A review of Hamster and Cheese by Rachel LangenfeldI will introduce my students to the book by asking how many students have been to a pet shop and what kinds of animals they may find there (Text-To-World Strategy). Do you find zebras, koalas or moose at a pet shop? What about rabbits, fish and hamsters?I will get my students excited about the book by telling them they can help solve a mystery, the mystery of a stolen sandwich. They get to be Private Eye Detectives and help the animals in the pet shop find out what happens to it. Have you ever lost anything that you really like and wanted to find it? How did you start looking for it? Did you ask your friends and family if they saw it? Did you retrace your steps to try and remember what happened? Detective Sasspants, PI decides to do just this. He asks all the animals around him if they saw what happened and to describe who took the sandwich (Text-To-Self Strategy). A television show my students will probably know is “Dora the Explorer”. Dora is always looking for something and it takes her different steps to get there. She has to ask people to help her on the way there and she needs to use her thinking and problem solving skills to find what she is looking for in the end. I could show my students a clip of the show to remind them of her experiences and struggles (Text-To-Text Strategy).An activity I could do with this book is to hide an object in my classroom and write clues to find it on note cards that are taped around the room. It would be like a scavenger hunt where students would have to use their critical thinking skills to understand what the clue means. I would put a couple of red herring clues in there to see if it throws them off. I laughed again, having read the second book of this series, and wanting to see where it began. Venable has created a memorable character and location. The confusion in this pet shop has already excited my Grandson, and I am sure he is going to love this book. What we have here is a mystery, and a Guinea Pig who just wants to solve it so everybody will give her the peace and quiet she wants. There are all sorts of false leads, and just when you think you know "who-dun-it" another twist to the plot develops. The artwork is charming, the characters have their own unique take on life and the heroine is one very bright gal. This is a good early reader book that kids can tackle on their own, but they are going to want to share the story, so be ready to jump into one very confusing world of Mr. Venezi's Pets and Stuff.
What do You think about #01 Hamster And Cheese (2013)?
Cant Wait to read the others.. My kids enjoyed it, they like silly lil books like this.
—nags
Crazy cute and very fun story! Makes me want to buy a koala...I mean, hamster. :D
—KakyVhlave
