too." With a palette that dynamically carries scenes from serene to anger-infused, the illustrations cue preschoolers into the underlying emotions behind the roommates' misunderstanding. It's funny, sincere, and teachable. VERDICT Hamsters may make terrible roommates, but Klein and Alwar give beginning readers the path to harmony through honest conversation and admitting wrongdoing.-Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journalα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
★ "Funny, cleverly building dialogue by Klein . . . Debut illustrator Alwar creates two highly and equally expressive rodent protagonists . . . readers should get a tickle out of how the freewheeling digital compositions open up the tiny world of the hamster cage in unexpected ways." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Klein’s pithy storytelling both thoughtfully conveys the introvert-extrovert divide and gently teaches the art of apology. Alwar’s watercolor-textured digital illustrations are funny, expressive, and emotive, with a combination of spot and spread illustrations moving the story along . . . Whether for hamsters or humans, a lighthearted how-to guide to being a good roommate." —Kirkus
"The story’s respect for Henry’s preference for solitude makes this book particularly refreshing; it focuses not on self-sacrifice but on boundaries and how guidelines for time spent together can make a relationship more meaningful . . . a gentle but humorous primer to youngsters on exercising their own agency and respecting that of others." —BCCB
"With a palette that dynamically carries scenes from serene to anger-infused, the illustrations cue preschoolers into the underlying emotions behind the roommates’ misunderstanding. It’s funny, sincere, and teachable . . . Hamsters may make terrible roommates, but Klein and Alwar give beginning readers the path to harmony through honest conversation and admitting wrongdoing." —SLJ
About the Author
Cheryl Klein is the author many picture books, including Wings, illustrated by Tomie DePaola, and the adult nonfiction book The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults, which received two starred reviews. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Abhi Alwar is an illustrator and designer from Chicago who currently lives in NYC and works in childre
