The Adventures of Celeste the Cat: Celeste and the Giant Hamster [Paperback]

Melanie Typaldos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2009 | Series: Adventures of Celeste the Cat

Celeste the Cat is tormented by her human’s insistence on keeping a dwarf hamster, appallingly named Celestina, as a pet. Enlisting the aid of two friends, the brave but intellectually challenged Tiger and overly-enthusiastic Ruby, she sets out to trap a giant hamster that is loose and living in a nearby field. She plans on placing the giant hamster in front of Celestina’s cage to show her owner what she thinks of pet rodents. The giant hamster--actually a capybara--proves to be a larger, stronger and more intelligent adversary than the cats expect, resulting in a series of humorous mishaps that leave the trio battered but not dispirited. Slowly the cats come to realize that the capybara is not the frightening monster they imagined. When the capybara has a litter of eight precocious capy-kittens, Celeste, Ruby and Tiger find themselves doing things they never imagined, like going for a swim and protecting baby rodents from a tough gang of tom cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (May 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439234027
• ISBN-13: 978-1439234020
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,528,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When Melanie Typaldos took a vacation in Venezuela in February of 2002, she never dreamed of how much it would change her life. The trip to Hato El Frio in the Los Llanos region was her first close encounter with a capybara, the largest (and cutest) of all rodents. Six months later, Melanie adopted her pet capybara, Caplin Rous, and within a year she had written her middle grade novel, Celeste and the Giant Hamster.

Melanie lives in Buda, Texas with her husband Rick, Caplin Rous, four horses, three snakes and a rabbit named Maple.

Please visit www.GiantHamster.com for more information on Caplin Rous and capybaras in general.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for fourth graders, June 23, 2009

By 

Rebecca A. Cavanaugh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Adventures of Celeste the Cat: Celeste and the Giant Hamster (Paperback)

I'm an elementary teacher and I read Celeste and the Giant Hamster to fourth graders. If there's one thing I've learned in my 21 years of teaching, it's how to get children's attention: just say, "Once upon a time..." There's nothing like a good story to take children on a thrilling adventure. My students squealed when I told them it was story time and sighed with disappointment when I stopped reading. In this day and age when it's hard to motivate children about anything, it was such a joy to engage children and spark their imagination with this book.

The fast-paced writing made us all feel like we were there for the risks, hazards, and victories! The beautiful words, phrases and vocabulary helped us disappear deep into the woods with the three main characters, cats named Celeste, Tiger and Ruby, to find a missing capybara. This book gave us life lessons, humor, action, and excitement. It gave us courage and hope that we could overcome obstacles and solve problems just like these lovable cats.

We joined these cats on a mission to do what cats do - hunt for a giant rodent!! These cats had to solve many problems along the way, working together as a team to make their various traps and contraptions. And when their contraptions didn't work did they quit? No, they showed amazing kitty persistence and never gave up! They learned about camaraderie and true friends who have your back. They found the courage together to stand up to bully cats like Pumpkin and Phucat, those meanies who have nothing better to do than be cruel.

Celeste taught us about kindness and not making fun of cats with kinked tails. Celeste showed us not only to accept other cats' differences, but to celebrate them as what makes the team stronger. Celeste also gave us hope and confidence that we could find the leader within us all by believing in ourselves. Misfortune and adversity can be great character builders, and Celeste's mishaps helped her find her most courageous self.

The children and I got lost in the story. We were completely connected to the characters and so invested in the how the story was going to end. We identified with Celeste finding the leader inside of her. We related to Tiger's simple kindness, and Ruby's naive sweetness. I even believe children related to the sinister Pumpkin, and my hope is that seeing his mean-spirited ways will help them think twice before being unkind.

Celeste learned something else: never judge a book by its cover, and things are not always as they seem. Sometimes Capybara hunts turn out a lot differently than you planned.

Celeste and the Giant Hamster gave us so much inspiration, laughter and fun. It taught us about life. I loved this book!!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary cats, May 27, 2009

By 

Sheldon C. (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Celeste the Cat: Celeste and the Giant Hamster (Paperback)

This book is very witty and clever, bringing to life ordinary house cats in a most extraordinary way. The main characters are believable and mimic so many of us. Celeste in particular is a great role model - an imperfect cat who is a bit egotistical but is so courageous and such a loyal friend that you can't help but look up to her. My favourite character is Ruby who is clearly the underdog - a nervous and naïve cat who can easily be looked over and counted out but who in the end, turns out to be the true hero in my opinion.

And who could not love a book centered around capybaras? That was just the icing on top a very delicious cake.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling story of friendship and adventure, May 26, 2009

By 

Rezoner (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Celeste the Cat: Celeste and the Giant Hamster (Paperback)

I am a big fan of capybaras, so naturally I have read this book as soon as it has appeared. It was, though, more about the small company of cats, each one with it's own character, and capybara was a mystery, and only appeared later.

It begins as a funny story, but then it gains momentum of a true drama, and by the end I could not go to bed before I finished reading. It's really an exciting story, both thrilling and moving, and you would learn a lot about the heroes, and really feel attached to them.

I would recommend it to the kids who are not afraid of books with sometimes dangerous adventures.