Ned and the Great Garden Hamster Race: A Story About Kindness

Gr 1-2–Get readers ready to fall in love with a hamster named Ned. Looking very much like a small golden mango with googly eyes, Ned has been counting the days till the Great Garden Race. Hamsters from all over the world, in many shapes and colors, have come to participate, but Ned is ready. He has trained for this. He has focus. What he has not trained for are all the small obstacles along the path. A slug is lost, some pigeons are hungry, and a cry for help comes from a nearby cave. Ned perseveres, ignoring all, until he gets stuck. He watches as the other runners pass him by until he is rescued by a kind fox. Ned’s course is forever changed, and he turns around to reach the distressed creature in the cave, make carrot sandwiches for the hungry pigeons, and more. Hillyard does all this with brevity of language and colorfully funny spreads that show Ned’s rescue skills as well as the running path. No didacticism faults this piece; Ned is not treated as a hero but simply the hamster that does the right thing. It’s a simple lesson of friendship, fleet of foot and with points even a toddler will understand.