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19th out of 29 books
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11 voters
The Great Hamster Massacr...
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The Great Hamster Massacre
Anna and her brother, Tom, have always wanted a pet. Finally, after their latest pestering campaign, their mother gives in and lets them choose a pair of hamsters from the local pet shop. But their happiness soon turns to horror when the hamsters are found mysteriously dead in their cage. Anna and Tom launch a full-scale investigation to determine who--or what--is behind t...more
Paperback, 178 pages
Published
by Simon & Schuster
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Alison
rated it
A lot of adults are not going to like this book. It's not for the faint of heart and not for those squeamish about death. There are a few bits in the book that are going to offend no small number of people looking for choice chapter books that would make a good fit for their 2nd - 4th graders -- an elderly neighbor says "Hell" a number of times; the kids refer often to a book that belonged to one of their mothers and which astute adult readers will probably assume contains some sexual ...more
I am really kind of on the fence over this book. On the one hand it was a quick child's story, told thru the "language" of a child, about finally getting a pet hamster and all the responsibilities of taking care of a pet but on the other hand I found it quite graphic as it paints a significant picture of the deaths of past pets and even a section that made me want to puke when they dug up a dead animal to rebury it more proper. It was just ewwww. Maybe I am wrong in feeling as I do b...more
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Anna is a nine-year old girl with a five-year old little brother named Tom. They both really want a hamster for a pet. Their parents have told them no multiple times but after Anna and Tom’s grandmother dies, they give in and get her two Russian dwarf hamsters. Things are going great until one morning Anna wakes up to find one hamster wounded, one hamster missing and eight dead baby hamsters in the cage. Anna, Tom and their friend Suzanne launch an investigation to find out who massacred the ham...more
This book had a lot of promise: my 7 year old daughter was intrigued, of course, by the silly cover, but also by the title. First of all, kids love hamsters. "Great" promises some kind of romping caper. The "massacre" part, in conjunction, seems like just the kind of overstatement kids are all about. This was a book I ended up reading aloud to her, mostly because I was concerned about the "massacre". Unfortunately, the story mostly fell completely apart. The run-on ...more
Review for work:
This is written in the voice of a 9-year-old, with lots of dialogue with colorful adult relatives and neighbors, and some of the humor seemed to derive from a kid’s take on a situation which an adult reader would see differently. But the point is what kid readers would think, isn’t it?
The narrative voice says “me and Suzanne” frequently when “Suzanne and I” would be correct, and starts many, many sentences with “so” or “and,” which became a little tiresom...more
This is written in the voice of a 9-year-old, with lots of dialogue with colorful adult relatives and neighbors, and some of the humor seemed to derive from a kid’s take on a situation which an adult reader would see differently. But the point is what kid readers would think, isn’t it?
The narrative voice says “me and Suzanne” frequently when “Suzanne and I” would be correct, and starts many, many sentences with “so” or “and,” which became a little tiresom...more
I fell short on my job as a librarian and a mom here. I usually know so much more about the books in my library, but when my son picked this one out to read, I just assumed it was another silly chapter series starter and okayed it for him without paying much attention. That's not it at all. It's a book about loss. And there is a lot of loss: Loss of a grandparent, loss of pets (many pets), loss of a step-parent. Some of the loss is through death and it is extremely graphic- downright gruesome, e...more
1 star. While this is a colourful book that I'm sure will attract lots of children to wanting to read it, this is not a book I will ever recommend. It fully promotes the idea that small animals are disposable pets, and that when they die through ignorance and lack of care they are easily replaced with new versions, with little need to grieve over the deaths or learn from mistakes made. I also think that children who have a genuine love for small animals will find this book upsetting as the death...more
This book is hard to rate. On the one hand I thought it was well written and was a quick fun read. On the other hand there is a lot of hamster death. While the story seems like it is going to be about solving the answer of who murdered the hamster/hamsters the author ends without the characters actually finding out. My eleven year old found this very annoying, but from an adult's perspective it wasn't all that important. The story is really about a quirky family and some neighborhood kids.
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Oh, gee, I thought this book was hilarious, and I'm pretty sure a lot of kids will think so, too. It's in the style of Diary of a Wimpy Kid--first person, doodles on the side, and that's usually enough to send a book right out the door.
A few things to be aware of before handing it over to a child/parent: there's death--oh, a lot of it, mostly hamster/small pet type, but one human. There's apparently some mild swearing (the word "hell"), but honestly, I didn't notice tha...more
A few things to be aware of before handing it over to a child/parent: there's death--oh, a lot of it, mostly hamster/small pet type, but one human. There's apparently some mild swearing (the word "hell"), but honestly, I didn't notice tha...more
I decided to read this before my 8 year old did so we could discuss it when he finished. The characters were very likeable and felt real. The gruesome subject matter was dealt with well——death is a reality, but not to be taken lightly. In the case of the massacre, the children didn't just take the words of the adults as fact, but decided to do their own investigation. They cared about what really happened. I don't agree with other reviewers that it made pets seem replaceable. The many references...more
Written from the point of view of a nine year old, this book is really funny. Anna has always wanted a pet, and she finally gets two "female" hamsters. A couple of months later, eight baby hamsters are born, but the next morning they are dead, the mom hamster's leg is gone, and the other hamster is missing. Anna and her best friend decide to investigate and find out who or what is behind the massacre. It sounds pretty macabre, and it kind of is, but everything is handled with the grace...more
Anna is supposed to write a report on what she did on her summer vacation. Instead she writes a report on her hamster experience: from her initial ineffective pleadings to her mother, to the difficulties she faces, to the bloody deaths of 8 tiny hamster babies and mauling of their mother, to her solemn investigation into their deaths and eventual acceptance. Anna doesn't believe the vet when she says that the hamster mother probably killed her babies, so Anna, her little brother Tom and best fri...more
The Great Hamster Massacre isn't a YA book, but it won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize this year, so I was eager to give it a go and see just why it's so highly regarded.
Putting myself in a 9-year-old's shoes for a minute, I can see why they'd love this twisted tale of dead hamsters and detective-style investigations. It's fast-paced, fun and informative, and even a little gruesome in parts, which should go down well with the boys. It's accompanied by some lovely illustrations...more
Putting myself in a 9-year-old's shoes for a minute, I can see why they'd love this twisted tale of dead hamsters and detective-style investigations. It's fast-paced, fun and informative, and even a little gruesome in parts, which should go down well with the boys. It's accompanied by some lovely illustrations...more
3 1/2 stars. So, speaking as someone who had hamsters as a child (AND who had a hamster eat her litter once,) I'm not so sure this is a book I would have wanted to read when I was a kid. It's kind of sick, actually. BUT, having said that--I liked it, but I'm not sure why. It's kind of quirky, in that British way. It probably has boy appeal, but only for the non-squeamish among them. This is definitely a "truth-in-advertising" kind of title.
Very funny book filled with quirky families and ill-fated pets. Style and humour will appeal to kids on the young end of the Wimpy Kid books. Not one for the squeamish though. Hamsters' deaths are handled with humour, but are gruesome and will make many pet lovers uncomfortable. The end will be disappointing to those expecting a true mystery.
More graphic than I expected especially considering that I don't think it's written for a very old audience. But precocious 1-2 graders will get a kick out of it. I found the mystery aspect to be anticlimactic, but fun characters, fun writing, and a very realistic premise. This one is quirky, but with the right audience, could be a lot of fun.
Brenda Kahn
added it
What an odd little book. Small animals certainly don't fair well here. The adults are bizarre. My thoughts flip-flopped from, "this is just too, too strange," to, "this is the mind/ world of a nine-year-old. Adults are bizarre to them." I'm not quite sure whom the audience is. I'm not even sure how many stars I want to assign.
While it was funny, I quit reading it to the kids when Luke expressed concern about the language - mind you this was without him knowing I was editing as I read. I don't think I've ever read a kids book that took the Lord's name in vain so much! Just a warning....
Okay, so the animal deaths are kind of gross and will probably disturb animal lovers, but they weren't the kids' fault. And if you can get past that, you will find that the main characters are absolutely hilarious.
This won the waterstones children's prize but I felt it the story didn't actually finish and we never really found out who killed the hamsters and I have to wonder if the book is ok for 5 year olds.
A funny and fabulous story of Anna's traumatic discovery one morning in her hamster cage. Death, loss and friendship are key themes in this very honest book told endearingly from a nine year old's perspective.
It was so funny, it shouldn't be, but I like it like that.
Thanks again to my friend, Melanie !
http://www.librarymice.com/2011/03/great...
Thanks again to my friend, Melanie !
http://www.librarymice.com/2011/03/great...
Awesome for children! If you don't like death and blood this is not a good book for you.
this book is sad but a little bit funny.
the main character Anna wants to get a hamster but her mom does not want one until her grandma dies! :(
the main character Anna wants to get a hamster but her mom does not want one until her grandma dies! :(
This is a really weird, messed up good, but kind of funny.
Fun, fast, frequently dark-humored and macabre reading.
I really like this so far.
Meh.
It was OK, but not great. It does capture the voice of a young child and may
be more enjoyable for someone of that age. However, I was disappointed by
the mystery elements.
It was OK, but not great. It does capture the voice of a young child and may
be more enjoyable for someone of that age. However, I was disappointed by
the mystery elements.
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