According to Humphrey Series by Betty G. Birney – Books In Order
By Lily | Published 19 August 2022 | Book titles and covers are affiliate links.
The According to Humphrey series of books are perfect for young readers who are ready to read chapter books. The star of the Humphrey books is a lovable small hamster named Humphrey. Humphrey is everyone’s favorite classroom pet and the adventure in each book is full of hamster-iffic humor, friendship, and classroom escapades.
Boys and girls can’t help falling in love with Humphrey! Kids will be eager to get their paws on all 12 books in the According to Humphrey series written by Betty G. Birney! There is also a series for younger children called Humphrey's Tiny Tales
Here, you can see them all in order plus the year each book was published.
The World According to Humphrey
The first book in the series about everyone’s favorite classroom pet!
Goodreads Rating: 4.15, Published 2004 | Theme: The World
Welcome to Room 26, Humphrey!
You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That’s what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy, is it true! In addition to having FUN-FUN-FUN in class, each weekend this class hamster gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up-Sayeh. Soon Humphrey learns to read, write, and even shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course).
With lots of friends to help, adventures to enjoy, and a cage with a lock-that-doesn’t- lock. Humphrey’s life is almost perfect, if only the teacher, Mrs Brisbane, wasn’t out to get him!
Friendship According to Humphrey
The second book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.25, Published 2005 | Theme: Friendship
After the long winter vacation, Humphrey can’t wait to see his friends in Room 26. But he’s shocked by a big surprise on the first day back - a new class pet!
Humphrey tries to be welcoming, but Og the frog doesn’t respond to any of his friendly squeaks or the offer of his paw in friendship. Plus, the students are so interested in Og, they almost stop paying attention to Humphrey altogether. Humphrey doesn’t like the mad-bad-sad feelings he’s had since Og came, but luckily he still gets to go home with different kids on the weekends.
Friendship can be tricky, but Humphrey is an intrepid problem-solver. If any hamster can become buddies with a frog, Humphrey will find a way!
Trouble According to Humphrey
The third book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.29, Published 2007 | Theme: Trouble
Humphrey to the rescue!
Humphrey the amazing hamster solves problems for his classmates in Room 26, but he never meant to create one! Golden-Miranda, one of his favorite students, gets blamed when Humphrey is caught outside of his cage while she’s in charge.
Since no one knows about his lock-that-doesn’t-lock, he can’t exactly squeak up to defend her. But can he clear Miranda’s name without giving up his freedom forever?
Surprises According to Humphrey
The fourth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.28, Published 2008 | Theme: Surprises
A classroom hamster has to be ready for anything, but suddenly there are LOTS-LOTS-LOTS of big surprises in Humphrey’s world. Some are exciting, like a new hamster ball. But some are scary, like a run-in with a cat and a new janitor who might be from another planet.
But even with all that’s going on, Humphrey finds time to help his classmates with their problems. But will Mrs. Brisbane’s unsqueakable surprise be too much for Humphrey to handle?
Adventure According to Humphrey
The fifth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.23, Published 2008 | Theme: Adventure
Humphrey is back in this charming story of a lovable hamster on the high seas of hilarity.
The students in Room 26 are learning about boats and building their own for a race on Potter’s Pond. Humphrey the hamster loves dreaming about being a pirate and watching his friends build ships. But when he mistakenly ends up at sea on the day of the boat race, he finds himself in the middle of more adventure than he bargained for!
Summer According to Humphrey
The sixth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.27, Published 2010 | Theme: Summer
When Humphrey hears that school is ending, he can’t believe his ears. What’s a classroom hamster to do if there’s no more school?
It turns out that Mrs. Brisbane has planned something thrilling for Humphrey and Og the frog: they’re going to Camp Happy Hollow with Ms. Mac and lots of the kids from Room 26! Camp is full of FUN-FUN-FUN new experiences, but it’s also a little scary. There are fur-raising wild sounds and smells, and there’s something called the Howler to watch out for.
Humphrey is always curious about new adventures, but could camp be too wild even for him?
School Days According to Humphrey
The seventh book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.27, Published 2011 | Theme: School
A new school year and new friends for everyone’s favorite classroom pet!
Humphrey is excited to get back to Room 26 and see all his old classmates. But on the first day of school, a bunch of strange kids arrives and no matter how loudly he squeaks up, they don’t realize they’re in the wrong room! Finally, Humphrey realizes that these kids are his new classmates, and he sets off to learn all about them.
He hasn’t forgotten about his friends from last year, and of course, they miss him a ton. But when they start talking about taking him from Mrs. Brisbane’s room, Humphrey gets unsqueakably nervous. How could he say goodbye to Mrs. Brisbane and Og – not to mention his new friends – for good?
Mysteries According to Humphrey
The eighth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.26, Published 2012 | Theme: Mysteries
Humphrey has always investigated things, like why Speak-Up-Sayeh was so quiet and Tall-Paul and Small-Paul didn’t get along, but this is a true mystery–Mrs. Brisbane is missing! She just didn’t show up in Room 26 one morning and no one told Humphrey why.
The class has a substitute teacher, called Mr. E., but he’s no Mrs. Brisbane. Humphrey has just learned about Sherlock Holmes, so he vows to be just as SMART-SMART-SMART about collecting clues and following leads to solve the mystery of Mrs. Brisbane (and a few others along the way).
Winter According to Humphrey
The ninth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.31, Published 2012 | Theme: Winter
It’s the HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY holidays for everyone’s favorite classroom pet!
Room 26 is abuzz. The holidays are coming and Humphrey is unsqueakably excited. He loves to hear about all the different ways his friends in Room 26 celebrate and to watch them make costumes and learn songs for the Winter Wonderland pageant.
Do-It-Now-Daniel is having trouble practicing, Helpful-Holly can’t stop worrying about making presents for her friends, and Humphrey still has to find a gift for Og! But with so much to do, will the holidays go according to plan?
Good thing Humphrey is one smart hamster who can help them all fill the season with JOY-JOY-JOY!
Secrets According to Humphrey
Humphrey is back in his tenth adventure in the beloved middle-grade series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.31, Published 2014 | Theme: Secrets
So many secrets are flying around Room 26 that Humphrey can barely keep track. Mrs. Brisbane knows a student is leaving, but Humphrey can’t figure out which one. (Even more confusing, Mrs. Brisbane seems unsqueakably happy about it.) The class is studying the Ancient Egyptians, and some of the kids have made up secret clubs and secret codes. Even Aldo is holding back news from Humphrey.
Humphrey’s job as classroom pet is to help his humans solve their problems, but all these secrets are making it HARD-HARD-HARD!
Imagination According to Humphrey
Humphrey’s eleventh adventure celebrates stories, writing, and the power of the imagination!
Goodreads Rating: 4.34, Published 2015 | Theme: Imagination
Imaginations are running wild in Mrs. Brisbane’s class, but Humphrey is stumped. His friends are writing about where they would go if they could fly, but Humphrey is HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY right where he is in Room 26.
It’s pawsitively easy for Humphrey to picture exciting adventures with dragons and knights in the story Mrs. Brisbane is reading aloud. He has no trouble coming up with Plans to help his friends and tricks to entertain them. His imagination even goes a little too far when he wonders if Carlos’s imaginary friend might be a ghost.
If only his imagination wouldn’t disappear when he tries to write. Luckily, Humphrey likes a challenge, and Mrs. Brisbane has lots of writing tips that do the trick.
Spring According to Humphrey
The twelfth book in the beloved and award-winning school hamster series!
Goodreads Rating: 4.31, Published 2016 | Theme: Spring and Family
Spring is in the air, and lots of things are growing -- including the Room 26 family!
Spring has sprung and at Longfellow School, it also means Family Fun Night is coming up! All the students’ families are involved in making amazing circus activities.
Humphrey helps in many ways, but he can’t help but wonder about his own family. He doesn’t know anything about his mom or dad. Luckily, all of his wonderful friends help him see that families come in many shapes and sizes.
Just like spring comes with lots of new things that grow and change, Humphrey’s family of classmates and friends will always be growing. And that’s just how he likes it.
About the Author Betty G. Birney
Betty G. Birney has written over 200 episodes of children’s television shows as well as after-school specials and a television movie, Mary Christmas. Her TV awards include an Emmy, three Humanitas Prizes, and a Writers Guild of America Award. In addition, she has written twenty-five picture books. The World According to Humphrey was her first middle-grade novel and received a number of honors, including the Children’s Crown award and twenty-four state awards. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Betty G. Birney lives in Los Angeles with her husband, an actor.