PB RRP $12.99
ISBN: 9780734413437
Reviewed by Hilary Smillie
Benjamin Jinks is your average nine year
old who plays tricks on his sister Susan, if, for example, sticky-taping her to
the bed can be called a trick. His mum keeps dreaming up suitable punishments,
and this time she decides he will learn to be responsible if he has a pet to
care for.
Ignoring Ben's suggestions which include a
Husky dog together with roller skates so he doesn't have to walk to school
anymore, Mum buys him a hamster. Ben decides to call him Jasper
Stinkybottom.
It isn't long before Ben discovers his
hamster can talk. More than that, he is excellent at maths and other homework
subjects. In exchange for keeping Stinky well fed on carrots and in a clean
cage, Ben gets all the right answers much to the surprise of his nasty bearded
teacher, "Beardy" McCreedy. Unfortunately Ben isn't nearly so well learned in
the classroom, and when McCreedy and Ben's Dad have a wager on Ben's performance
in the class maths test, Ben has to find a way to smuggle Stinky into
school.
The exercise is hilarious but
unfortunately fails, and Ben also fails the test. For punishment he has to clean
McCreedy's huge car with a toothbrush, wearing a T-shirt printed with the words:
I am a Cheat.
When Dad and McCreedy wage another bet on
the next test, Ben is determined to pass. Otherwise his Dad will watch Ben clean
the car again - wearing a dress. If he passes, McCreedy will be the one to be
humiliated.
David Lowe comes up with a novel solution which also emphasises that cheating isn't the way go. Mark Chamber's line drawings add to the amusement of the story, and I can just about hear the kids cheering when Beardy McCreedy is the one to suffer humiliation. My Hamster is an Astronaut is the next book in the series and promises to be just as entertaining.
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