Betty G. Birney’s Humphrey series is a collection of children’s books. The first book, Humphrey the Golden Hamster, was published in 2004.
Readers can see life through the eyes of classroom pets in these novels. Each chapter is unique, leaving the kids eager for more. Humphrey, a hamster, has a beneficial impact on Longfellow School students and faculty. He is very knowledgeable, has a positive outlook, a great sense of fun. Birney explores friendship, responsibility, and open-mindedness against the backdrop of school years.
Humphrey, the teacher, the pupils, and the principal are introduced in the first book. Readers learn how what they see at school reflects what is going on at home. Humphrey tells the story between days in the classroom and weekend trips at home.
This is a wonderful story about a pet that comes up with inventive ways to motivate kids to face their issues. As he finds out more, he discovers that people are complex, and he finds the good in everybody, even the grumpy ones.
Humphrey Books in order
- The World According to Humphrey (2004)
- Friendship According to Humphrey (2005)
- Trouble According to Humphrey (2007)
- Surprises According to Humphrey (2008)
- Adventure According to Humphrey (2008)
- Summer According to Humphrey (2010)
- School Days According to Humphrey (2011)
- Mysteries According to Humphrey (2012)
- Winter According to Humphrey (2012)
- Secrets According to Humphrey (2014)
- Imagination According to Humphrey (2015)
- Spring According to Humphrey (2016)
Similar authors
- Roxie and the Hooligans series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor follows a girl stranded on a deserted island.
- The Heartwood Hotel series by Kallie George follows Mona the Mouse. She discovers a beautiful hotel for forest animals.
- Clementine by Sara Pennypacker is focused on an eight-year-old called Clementine. She is characterized by her flaming red curls and is an artistic but impulsive girl.
See also: My Weirder School Books in Order.
Most recommended books of the series
- Imagination According to Humphrey (4.36 Goodreads score)
- Secrets According to Humphrey (4.32 Goodreads score)
- Winter According to Humphrey (4.31 Goodreads score)
- Trouble According to Humphrey(4.30 Goodreads score)
- Spring According to Humphrey (4.30 Goodreads score)
Latest releases in the series
The last book of the series is called Spring According to Humphrey and was published in 2016.
Book summaries
The World According to Humphrey (2004)
You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That’s what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy, is it true! In addition to having FUN-FUN-FUN in class, each weekend this amazing hamster gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up-Sayeh. Soon Humphrey learns to read, write, and even shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course). With lots of friends to help, adventures to enjoy, and a cage with a lock-that-doesn’t- lock, Humphrey’s life is almost perfect. If only the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, wasn’t out to get him!Boys and girls can’t help falling in love with Humphrey! Kids will be eager to get their paws on all 12 books in the series!
Friendship According to Humphrey (2005)
After the holidays, Humphrey is shocked by a big surprise in Room 26-a new class pet! Humphrey tries to be welcoming, but Og the frog doesn’t respond to any of his friendly squeaks or visits (remember, he has a lock-that-doesn’t-lock). Plus, the students are so interested in Og, they almost stop paying attention to Humphrey altogether. Humphrey doesn’t like the mad-bad-sad feelings he’s had since Og came, but luckily he still gets to have adventures with different kids on the weekends. Friendship can be tricky, but Humphrey is an intrepid problem-solver. If any hamster can become buddies with a frog, he can.
Trouble According to Humphrey (2007)
Humphrey loves to solve problems for his classmates in Room 26, but he never meant to create one! Golden-Miranda, one of his favorite students, gets blamed when Humphrey is caught outside of his cage while she’s in charge. Since no one knows about his lock-that-doesn’t-lock, he can’t exactly squeak up to defend her. Humphrey really has his paws full when Don’t-Complain- Mandy-Payne and her family stir up more big trouble. Humphrey manages to help Pay-Attention-Art and Sit-Still-Seth and even survives a trip to the vet, but can he clear Miranda’s name without giving up his freedom forever?
Surprises According to Humphrey (2008)
A classroom hamster has to be ready for anything, but suddenly there are Lots-Lots-Lots of big surprises in Humphrey’s world. Some are exciting, like a new hamster ball. But some are scary, like a run-in with a cat and a new janitor who might be from another planet. But even with all that’s going on, Humphrey finds time to help his classmates with their problems. But will Mrs. Brisbane’s unsqueakable surprise be too much for Humphrey to handle?
Adventure According to Humphrey (2008)
The students in Room 26 are learning about boats and building their own for a race on Potter’s Pond. Humphrey the hamster loves dreaming about being a pirate and watching his friends build ships. But when he mistakenly ends up at sea on the day of the boat race, he finds himself in the middle of more adventure than he bargained for! Humphrey is back in this charming story of a hamster on the high seas of hilarity.
Summer According to Humphrey (2010)
When Humphrey hears that school is ending, he can’t believe his ears. What’s a classroom hamster to do if there’s no more school?It turns out that Mrs. Brisbane has planned something thrilling for Humphrey and Og the frog: they’re going to Camp Happy Hollow with Ms. Mac and lots of the kids from Room 26! Camp is full of Fun-Fun-Fun new experiences, but it’s also a little scary. There are fur-raising wild sounds and smells, and there’s something called the Howler to watch out for.Humphrey is always curious about new adventures, but could camp be too wild even for him?
School Days According to Humphrey (2011)
A new school year and new friends for everyone’s favorite classroom pet!Humphrey is excited to get back to Room 26 and see all his old classmates. But on the first day of school, a bunch of strange kids arrive and no matter how loudly he squeaks up, they don’t realize they’re in the wrong room! Finally Humphrey realizes that these kids are his new classmates, and he sets off to learn all about them.He hasn’t forgotten about his friends from last year, and of course they miss him a ton. But when they start talking about taking him from Mrs. Brisbane’s room, Humphrey gets unsqueakably nervous. How could he say good-bye to Mrs. Brisbane and Og–not to mention his new friends–for good?
Mysteries According to Humphrey (2012)
Eek-Eek-Eek! Mrs. Brisbane is missing!Humphrey has always investigated things, like why Speak-Up-Sayeh was so quiet and Tall-Paul and Small-Paul didn’t get along, but this is a true mystery–Mrs. Brisbane is missing! She just didn’t show up in Room 26 one morning and no one told Humphrey why. The class has a substitute teacher, called Mr. E., but he’s no Mrs. Brisbane. Humphrey has just learned about Sherlock Holmes, so he vows to be just as Smart-Smart-Smart about collecting clues and following leads to solve the mystery of Mrs. Brisbane (and a few others along the way).
Winter According to Humphrey (2012)
It’s the Happy-Happy-Happy holidays for everyone’s favorite classroom pet!The holidays are coming and Humphrey is unsqueakably excited. He loves to hear about all the different ways his friends in Room 26 celebrate and to watch them make costumes and learn songs for the Winter Wonderland pageant. (He even squeaks along!)But with so much to do, will the holidays go according to plan? Do-It-Now-Daniel is having trouble practicing, Helpful-Holly can’t stop worrying about making presents for her friends, and Humphrey still has to find a gift for Og! Good thing Humphrey is one smart hamster who can help them all fill the season with Joy-Joy-Joy!
Secrets According to Humphrey (2014)
Humphrey is back in his tenth adventure in the beloved middle-grade series!So many secrets are flying around Room 26 that Humphrey can barely keep track. Mrs. Brisbane knows a student is leaving, but Humphrey can’t figure out which one. (Even more confusing, Mrs. Brisbane seems unsqueakably happy about it.) The class is studying the Ancient Egyptians, and some of the kids have made up secret clubs and secret codes. Even Aldo is holding back news from Humphrey.Humphrey’s job as classroom pet is to help his humans solve their problems, but all these secrets are making it HARD-HARD-HARD!
Imagination According to Humphrey (2015)
Imaginations are running wild in Mrs. Brisbane’s class, but Humphrey is stumped. His friends are writing about where they would go if they could fly, but Humphrey is HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY right where he is in Room 26.It’s pawsitively easy for Humphrey to picture exciting adventures with dragons and knights in the story Mrs. Brisbane is reading aloud. He has no trouble coming up with Plans to help his friends and tricks to entertain them. His imagination even goes a little too far when he wonders if Carlos’s imaginary friend might be a ghost.If only his imagination wouldn’t disappear when he tries to write. Luckily, Humphrey likes a challenge, and Mrs. Brisbane has lots of writing tips that do the trick.
Spring According to Humphrey (2016)
Spring is in the air, and lots of things are growing—including the Room 26 family! Signs of spring are very exciting to everyone at Longfellow School. Mrs. Brisbane’s class has seen flowers poking out of snow and baby birds hatching, and Just-Joey even brought in tadpoles that are growing into frogs. It also means Family Fun Night is coming up, and all of the students’ families are involved in making amazing activities. Humphrey helps in many ways, of course, but he can’t stop wondering about his own family. He doesn’t know anything about his mom or dad. Luckily, all of his wonderful friends help him see that families come in many shapes and sizes, and Humphrey’s might be the biggest (and best!) one of all.
