I, HOUDINI: The Autobiography of a Self-Educated Hamster
by Lynne Reid Banks
Dell Yearling
ISBN: 0440419247
Ages 9-12
117 pages

• Read an Excerpt

There is no doubt that Houdini is a most unusual creature, for this is a hamster with an advanced vocabulary and a terribly immodest opinion of his own superior brain power. Houdini believes without question that hamsters are a higher form of life than humans. He is, however, a kindhearted creature (generally speaking) and tolerates the bumbling ways of humans well enough.

What is hard for him to tolerate is their tendency to want to lock him up in a cage. If there is anything Houdini does not like, it is to be locked up. It is in fact his amazing ability to escape his cage that got him his name. Houdini is an escapologist of the very highest order.

Houdini also tends to reap chaos in his wake, which makes him most unpopular with the father of the boys who own him. Father becomes enraged when Houdini first chews electrical wire, carpeting and a door, and then finally causes a flood in the kitchen. It is all too much. Even Houdini has to admit that Father has just cause to be upset. So Houdini decides to stay with a friend for a while, until Father has time to cool off. Ben has a hamster called Oggi, a female who humiliates Houdini dreadfully. Houdini is soon on the loose and makes the most amazing discovery --- he finds himself in the great Outside.

Never in his wildest dreams did Houdini imagine that the great Outside would be so wonderful. What he comes to learn is that Outside is also terribly dangerous and unpredictable. In fact, he could very easily become someone's lunch or dinner out there.

In this funny yet thoughtful book, Lynne Reid Banks takes us into the mind, and heart, of a brilliant and delightful character who has flaws just like the rest of us. What is endearing about Houdini is that he is willing to admit his imperfections and mistakes. Using rich and complex language, the author never talks down to her readers but expects them to know what she means and understand what her wonderful, often grandiose hamster is saying. We cannot help but grow fond of this ambitious rodent, who discovers that there is a power far greater than even his own will to escape from every cage he is put into.

   --- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber (mjansengruber@mindspring.com) of Through The Looking Glass Book Review (www.lookingglassreview.com)

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