I, Freddy

I, Freddy

by Dietlof Reiche

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Synopsis: Freddy is no ordinary hamster.  He's a Mesocricetus auratus, a golden hamster of the highest order.  As part of such a superior breed, he'd sooner go into Eternal Hibernation than mindlessly waste his life in a pet shop.  And so, with the passion of youth and the conviction of the brilliant, he sets out on a daring quest for freedom, literacy, and a more dignified existence.

But enemies both human and animal, his diminutive size, and a few technological challenges threaten to thwart his dream at every turn.  Lo and behold, in the spirit of the most gifted writers, Freddy turns these obstacles into fodder for his witty and heartwarming autobiography.
from the book jacket

Natalie's and Noah's Review:  (Natalie) I like the book because it is about animals.  Freddy is a hamster that can talk and read and write.  He wasn't a regular hamster.  He was smart.  Freddy was my favorite character.  I liked that there were some pictures in the book.  (Noah) I like the book because Freddy is silly.  Freddy could read and write and talk.  Freddy was smart.  I think Amelia would like reading the book because there is a cat in the book.

Becky's Review: I picked this book because I thought Natalie would enjoy the book because this book is told from the perspective of a hamster and I figured that was close enough to a rat.  Noah was very engaged in the story where as Natalie would play a little while the book was being read aloud.  I liked how clever and cunning Freddy was.  The other characters in the book (a cat and guinea pigs) were fun and quirky as well.  The guinea pigs, Enrico and Caruso, were theatrical and sang quite a bit which was a fun addition to the book.  This book was originally written in German and there were a few vocabulary terms that seemed a little advanced for the level of book.  The book also progressed relatively slowly which is why Natalie may have lost interest.  There are other books in the series and I can imagine that my kids will read these as they get older because the first book was fun.

Natalie's Rating: 10 stars

Noah's Rating: 5 stars