The Storyteller Squad

Fun Reads Friday: Friendship According to Humphrey

Humphrey is a hamster. Not just any hamster, either. Humphrey is the class pet for Room 26. That is, until Og the frog shows up at the start of the new school year. Humphrey is so excited at the prospect of making a new friend, but with the language barrier between him and Og, not to mention some “different” behaviors, it makes for a difficult and sometimes unintentional hurtful relationship.

Betty G. Birney blends humor with a strong lesson on friendship for any middle-grade student, and is written from Humphrey’s perspective. By watching the students in class navigate through challenging experiences, as well as interactions with the night janitor, Humphrey learns what a true friend is and how to be one.

Over the course of that school year, Humphrey learned that, “There were friends who got really mad but made up afterward. There were friends who stuck together through thick and thin. There were friends who reached out to you even when you didn’t think you needed a friend.” As we head into a new school year, the lessons taught here are good reminders in how to be a good friend, even when people are different from us.

Have you read any of the Humphrey books? Or have you ever struggled to make friends? I’d love to hear from you. Remember, any comments left this month and you will be entered into a drawing for our August giveaway. It’s not too late!

Tracy Popolizio

Tracy Popolizio has the opportunity to teach reading and writing to fifth graders every day. She writes inspirational middle grade fiction, with a passion to enrapture preteens in a discovery of God’s truths between the covers of a book. She shares her passion for writing and the writing process with students of various grade levels. Tracy also speaks about her personal experiences with God and how our thought processes can lead to a victorious life. In her free time, Tracy enjoys reading, playing the piano, dancing, and taking walks with her husband, as well as spending time with her two almost-grown children and four cats. Tracy lived in Connecticut her whole life until recently when the Lord called her family to South Carolina. You can learn more about Tracy at www.tracypopolizio.com.

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