Book Report: ADVENTURE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY

This book is called ‘ADVENTURE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY’, written by Betty.G. Birney. Humphrey is a hamster who goes on many different adventures.(You can see the two other reports on my blog). Humphrey is a class pet who is adored by all the kids. Mrs. Brisbane (the teacher of that class) talks about a project in which the students have to create a ship and in the end, there is a race. A trip to the library is needed in order to collect information for building the ships. Humphrey is intrigued by the number of books in the library and starts to sneak into the library late at night. Every night, a video plays when he accidentally taps a button on a remote. Humphrey has many things to worry about everyday such as problems between classmates and family. For example: Kirk and Richie (two classmates) get into a fight in which Kirk gets left out and decides to take revenge. He builds his own ship at home and uses that for the race to show Richie what he is capable of. Later, Humphrey finds a family problem and tries to solve it; Gail and her partner (two other students) have many different ideas. While Gail wants a plain flag on her ship, her partner is against her and Gail’s mum is unfortunately supporting Gail’s partner! When at night Humphrey meets up with his old pal, Aldo the cleaner, Aldo starts acting and speaking like a pirate. Humphrey worries that Aldo might actually turn into one and his spine shivers. On the day of the race, Humphrey tries to stop Kirk from destroying Richie’s boat by going aboard Richie’s boat. But, the damage is done but Humphrey finds a way to save himself. In the end, Gail’s idea is finally used on Gail’s ship. Kirk and Richie apologise for being so competitive and in doing so, get together again. Ahoy! Me hearties. What was that? Then, it hits Humphrey why Aldo was acting like a pirate; to practice for entertaining the parents and children at the race! In the end, all is resolved happily and Humphrey once again, saves the class!

What I like about this book:

• On his way to help and save his friends, Humphrey makes new ones and treasures them. This is one thing that I really like because I feel that a friend is like a precious gem that all of us should treasure. However, not all of us do (including me). He dedicates himself to helping people even when he might get hurt doing so e.g. by going on Richie’s ship when water is bad for his fur.
• All of his friends represent an event in Humphrey’ life or someone who Humphrey has helped. For example, Aldo is someone who Humphrey is very close to and helps him again and again with big decisions and Og the Frog marks the time when Humphrey got over his jealousy and made friends with even the most odd creature.
• All of Humphrey’s books are funny but also have a lesson or meaning to them that all of us should use in life. There are two very good lessons in this book. The first one is not to be over confident and competitive as Kirk and Richie both were when they were building their ship. The second one is to be welcoming and to not be disparaging.
• A feeling of deja vu came over me when I read the part about Aldo acting like a pirate and Humphrey felt scared. Some friends I had have recently changed their ways and are just a bit more mature and have their own ways. I guess it’s all about growing up- I can notice changes in myself too.
• Finally.. Fun time! Read the book and answer these questions:

1.    What is the name of Gail’s partner?

2.   What is the name of the librarian?

3.   Which book does Mrs. Brisbane read to the class?

4.   Who hosts the field trip to the pond?

5.   What is the pond called?

6.   How does Kirk control his submarine?

7.   How does Humphrey save himself?

8.   How many parents become pirates for the field trip? Who are they?

Although the book is really good, I do think a few twists and turns in the story would engage the reader even more and overall, would make the book very interesting.

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING ADVENTURE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $5.99!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £4.79!

Book Report: ROOM ON THE ROOF!

This book is called, ‘ ROOM ON THE ROOF’ written by Ruskin Bond. It is about an orphaned boy named Rusty who has no real family after his parents’ death. He is very lonely and sad and even though he lives with his guardian (Mr. John Harrison), he doesn’t feel at home. Rusty is going through several emotions; he is confused, obliged, helpless, lonely and sad.  He is confused because he is a young boy between the age of an adult and child and doesn’t know who to follow or what his future holds. He is obliged to follow the orders and rules of his guardian and dares not disobey him. He feels helpless because he knows that if he disobeys Mr. John, he will get caned. Rusty doesn’t have any real friends and he is so very lonely in his guardian’s house. Even though Rusty is half Indian, John doesn’t let Rusty near the bazaar for a reason : John thinks that Indians are very dirty and this story is written just after the British had ruled over India, so he must have felt more superior! One day, Rusty decides to get some fresh air and takes a walk while his guardian was away to Delhi. After walking through the forest, he stops in front of the bazaar and his mind is arguing with his instinct. His mind is saying, ‘Don’t go! You will get into trouble.’ but his instinct is saying, ‘Go! You have your own heart and mind. You don’t have to live under rules all the time.’ Rusty chooses to follow his instinct and steps into the bazaar. He has made a good choice. Up until now, Rusty doesn’t have any hope or confidence but then he meets a kind boy named Somi and makes friends with him. Somi and his friends become Rusty’s hope and confidence and Somi and Ranbir are really kind to Rusty. When Rusty returns home, he finds that his guardian has returned early and gets caned for going to the bazaar. The next day, he goes to play Holi with Ranbir and once again gets caned. Rusty now knows what he has to do. He starts to live his own life and runs away from his guardian’s house. Rusty finds Somi who supports him a lot. Slowly, from a confused boy, Rusty turns into a confident and independent young man! He gets a job teaching English to a boy named Kishen, in return for a tiny room on the roof and food. He finds a loving and fun family, his independence, and even finds his ‘first love’ in Kishen’s mother Meena. The story takes a turn, when he loses all his friends and his first love too. Now Rusty’s last source of confidence and hope has gone away and his lonely days return. Rusty spends his sad days looking out at the window and once again, plans to run away. He decides to go back to England but before doing so, he wants to say a last goodbye to his friends and finds Kishen who convinces him to change his mind about returning to the UK. Instead, the two walk away together to form their own new world and life without worrying about anything else.

What I like about the book:

• I like this book because it was written from a teenager’s perspective. The author was seventeen when he wrote this and the story was inspired by his own experiences when he lived in Dehra. He wrote this story because he too was feeling some of the emotions that Rusty was feeling in the story. And for that reason, he decided that he would never make any revisions so readers could understand how it feels to be seventeen.  (mentioned in the Introduction by Ruskin Bond himself)
• It was a great read because it has a lot of different emotions and I like the way Ruskin Bond has written it : a simple story made into such a touching and sad book.
• There were a few funny descriptions like when Ruskin Bond described a situation as, ‘When a butterfly landed on the missionary’s wife’s palatial bosom….’ I laughed a lot and when my mum read it, she also laughed.  
• After reading the Room on The Roof, I am looking forward to reading a few of Ruskin Bond’s other stories. I wonder why children of my generation don’t read more of his books. Here are some books I am interested in reading from his collection :  ‘Panther’s Moon and Other Stories’, ‘The Hidden Pool’, ‘Rusty goes to London’ etc..
• I think the author has explained an important message in this book. Rusty’s guardian seems to be a little racist, who chooses to live in India but not mix with the people there. I think if people live in a country, they should mix with the people and appreciate their culture.
• The lesson in this story for me is to remain open as Rusty was and to follow my instincts. If Rusty had not becomes friends with the people of the bazaar he would never have had all the wonderful experiences in the story.
• Ruskin Bond reminds me of Roald Dahl because they both use interesting language and really funny phrases to describe their characters and their stories. They both write simple but wonderful stories. Even though, Roald Dahl is more fantastical and Ruskin Bond’s stories feel like memoirs but presented as a story.

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING THE ROOM ON THE ROOF!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $ 0.54 !

This book report was posted on The Guardian's site first.

Disclaimer: If you would like to read this book, I recommend that you ask your parents first.