The Great Pet Escape

by Victoria Jamieson, Victoria Jamieson (Illustrator)

Overview

The class pets at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School want OUT . . . and GW (short for George Washington), the deceptively cute hamster in the second-grade classroom, is just the guy to lead the way. But when he finally escapes and goes to find his former partners in crime, Barry and Biter, he finds that they actually LIKE being class pets. Impossible!

Just as GW gets Barry and Biter to agree to leave with him, a mouse named Harriet and her many mouse minions get in their way. What follows is class-pet chaos guaranteed to make readers giggle . . . and maybe look at their class pets a little differently in the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627791052
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	02/16/2016
Series:	Pets on the Loose! Series
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Victoria Jamieson received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. She worked as a children's book designer before moving to Portland and becoming a freelance illustrator. She has also worked as a portrait artist aboard a cruise ship, and has lived in Australia, Italy, and Canada. She maintains a not-so-secret identity as Winnie the Pow, a skater with the Rose City Rollers roller derby league.

Editorial Reviews

"Guaranteed fun." —Kirkus Reviews

"Told with a wickedly sharp sense of humor, Jamieson’s latest delivers a madcap adventure that is sure to please young readers." —Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

Watch out, Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary! The second-grade pet, a hamster by the name of GW (short for George Washington), is determined to escape. As a brilliant inventor who has amassed a collection of tools and equipment in his secret lair, GW is quite capable of achieving this goal, and of taking his friends with him. Once out of his second-grade classroom, GW heads for first grade, home of his bunny friend, Barry. Although comfortable relaxing with a good book, Barry is willing to help GW and escape the school. The pair head to kindergarten to retrieve their pal, Biter the guinea pig. She’s no longer “Biter,” though; she’s Sunflower. She’s no longer angry; she’s now a pacifist. But she’s willing to go along to be with her friends. Unfortunately for GW, they have caught the attention of the fourth-grade pet, a rough mouse named Harriet. On her own, she would be no match for the threesome. But with her minions and Lucinda, the fifth-grade pet snake, Harriet is a formidable foe. After catching GW and pals, she heads to the cafeteria to carry out an evil plan to sicken the schoolchildren. Will the good-hearted pets be able to stop her? Will they make it out of the school and back to their old life? This story by Jamieson, author of Newbery Honor book Roller Girl, is a fun introduction to graphic novels for beginning readers. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green; Ages 7 to 12.

Children's Literature - Heidi Hauser Green

02/01/2016
Gr 1–3—George Washington, or "GW" for short, may look like a sweet, innocent classroom hamster, but little do the second graders at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School know that he's the inventor of the Sunflower Seed Slingshot and the Rodent Catapult Transportation Device, both of which are going to help him and his fellow inmates—Barry the rabbit (serving time in first grade) and Biter the world's toughest guinea pig (doing a stint in kindergarten)—escape to freedom. Unfortunately, when GW finally liberates his rodent pals, a gang of surly mice threaten their plans. Jamieson, author and illustrator of Roller Girl (Dial, 2015), here presents a giggle-worthy tale for younger readers and those just venturing into graphic novels. Easy-to-follow panels, complemented by several spreads, explode off the page with her bright and cheery palette. Visual humor abounds, from GW's gallant attempts at sword fighting with the mouse leader (using a broken piece of uncooked spaghetti) to Biter's confession that, while in kindergarten, she's found a way to channel her anger issues through meditation. VERDICT Hand this charmingly goofy graphic novel to chapter book readers who enjoy Dav Pilkey's works, Cyndi Marko's "Kung Pow Chicken" series (Scholastic), and Geoffrey Hayes's "Benny and Penny" books (TOON.)—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2016-01-09
Classroom pets have a wild night in the halls of Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary. George "GW" Washington the hamster has languished in the prison that is second grade for over three months, and he finally has everything he needs to break out. After the students are gone, he escapes and frees his old buddy Barry the bunny, held in first grade…but then they must brave the worst cellblock, kindergarten, to free their old pal Biter the guinea pig. However, Biter has gone through a slight transformation thanks to exposure to daily happy singing and a shared learning community; she does yoga and calls herself Sunflower now. Just as they are strategizing their escape from the building, Harriet, one of the fourth-grade white mice, informs them that upper-grade pets rule the school. With the muscle (and questionable appetites) of Lucinda the fifth-grade snake, Harriet captures the trio and relocks them up. Can they escape and save the children from Harriet's evil scheme? Graphic novelist Jamieson aims for a younger crowd than Roller Girl's (2015) with this slightly sarcastic and totally loony tale of friendship and the quest for freedom…which turns out to not be what GW thought it would be. Refreshingly, she doesn't rely on such tired graphic tropes as extra-long eyelashes to set her female characters apart. Guaranteed fun for young readers, who will eye their classroom pets with some suspicion in the future. (Graphic fantasy. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews