Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates

by Cheryl Klein, Abhi Alwar (Illustrator)

Overview

Two hamster roommates with wildly different personalities crammed in one cage—what could go wrong in this hilarious story about introverts versus extroverts?

It's been two hundred and five days since Henry has had peace. That's because it's been two hundred and five days since Marvin has come to live with him. Marvin, who loves to talk in the tunnels, talk while they're eating, talk while they're running. Marvin, who drives Henry up the cage walls. But when Henry finally loses his cool and gets exactly what he wanted, both hamsters have to figure out a way to live together and work through their communication mishaps.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593324233
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	203,642
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Cheryl Klein is the author many picture books, including Wings, illustrated by Tomie DePaola, and the adult nonfiction book The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults, which received two starred reviews. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Abhi Alwar is an illustrator and designer from Chicago who currently lives in NYC and works in children's publishing. This is her debut picture book.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/14/2021

“I don’t bother HIM,” says Henry the hamster of his intolerably exuberant cage roomie, Marvin. “Why won’t he do the same for ME?” Finally, Marvin’s intrusive cheer (“Seeds! Seeds are my favorite!”) and ceaseless chatter (even with a mouth full of the beloved seeds) cause Henry to blow his top. Thanks to funny, cleverly building dialogue by Klein (A Year of Everyday Wonders), he does so in a marvelously performative way: “You have seeds EVERY DAY. They can’t be your favorite if you NEVER HAVE ANYTHING ELSE!” Debut illustrator Alwar creates two highly and equally expressive rodent protagonists—Henry’s looks of browbeaten disdain are matched page for page by Marvin’s wide-mouthed enthusiasm—and readers should get a tickle out of how the freewheeling digital compositions open up the tiny world of the hamster cage in unexpected ways. While the story could be read as a guide for détente between introverts and extroverts, any two personality types could benefit from the skillfully rendered and touching wrap-up: Henry and Marvin realize that both need to stop assuming each knows what the other wants, and establish some ground rules. Or, as Henry says with neat eloquence, “Maybe if we talk more, we can be quiet more too.” Ages 3–7. Agent (for Klein and Alwar): Brianne Johnson, Writers House. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "Funny, cleverly building dialogue by Klein . . . Debut illustrator Alwar creates two highly and equally expressive rodent protagonists . . . readers should get a tickle out of how the freewheeling digital compositions open up the tiny world of the hamster cage in unexpected ways." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Klein’s pithy storytelling both thoughtfully conveys the introvert-extrovert divide and gently teaches the art of apology. Alwar’s watercolor-textured digital illustrations are funny, expressive, and emotive, with a combination of spot and spread illustrations moving the story along . . . Whether for hamsters or humans, a lighthearted how-to guide to being a good roommate." —Kirkus

"The story’s respect for Henry’s preference for solitude makes this book particularly refreshing; it focuses not on self-sacrifice but on boundaries and how guidelines for time spent together can make a relationship more meaningful . . . a gentle but humorous primer to youngsters on exercising their own agency and respecting that of others." —BCCB

"With a palette that dynamically carries scenes from serene to anger-infused, the illustrations cue preschoolers into the underlying emotions behind the roommates’ misunderstanding. It’s funny, sincere, and teachable . . . Hamsters may make terrible roommates, but Klein and Alwar give beginning readers the path to harmony through honest conversation and admitting wrongdoing." —SLJ

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

PreS-Gr 2—Brown hamster Henry and white hamster Marvin are here to show emerging readers all the reasons they are terrible roommates. With repetition and style, Klein's furry anti-hero Henry is fed up with Marvin's natural exuberance and daily good cheer. Marvin talks and demonstrates and engages with Henry all day long. In Alwar's comic illustrations, drawn to show the constant contrast between Marvin's antics and Henry's face, readers learn that our disgruntled narrator has questions: "He's always talking, while I'm nice. I don't bother him. Why won't he do the same for me?" It's the classic friction between introverts and extroverts, and Henry can't take it any longer. Exploding in anger at Marvin, he gets a day of peace and quiet, and witnessing Marvin's sad apology, at last has answers: "I like the quiet. But he didn't know that. He wanted me to talk. But I didn't see that. Maybe if we talk more, we can be quiet more too." With a palette that dynamically carries scenes from serene to anger-infused, the illustrations cue preschoolers into the underlying emotions behind the roommates' misunderstanding. It's funny, sincere, and teachable. VERDICT Hamsters may make terrible roommates, but Klein and Alwar give beginning readers the path to harmony through honest conversation and admitting wrongdoing.—Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2021-06-16
The trials and tribulations of hamster cohabitation.

Henry and Marvin have been roommates for 205 days. Marvin is a cheerful, chatty, cream-colored hamster who enthuses nonstop about sunflower seeds, chatters away on the wheel, and incessantly interrupts Henry’s peaceful tube-crawling, reading, and resting time. Henry, the beleaguered brown hamster narrator, tells his tale of woe in a melodramatic soliloquy, complete with film-noir spotlights, tally marks on the wall, and many a heavy-eyebrowed look to readers. “On Day Two Hundred and Six, though…” Henry finally snaps, giving chipper Marvin a thorough dressing-down. Finally left in peace, Henry enjoys a day of silence until some clear communication from Marvin sets the story straight. Henry reflects ruefully, “I like the quiet. / But he didn’t know that. / He wanted me to talk. / But I didn’t see that.” The story ends on a sweet note, with Henry apologizing and both sides establishing new ground rules that meet both of their needs. Klein’s pithy storytelling both thoughtfully conveys the introvert-extrovert divide and gently teaches the art of apology. Alwar’s watercolor-textured digital illustrations are funny, expressive, and emotive, with a combination of spot and spread illustrations moving the story along. Charming endpapers show Marvin and Henry—before, and after.

Whether for hamsters or humans, a lighthearted how-to guide to being a good roommate. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews