Customer Reviews

I, Houdini

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My son had to read this book for school (4th grade). We read it together; alternating who read each paragraph. Much to my surprise I was captivated by the adventures of Houdini the Hamster (couldn't wait to get back to the book at night wondering what was going to happen next) and delighted by the writing of the author. I am always trying to show my children that they will learn to write well by reading a well written book ---and this certainly sets a great example that kids can relate to. Lots of new words for them to learn. It's also a great book to tie down a child that normally doesn't like to sit and read and would rather be running around playing. This book was as satisfying to read, from an adult's point of view, as many of the R. Dahl children's books.

Actually I've heard the audio tape which is a reading of the book. It is about as good as you can get. My daughter has listened to parts of it night after night for weeks as a bedtime story.

The character of the hamster is absolutely wonderful. He is very intelligent and concerned about learning, a hard worker at developing the skills necessary for his "profession". He is philosophical and gives due consideration to his exploits with meticulious honesty and modesty despite his obvious enjoyment of posessing intellectual abilities far beyond those of normal hamsters. How the author got such a sophisticated character into such a fun story out to be the subject of a Phd. Thesis. Drama, humor, cute hamster stuff, life and death struggles as he explores the world, learns valuable lessons,develops a conscience, creates a philosophy of hamsterdom, finds religion,falls in love (hamster style), searches for his wild animal roots and more and more.

My goodness there is so much and it's all such FUN, nothing particulary serious, nothing scary, just a great story about a hamster who, the truth be told, has a better, more balanced, more thoughtful and more enjoyable personality than most of the people that I know.

The author's reading is perfect. Get the book and the tapes. You'll love 'em and so will your children.