Hamstersaurus Rex (Hamstersaurus Rex Series #1)

by Tom O'Donnell, Tim Miller (Illustrator)

Overview

BEWARE: Rampaging Mutant Dino-Hamster! Fans of My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish and The Terrible Two will be scrambling to get their hands on this hilarious classroom comedy.

When a mysterious growling hamster appears at the back of his class, Sam knows just what to call him: Hamstersaurus Rex. Sam tries to protect Hammie from an overzealous Hamster Monitor, and from the meanest bully in the history of Horace Hotwater Middle School. The bully isn’t afraid of some weird little class pet. But maybe he should be. Hamstersaurus Rex is no ordinary hamster.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062377555
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Series:	Hamstersaurus Rex Series , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tom O’Donnell is the author of the Hamstersaurus Rex series as well as Space Rocks and its sequel, Space Rocks 2: For the Love of Gelo! He has written for the New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and the show TripTank on Comedy Central. His comic strips have been featured in the New York Press and the Village Voice. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. Read more at www.tomisokay.com.

Tim Miller is an author and illustrator of children’s books who lives in New Jersey with his wife and three rescue cats. His picture books include Izzy Paints; Tiny Kitty, Big City; Moo Moo in a Tutu; and What’s Cooking, Moo Moo? He has also illustrated the picture books Horse Meets Dog by Elliott Kalan, Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) and Snappsy the Alligator and His Best Friend Forever! (Probably) by Julie Falatko, Margarash by Mark Riddle, and the middle grade series Hamstersaurus Rex by Tom O'Donnell. You can visit Tim online at timmillerillustration.com.

Editorial Reviews

08/29/2016
A sixth-grade class unexpectedly gains—and promptly loses—a pet hamster in this enjoyably goofy series opener from O’Donnell (the Space Rocks! series). Sam Gibbs instantly bonds with the hamster that mysteriously appears in his classroom, which the kids name Hamstersaurus Rex. After escaping its cage, the mischievous, ravenous rodent grows into his name after gulping down the buffoonish gym coach’s bodybuilding supplement, Dinoblast Powerpacker, sprouting sharp fangs and a “lizard-y” tail. Chaos ensues as Sam attempts to protect the junk food–obsessed hamster from Beefer Vanderkoff, an oafish bully who threatens to feed Hammie Rex to his pet boa constrictor. It’s a brisk-moving and entertaining story, propelled by slapstick humor revolving around the hamster’s use of his newfound superpowers to save Sam from embarrassing situations, as well as Sam’s self-effacing asides and comical interactions with clueless adults and class know-it-all Martha. Miller’s (Snappsy the Alligator) zippy b&w cartoons, allegedly sketched by Sam, are well-matched to the book’s offbeat sense of humor. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Noah Ballard, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.) This review has been updated to reflect current agent information.

Publishers Weekly

A funny, lighthearted option for fans of Tom Angleberger. — School Library Journal (starred review)

In the annals of class-petdom, few indeed could ever match aptly named Hamstersaurus Rex for loyalty and ferocity. — Booklist

From the Publisher

In the annals of class-petdom, few indeed could ever match aptly named Hamstersaurus Rex for loyalty and ferocity.

Booklist

In the annals of class-petdom, few indeed could ever match aptly named Hamstersaurus Rex for loyalty and ferocity.

Booklist

09/01/2016
Gr 3–6—Entering the extended family that includes Timmy Failure, Otis Dooda, and Greg Heffley, Sam Gibbs is a lovable, misunderstood outsider. Sam is down and out because of an ill-fated foray into caricature drawing that turns his classmates against him and leaves him ripe and ready for a magical sidekick. He finds one when the class hamster consumes a bit too much of their gym teacher's bodybuilding powder and transforms into a mutant creature with a voracious appetite and physical characteristics of a small but incredibly strong dinosaur. O'Donnell's comedy bona fides include writing for the TV show Billy on the Street and penning essays for McSweeney's and The New Yorker. As with most successful kid-centric comedy, he gets lots of mileage out of the communication breakdown between kids and adults, which enables Sam to hide his wild, snack food-wolfing pal much longer than he should be able to. O'Donnell's farcical stock characters (nicely complemented by Miller's cartoon-style illustrations), such as the teacher's pet and the secretly sad gym teacher, are another source of amusement. The more major characters, including Sam's disc golf-playing BFF Dylan and swirlie-loving bully, Beefer Vanderkoff, are only modestly fleshed out—not necessarily a bad thing, since O'Donnell is aiming for rapid-fire amusement in the form of briskly deployed gags. O'Donnell misses an opportunity by not giving Hamstersaurus Rex, the character, a voice of his own. That would have made Sam's alone time with the swiftly changing animal more satisfying (and potentially funnier). Still, adults and kids alike will find that O'Donnell's deadpan, mildly absurdist writing style will generate some satisfying laughs. VERDICT A funny, lighthearted option for fans of Tom Angleberger.—Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-07-26
Taking care of a pet can be time-consuming, but caring for a secret mutant hamster could take over your life.When a hamster mysteriously appears at the back of Mr. Copeland’s sixth-grade classroom, Sam Gibbs, though he hasn’t been the most popular student since the, ah, caricature-drawing incident, gets to name it: Hamstersaurus Rex (due to its tiny T-rex arms). Hammie escapes and later saves Sam from Kiefer “Beefer” Vanderkoff, Horace Hotwater Middle School’s dimmest bully, by dropping a solar system made of pennies on Beefer’s head. After gorging on SmilesCorp snacks and a different product called Dinoblast Powerpacker, Hammie mutates into a part-dinosaur, part-hamster eating machine with a fondness for Sam, who can’t take Hammie home due to his mother’s fur allergy. Can Sam keep Hammie a secret, save the rodent from Beefer’s revenge, and feed the furry garbage disposal enough to quiet its rampages? O’Donnell kicks off a new series with an illustrated origin story sure to please fans of Betty G. Birney’s Humphrey and Lincoln Peirce’s Big Nate. High jinks are funny and gross without being too rude, and characters are developed just realistically enough to ensure readers will identify with Sam and his female best friend, Dylan. Miller’s cartoons depict a largely white student body, including Sam, Beefer, and Dylan. A certain pleaser where furry fictions are well-loved. (Science fiction. 7-11)

Kirkus Review