The Great Pet Escape

Feisty class hamster GW completes his Hairy Houdini Escape-O-Matic invention and races to release bunny Barry and guinea pig Biter--but his friends aren't eager to abandon their comfy lives as class pets. Jailbreaks, a food fight, and other hijinks ensue in this laugh-out-loud graphic novel. Pen-and-ink panels in a bright palette have a tidy feel, in neat contrast to the mischief and mayhem.

Trapped for over three months in a "terrible prison, otherwise known as...a second-grade classroom," feisty GW -- the class hamster -- finally gets a break. Right outside his cage rests a bobby pin; it's the final part needed for his Hairy Houdini Escape-O-Matic invention. GW races to release the other two members of his Furry Fiends gang: Barry, a bunny with "a rap sheet as long as his ears," and Biter, a guinea pig who's "doing hard time" in kindergarten. Much to his dismay, GW discovers that Barry and Biter have "gone soft in prison" and aren't exactly eager to abandon their comfy-cozy lives as class pets. He manages to convince them to make a break for it, only to have his dreams of freedom dashed when Harriet, the fourth-graders' pet mouse, re-incarcerates the gang. More jailbreaks, a food fight, and other zany high jinks ensue in Jamieson's laugh-out-loud graphic novel. Silly jokes fly fast and furious ("'What is that SMELL?' 'I think we found the cafeteria'"), as does witty wordplay (GW to Biter: "Fine, be a pacifist. But right now I need you to PASS a FIST through this wall!"). Pen-and-ink panels digitally colored in a bright palette have a crisp and tidy feel -- a neat contrast to the mischief and mayhem roiling Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School after hours. tanya d. auger