Hamster Chase

Viking Easy-to-Read

by Anastasia Suen, Allan Eitzen (Illustrator)

When Peter takes the class hamster out of his cage, the hamster escapes. Peter and his friends search the classroom, but every time they come close, Mikey the hamster runs away again! How will Peter and his friends ever get Mikey back into his cage?

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

From her studio in Northern California, developmental editor Anastasia Suen reads, writes, and edits books for creators of all ages.

Reviews

[Madeline Clements · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would read this book out loud to a class because I think it demonstrates good problem solving skills. The children didn't know how to get the hamster back so they put their heads together and came up with a solution

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ezra Jack Keats community kids are back to problem solve how to get the hamster back in his cage.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guided reading. Second grade basic.

[Wetdryvac Wetdryvac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complete fun fluff, with excellent illustrations.

[Elizabeth Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book series in general, but I found Hamster Chase to be especially cute. My twelve year old boy who loves animals, flipped through Hamster Chase to look at the hamsters on almost every page.
The reading level is probably first through early second grade depending on reading level, but younger children will enjoy seeing the hamsters jumping off the pages.
I especially liked the problem solving aspects explored in Hamster Chase.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Peter takes his class hamster out of the cage, the little guy escapes! Peter and his friends Archie and Annie search the classroom for Mikey the hamster, but every time they get close Mikey escapes. Children love pets and this story will hook them from the beginning. How will they be able to get the hamster back to his cage? The illustrations are full of color, realistic and engaging. They help the children read the text and pull them into the story. Hamster Chase is a Level 2 Puffin reader. Here's the text from the first page:

Peter took the hamster
out of his cage.
"I'm going to miss you
next week, Mikey," he said.
"Why?" asked Archie.
"It will be Amy's turn
to take care of him," said Peter.

My 5 year old daughter loved Hamster Chase - she wanted me to read it to her three times the first night! This is part of a series of early readers called Peter's Neighborhood, based on the beloved characters created by Ezra Jack Keats. Other titles include: The Loose Tooth and The Clubhouse. If you like this, be sure to check out Anastasia Suen's blogs: Picture Book of the Day and 5 Great Books. She's the author of over 100 books for children.

[Serina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of some classmates and their search for the class pet, Mikey the hamster. The three friends have to come up with a way to get the hamster back into the cage. With bright, realistic illustraions, children are able to connect the pictures to the story they are reading. This would be a good book for first and second graders to read. This would be a good book to read aloud to children.

[Daniella · Rating 5 out of 5]

used to read it all the time