I loved this book

The book was well laid out, it was nice and had some lovely illustrations

It was well written, the story was easy to follow and it had a wonderful flow to the story

I read the book with my five-year-old daughter and she absolutely loved it

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

Longing to escape - but is it all it's cracked up to be?

Raffleton Grey lives alone in a cage. With food, wheel, every comfort. But he longs to escape, longs for freedom.

So he executes a plan - and makes it outside! But will he be happy with what he finds there?

Very sweet illustrations, scruffy hamsters and colourful scenes of cage and beach. The rhymes jog the story along very well, Raffleton meets a friend, but discovers the moral of his own tale quite quickly - and young readers won't be disappointed in the ending.

Nice little lesson about friendship and finding your happy place in the world.

For ages 3-6.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Beautiful book. The pictures and the words just lovely. My little girl loved it. The words just flowed. We plan to read it again tonight

Question is will there be any more adventures for Raffleton Grey 🥰

This was a really cute rhyming book about an escapee hamster and the adventures it had after fleeing from its cage. This is something I'm sure many small pet owners will have had previous experiences with! In the end the hamster realises that he doesn't want to be free after all and returns home - but with a friend in tow, he was just feeling lonely. The bright, colourful pictures make it a lovely story overall and very relatable for many kids. I have several children in my class who I know would love this book and will definitely be buying a few copies for our library!

If only books like this didn't come with a kind of pester-power as a result – this example will certainly make the owning of a hamster a very attractive proposition. That said, it's about one bored domestic hamster we're concerned with and his derring-do escape into the outside world. It's best left for the young target audience to learn what he finds there and what he thinks of it all. The way we witness his exploits is superb, with flawless rhyming couplets in the narrative, and great visual art and deftness (witness the switches to full-spread vertical format). Not overly cute and yet brimming with character and class, this is four and a half star stuff – just be prepared to map new routes that take your young 'uns nowhere near a pet shop.

An incredible book for children of all ages with a wonderful storyline and adorable illustrations. A must have book.

I do love a good rhyming books that bounces you along as you romp through. Raffleton Grey is a hamster who's bored. He dream of adventures and soon decides he must escape. He finds a pal and they have wonderful adventures together but as night falls the two hamsters have a perilous time. Will they be able to discover what will make them happy and safe? A lovely book about friendship with some laugh out loud moments.

The illustrations by Magda Brol are truly joyous and I love the faces of the two hamsters. There are two spreads that really stand out for me. One is of the two hamsters in fallen autumnal leaves. The colours are so rich and I love the expressions on the faces of Raffleton Grey and Puckerford Brown. Another spread that really caught my eye was the one at the fair with the slides; the laughter on the faces of the hamsters is adorable.

Thanks #Netgalley and #Bloomsbury for an eARC of #TheGreatHamsterGetaway.

A lovey little book for children (and all ages!) with a nice story and cute pictures. A must for hamster lovers! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.