Customer Reviews

I, Freddy: Book One in the Golden Hamster Saga

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(The following review is from my 8 year old son.)
I gave it 5 stars because it was exciting, fun, and thrilling. I read many books this summer (27 so far) and this one was my favorite. I can't wait to read the other two. I am going into 3rd grade.

As an adult I enjoyed this book as equally as my little sister, who I bought it for. Not only do I have a hamster named Fred who looks exactly the same as the cover Freddy, but I found his story ridiculously cute and funny. Anyone who loves hamsters or rodents would love this book. The illustrations alone are worth buying.

I think a lot of people would really love the book I FREDDY. Enrico and Caruso the guinea pigs sing, dance, and rhyme just for fun. I like the way Freddy isn't like other golden hamsters. He can read, write, and type by himself. I think it's nice how he communicates with his owner using the computer. If your favorite animal is a hamster you would love this book. This book is GREAT!!!

I'm at chapter nine half way through and so far its funny and adventures Freddy is a great character very likeable one of the best half of a book i have ever read cant wait to finish the book and read the rest of the golden hamster saga

With a hamster that can read and write and a little girl named Sophie that is only 6, the troubles will never end.

When Gregory (Sophie's dad) buys a golden hamster at the pet store he does not know that he is buying no ordinary golden hamster.

Every day Freddy the hamster sits by Sophie, which is know learning how to read. And to his imagination he learns to read, but his writing problem is unsolved because he can't write with a huge pencil.

He finds a way to get the pencil and opens his cage to try to be free and to find a way to write. But he didn't know that mom was allergic to hamsters.

Next day mom had her allergies and Freddy might have to go back to the evil pet store but thanks to Mr. John (Sophie's dad's friend) Freddy can stay with him.

But life may not be easy for Freddy because Mr. John has a tomcat and two guinea pigs which are hamster's worst enemies.

I enjoyed very much this mind thrilling book. It's entertaining, has wonderful pictures now and then, and is by me, recommended for ages 7-12. This novel is filled with humor, scary scenes, and extraordinary adventures!

I give this book TWO THUMBS UP!

I absolutely adore this book. This may not say much since it was a while ago that I was in the target demographics. However, the reason why I even read the book is because we got it two years ago as a Christmas present for my then 7-year-old niece. By the time we presented her with the book's sequel - "Freddy in peril" - last Christmas, she had already bought the book at a school fair with her own pocket money.

This book is funny, smart, engaging and does not patronize children in any way. Freddie Auratus is not a one-dimensional character by any means. He is hungry for knowledge, doesn't mind the work that it takes to get there (learning to read and write, that is, which may seem as daunting for a 7-year-old as it for a golden hamster)and he has a keen eye to distinquish between those who are willing to help him and those who want to put obstacles in his way. On the other hand, he is vain, a trifle self-important, all in all a fitting target for the jokes of his new housemates, Enrico and Caruso (two extremely talented guinea pigs).

The supporting cast is also well-developed and they work together to nurture Freedy's valuable characteristics while cutting his less desirable traits down to size. By the end of the novel Freddy accomplishes his task, gains insights into his own personality and makes new friends.

A fantastic book, highly recommended for adults and kids alike. It's written with a wink to us who may be reading it to them, which makes it a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

One of the many reasons I enjoy reading children's books is that many of the new and interesting facts I learn about the world around me come from them. Here's a fine example. I grew up in strictly one cat household. We did not own mice, or rats, or ferrets, or gerbils, or guinea pigs. And if you had been so good as to hold up, before me, a guinea pig and a hamster, I doubt very much that I would've been able to tell the difference. I probably would've continued in this state of blissful ignorance had not a fine little publication by the name of, "I, Freddy", come to my attention. For you see, the hero of this little book is not only a hamster, but a golden hamster. And so, through this delightful tale of a particularly gifted young rodent, I have learned a shocking amount of new facts about these tiny pets and their world. It's just a nice added plus that the book's as amusing, well-written, and funny as it is.

Freddy Auratus grew up in a pet shop different from his brethren. Like all golden hamsters, he had to scrounge for food and maintain his own tiny territory. However, Freddy had something his siblings didn't: an active interest in the world around him and a desperate desire to leave the pet shop world and find the fabled land of Assyria (original home of all golden hamsters). To do this, he concocts a clever scheme to promote his own adorable qualities. The scheme works beautifully and Freddy finds himself the property of a little girl named Sophie (a child he repeatedly states is, "A GIRL IN A MILLION!"). Unfortunately Sophie's mother is not as taken with the little guy as Sophie is. And when Freddy's brains take him places he should not go, he finds himself in a new home with new neighbors. Neighbors that include a very large black cat. Will Freddy survive his new home? Will he be able to establish contact with the intelligent adult world around him? It's a mystery that only reading, "I, Freddy", will resolve.

"I, Freddy", the book, originally hails from Germany (check out the interesting German covers on www.amazon.de for fun). And unlike other children's titles from foreign countries, the translator's name appears right on the spine along with the author. This got me to wondering how much of this book could be attributed to author Dietlof Reiche and how much to "Das Boot" translator John Brownjohn (which is, I might add, a fabulous name in and of itself). But whether Brownjohn can take full, partial, or hardly any credit at all for the story, I don't care. What matters is that, "I, Freddy", is delightful. Freddy's take on life is a joy. For example, when discussing golden hamster politics, Freddy mentions that when it comes to the tread-wheel, "the tread-wheel freaks were always lining up in front of it". Even more delightful are Joe Cepeda's illustrations. When first looking at the various "Golden Hamster Saga" covers (of which this book is only the first), I was not initially impressed with Mr. Cepeda's style. That opinion reversed immediately, however, when I saw how brilliantly he incorporated his spiky pen and ink touches to the book itself. There's a single picture of Freddy with his cheeks huge and full of food walking away with a furious expression on his face that reduced me to helpless giggles. This is a truly lovely little story that I, for one, shall actively promote to any and every person I meet from here on in.

There are relatively few fictional children's books about golden hamsters. So I don't feel like I'm making a particularly good point when I say that this is the best out there today. Instead, I'll widen the field a little and say that if you have a child that loves animals (particularly small cute ones) then this is the best tiny pet book you could possibly buy. Heck, even if you can't stand hamsters you'll love it. You may never, however, look at a guinea pig the same way again.

This book is so awsome. It has great plot, lots of clever parts, and is almost impossible to put down. This is a rule I made up about this book and the entire series: If you don't like this book, you haven't read it.

Is the 'promised land' closer than we think? Is it within our grasp if we just work a little harder? I'm not quite sure if these are the questions that the author intended to answer in this book about Freddy Auratus, the great golden hamster. I do know that I was left with a feeling akin to "is that all?" The problem may have been that I expected a great adventure, a fantastic liberation and without giving it away, the ending was less than that.

Freddy is saved from the pet store by Sophie. Then when Sophie's mother says that Freddy must go, he is saved by Mr. John, a family friend. At Mr. John's house, Freddy finds a way to teach himself to read. And he even befriends the Mr. John's other 'pets' along the way.

There were several things I did like about the book though. Freddy was an extremely likeable character. His yearning to read and to write and to follow his own path were wonderfully described. He's a hamster in a million that's for sure. Also, the supporting cast of animal and human characters were well-rounded with the animal characters, Sir William the tomcat and Enrico and Caruso the guinea pigs being exceptionally likeable.

You know the old adage don't judge a book by it's cover. Without making a value judgement on the contents of the book, I'd like to make a few comments on the book's cover and it's structure. It is obvious that quite a bit of care was put into the formatting of this work. It is bigger than most paperbacks - measuring about 1" wider than the standard 5" x 7.5" book. The paper is a bright white which you don't find often. Most paperbacks use a newsprint texture of paper. The great line drawings by Joe Cepeda and the amazing use of type in this book are noteworthy as well. Dare I say it, for me all this adds to the appeal of the book. (This refers to the April 2005 Scholastic edition of I, Freddy: Book One.)

So if you are looking for a great adventure, this book may not be for you. But you will find I, Freddy quite enjoyable if you are looking for a story about how even the smallest creatures have complex lives. If you want to believe that they can learn and grow emotionally and can even have insight into the archetypes of their 'society' - this is the book for you. As I said, Freddy is a likeable 'guy' - it's just the ending that left me wondering (and perhaps it was supposed to do so).

I, Freddy: Book One in the Golden Hamster Saga by Dietlof Reiche tells the tale of Freddy Auratus, "the remarkable hamster who had learned to read and was hungry for mental stimulation." As Freddy quickly discovers, there are many obstacles that hamper (or should I say hamster) his academic pursuits, including an allergy-plagued mother, a pompous feline named Sir William, and two guinea pigs whose poetry and low-brow theatrics prove to be as putrid as their cages.

Rodents have long been ignored as main characters in modern-day novels, despite their obvious presence in households with children. Freddy, however, makes up for this exclusion--as he states from page one, this is Freddy's life story, written by Freddy, starring Freddy. The illustrator, Joe Cepeda, echoes this air of self-importance, with pen-and-ink renderings of the loveable critter prancing through the margins of the pages.

I, Freddy is more than another talking animal book. Underneath the nuances of humor exists a hamster seriously struggling with "an intellectual problem." The readership-ideally third through fifth graders-will relate to the plight of the hamster, as he tackles issues of communication and self-identity.

The novel boasts sophisticated language that could potentially enhance a reader's vocabulary. Loftier words such as "vociferating," "skullduggery," and "self-glorification" are sprinkled throughout the text. Several spoofs on Shakespearean verses are also included ("As for the food itself, last but not least, King Fred on nothing but the best shall feast.")

Younger children may not understand the verbiage or the many literary allusions. Therefore, I, Freddy would work best as a read-aloud, especially as an early introduction to classic literature.