The great hamster getaway by Lou Carter. Illus. by Magda Brol

Raffleton Grey is bored with his lot. The mindless running around his wheel no longer holds interest for him, his cage is dark and gloomy, the wood shavings stick between his toes. He is not happy. 

He coordinates an escape, climbing out of the window using an ingenious selection of tricks to get him from one place to another, and then freedom. In falling the last few feet he lands on something soft and furry and finds himself in the company of another hamster searching for the same thing as he.  This escapee is Puckerford Brown. The two make their way to the fair, something Raffleton has seen from his cage. He wants to feel the pebbles beneath his toes, and splash in the sea, eat crumbs left by the holidaymakers and snooze at the beach.

But in escaping his humdrum life in a cage he finds out there is more to being free than meets the eye, especially when the sun goes down.

At first the two hamsters are deliriously happy, riding all the rides at the fair, eating their fill of leftovers, going to the sea and being well, free.

But as the sun sets and shadows lengthen, eyes peer out through the gloom, watching them. There are cats and foxes and rats, all intent on a hamster dinner. They run all night to escape the predators, and in the morning decide to find a safe haven Raffleton knows just such a place and it is nearby, so they set off. Using a range of acrobatic tricks with rope and balloons they manage to climb into Raffleton’s cage where they make themselves at home once again, but this time with company, they have each found a friend. And are both much happier with their lot.

This is a lovely story of friendship, of being together, of company. The gloom and despondency felt by Raffleton was all down to loneliness and could only be alleviated by finding a friend  Younger readers will see the connections immediately, knowing how they feel when with a friend and conversely what it is like to be by oneself. Astute teachers and parents will be able to direct the discussion to positive images of friendship, what doing things with someone else feels like, how another person complements your day. And of course the whole of this funny tale is given in wonderful rhyming verse, encouraging readers to predict the rhyming word, and read it out for themselves. A stupendous read-aloud, the book lends itself to being shared by a range of children who will be able to see layers of ideas as they too might grapple with the thought of freedom.

The wonderful illustrations by Polish born Magda Brol, enable readers to easily identify the ingredients of the story. The hamsters are winning, with their smooth hair and whiskers, all getting scruffier as the story unfolds. The fair background invites the reader to look more closely at all the things an English fair involves, while the images of the night’s activities will send shudders down the backs of the readers as they call out to save the hamsters from their possible fate. And be warned, I can imagine requests at the pet shop and beleaguered parents once children have seen them in this very funny story.

Themes: Friendship, Fair, Beach, Company, Loneliness, Hamsters, Humour.

Fran Knight