Summer According to Humphrey (Humphrey #6) by Betty G. Birney

★★★★★

Finally! A Humphrey book that lives up to the first book! I dare say this is my favorite book in the series so far.

It's summer, and Humphrey and Og find themselves at Camp Happy Hollow. (It was especially fun reading this book to the kids because their school is named Happy Hollow, too!) Some of the counselors and campers are familiar faces from Longfellow School, but there are plenty of new faces as well. I particularly liked reading about Humphrey's new friend Goldenrod!

With the new camp setting, this book has a lot of opportunities for all kinds of new lessons. One camper has a bad attitude because he doesn't think Happy Hollow is anywhere near as great as the camp he went to last summer. Another camper is homesick, and yet another isn't happy with the competitive nature of the Clash of the Cabins contest. I have to admit, in this day and age when every child gets a trophy just for showing up, I really liked that the Clash of the Cabins had one winning cabin that earned a prize that none of the other cabins got. There were lots of related lessons to learn, like how competitors can still be friends, and how a team should not rely on just one person to do all the winning, and how even when you aren't favored to win, you should still try your best and your hard work just might pay off. The author even managed to include a small bit in the end that allowed the losing cabins to not feel so left out, without actually taking anything away from the winners.

A really fun read!

Adventure According to Humphrey (#5) by Betty G. Birney

★★★½

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

Another solid 3 1/2 star reading for me, but Sebastien for sure would give it 5 stars, just like all the others!

Humphrey continues to be an entertaining character, and in this book, he certainly did get himself into some adventurous exploits. As usual, he's able to assist a few of his student friends and help them through their troubles.

For me, this installment fell short of a potential 4-star rating because I thought Humphrey acted out of character in a couple ways. First, even though Mrs. Brisbane actually explained why hamsters shouldn't get wet, Humphrey dreamed of being on an actual boat, despite the possibility of coming dangerously close to water. It was especially odd because in a previous book (I can't remember which one), Humphrey had a pretty frightening incident involving almost getting wet while at a student's house, and I seem to remember Humphrey stating pretty clearly in that book that he didn't like water.

Secondly, for a clever hamster who is always big on Plans, I found it really hard to believe that he would accidentally fall asleep while out of his cage. He's much too cautious and careful to do something like that! It would have made a lot more sense if Humphrey actually came up with the idea of stowing away on one of the boats in order to go on the field trip.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (#2) (2013)

★★★½

I forgot to review this movie right after watching it, and now I can't remember much. I guess that's a bad sign. Actually, my rating is probably skewed because we watched this on video late at night after the kids went to bed, and I kept falling asleep! I remember being kind of confused about the man character - I had almost forgotten about him from the book - and it was kind of weird to see Legolas thrown in there, too.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

★★★★

Entertaining and suspenseful. I even teared up a few times in the beginning.

It's been a while since I've read the book, but I think I like the movie better. I remember being not entirely comfortable with all the explicit violence in the book, but the violence depicted in the movie was not over-the-top or especially disturbing.

Surprises According to Humphrey (Humphrey #4) by Betty G. Birney

★★★½

At the start of each new Humphrey book, I feel like I'm in store for a solid 4-star book. But, along the way, something comes up that doesn't quite sit well with me, and I end up giving it 3 1/2 stars. In this book's case, Humphrey's runaway imagination annoyed me. He is usually such a smart, clever, and resourceful little fellow that it was completely out of character for him to think that a substitute custodian could be an alien! It was just too ridiculous, even for a book about a thinking hamster who can read and write English.

Other than the crazy alien bit, the book did have some nice developments, plus a few surprises. Mostly it was more of the same, with Humphrey going home with different students on the weekends and finding ways to help out in the classroom.

Just Grace (Just Grace #1) by Charise Maricle Harper

★★★★

This book is a quick read consisting of short chapters and many small illustrations. It's just the right level for a lower-elementary school reader who is just getting into chapter books.

I have to admit, I had a bit of a shaky start with this book. I was a little put off by how Grace got her classroom name of "Just Grace". When Isabelle first explained to me the title of this book - before I read it myself - I thought Grace liked her fun and unusual nickname! As it turned out, though, it was all a big misunderstanding, and she hated it. It seemed like Grace was setting a poor example by complaining about her nickname rather than simply approaching her teacher to clear everything up and choose a new nickname. If the series really hinged on her nickname being "Just Grace", I would have preferred it if Grace at least didn't mind her nickname.

I was also bothered by a passage near the beginning of the book in which Grace categorized certain likes and activities as "boy things". Even though Grace declared that she likes some "boy things", I thought it was really unfortunate that this book reinforced at all the notion of gender dictating likes and dislikes. Why can't she just like what she likes?

After getting past those hurdles, I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed Grace's matter-of-fact first-person perspective. I think her literary voice was spot on, just what young children might be thinking if they really were that articulate. Sometimes the way she first described others was a bit harsh... But it was realistic, and by the end of the book, she learned some lessons in getting to know others. I loved that Grace fancied herself a superhero with the power of empathy! In that regard, she is a great example of how one can be thoughtful and compassionate.

Friendship According to Humphrey (Humphrey #2) by Betty G. Birney

★★★½

This is the third Humphrey book I've read with Sebastien, but the second in the series. In this book, Humphrey finds himself trying to befriend a frog!

In many ways, this book is great. As the title suggests, friendship is a theme. Through the children in Room 26, from Humphrey's perspective, we see that sometimes, making new friends can be difficult. Sometimes, even the best of friends will argue. And, sometimes, even a bully just wants to have friends, but needs some help. Humphrey himself tries to make a new friend out of the new frog in class, and he learns a bit about himself in the process as he struggles through feelings of jealousy when everyone suddenly showers the new frog with attention.

I actually think my rating may be unfairly skewed. I'm reading this series to Sebastien, who is absolutely LOVING it, but I think this book is supposed to be geared towards older kids. Amazon has it being recommended for ages 8 and up, or grades 3 and up. Indeed, I think there is nothing objectionable about the book for Isabelle, who is just on the lower end of the target audience. But for Sebastien, who is just starting first grade, I fear some of the descriptions of discord between friends - or potential friends - is less a reflection of what he already knows and probably more of an introduction to questionable behavior! Maybe it's fine that Sebastien is being exposed to all kinds of behaviors, especially since in the end, the book very nicely wraps everything up so that everyone gets along and learns some kind of lesson about how friendships work. Still, there were times when I just felt not entirely comfortable, like when Humphrey described Og in negative ways, even disparaging his appearance.

All in all, if you read the book through to the end, meaningful lessons in friendship will be learned. As a read-aloud book, it works great. Even without pictures, Sebastien was always eager to read another chapter, to find out what happens next.