Hi there! Today, we’re going to learn about a funny and adventurous hamster named Seymour. His story is called Memoirs of a Hamster, written by Devin Scillian and illustrated by Tim Bowers. Let’s dive into Seymour’s exciting days!
Seymour is a very happy hamster. He has a bowl full of seeds, a cozy bed of wood shavings, and lots of space to run around. He thinks he’s the luckiest hamster in the world!
Seymour gets a brand-new exercise wheel called the FuzzyBoy 360. It’s shiny and fast, and he loves running on it all night long!
Seymour learns how to use his new water bottle. It’s important for him to drink water and stay healthy. After a quick sip, he’s back on his wheel for more running fun!
The Little Girl who takes care of Seymour gives him two yummy yogurt drops. Seymour eats one and saves the other in his cheek for later. Yum!
Pearl the Cat visits Seymour and tells him about a place called the sunroom. Seymour wonders what a sunroom is and if it’s better than his cozy cage.
The Little Girl cleans Seymour’s cage and gives him another yogurt drop. Seymour sees more of the house and wonders if the sunroom is as amazing as Pearl says.
Seymour’s wheel starts to squeak, and Pearl suggests he should explore outside the cage. She tells him about a staircase made of sunflower seeds and a sunroom full of yogurt drops!
Seymour can’t stop thinking about the sunroom and the staircase. He decides to make a plan to explore the house and find these exciting places.
Seymour spends the night planning his escape. He’s ready to find the staircase and the sunroom. Adventure awaits!
Seymour cleverly escapes his cage and starts his adventure. He can’t wait to find the sunroom and eat all the yogurt drops!
Seymour discovers that the staircase isn’t made of sunflower seeds, and the sunroom has no yogurt drops. Pearl the Cat tries to catch him, but Seymour escapes just in time!
Seymour hides under the sofa, feeling scared and hungry. He writes a note to his family, thinking he might not make it back to his cage.
While Pearl sleeps, Seymour tries to return to his cage. But then, a big, noisy monster named Hoover tries to suck him up! Luckily, the Little Girl saves him just in time.
Seymour is back in his cozy cage, feeling grateful for his seeds, wood shavings, and the Little Girl who loves him. He realizes he’s the luckiest hamster in the world!
Seymour’s story teaches us to appreciate what we have and to be thankful for the people who care about us. Sometimes, the best place is right where we are!
Thank you for joining Seymour’s adventure. Keep reading and exploring new stories!
Hamster Habitat Exploration: Create a small “hamster habitat” using a shoebox or a similar container. Use materials like cotton balls for bedding, a small cap for a water dish, and a cardboard tube for a tunnel. Ask the children to think about what Seymour might need in his home to be happy and healthy. Discuss why each item is important for Seymour’s well-being.
Gratitude Journal: Encourage the children to start a “Gratitude Journal” where they can draw or write about things they are thankful for in their own lives, just like Seymour learned to appreciate his cozy cage and the Little Girl. Ask them to share one thing from their journal with the class each day to foster a sense of gratitude and appreciation.
Adventure Map: Have the children draw a map of Seymour’s adventure from his cage to the sunroom and back. Include landmarks like the squeaky wheel, the staircase, and the sofa. Encourage them to use their imagination to add fun details like hidden yogurt drops or friendly animals Seymour might meet. Discuss how planning and maps can help us in our own adventures.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
[Storyline Online intro] Welcome to Storyline Online brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. I’m Melanie Lynskey, and today I’m going to read *Memoirs of a Hamster* written by Devin Scillian and illustrated by Tim Bowers.
**Night One**
My life is perfect. I have a bowl full of seeds, a cozy pile of wood shavings, and room to run. I’m never leaving here.
**Question:** Who’s the luckiest hamster in the world?
**Answer:** ME!
**Night Two**
I was just telling myself, “Seymour, you’ve got it made,” when my exercise wheel was delivered. (I like to work out.) It’s the best model around, the FuzzyBoy 360, shiny and fast. I don’t know how many miles I put in, but I was on that wheel all night!
**Night Three**
It took me a while to get the hang of my new water bottle, but it’s great. It’s important, too. A hamster has to stay hydrated. Back to my wheel; I’ve got another hour to put in before daylight!
**Night Four**
Little Girl came by and gave me a kiss on the nose. I wasn’t too thrilled about that. But she also gave me two yogurt drops.
**Question:** What’s better than a yogurt drop?
**Answer:** TWO yogurt drops!
I ate one and tucked the other in my cheek to save for later. This hamster has it going on.
**Night Five**
I was just climbing onto my wheel tonight when Pearl the Cat came by. “You know,” she said, “you run for miles every night, but you never leave that cage. What’s it all for?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s what hamsters do.”
“What a complete waste of time,” she said. “Have fun in your cage. I’m going to the sunroom.”
Sunroom? What’s a sunroom?
**Night Six**
Little Girl woke me up to clean my cage today. She kissed me on the nose again. I wasn’t a fan of that. But while she was carrying me around, I realized there’s a lot of house around me that I haven’t seen. It seems to go on forever! I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn’t see a sunroom. Little Girl gave me a yogurt drop, and I completely forgot about the sunroom. Whatever a sunroom is, is it better than a yogurt drop?
**Answer:** NO!
**Night Seven**
I planned on running a marathon tonight, but my FuzzyBoy 360 is a little squeaky. Pearl came over to the cage looking a little annoyed. “You really need to get yourself out of there,” she said.
“But why?” I asked. “I’ve got my wheel, I’ve got my seeds, I’ve got yogurt drops…”
“You wouldn’t need a wheel out here,” she said. “There’s plenty of room to run. The staircase is made of sunflower seeds. And the sunroom is filled with yogurt drops.”
As she was walking away, she turned around and said, “Watch out for Hoover.”
Hoover? Who’s Hoover?
**Night Eight**
I didn’t sleep a wink all day. Little Girl came by and kissed me on the nose—YUCK! And then I had a terrible workout. I just couldn’t focus. How could I concentrate knowing what I know? Imagine…a whole staircase made of sunflower seeds! And the sunroom? Don’t I deserve to be in the sunroom? Buck the Dog came by to give my cage a sniff, and I said, “Buck, do you like the sunroom?” Big, goofy Buck said, “I love the sunroom. It’s so… sunny.” And he trotted away.
**Night Nine**
No workout tonight. I spent the whole evening putting together a plan. I went over every square inch of my cage, and I think I’ve got it figured out. Operation Tasty Treat is set for tomorrow night. Hello, staircase! Hello, sunroom!
**Night Ten**
Good ol’ Seymour is one smart hamster! My escape went like clockwork. I moved the seed dish. Then I was able to muscle the FuzzyBoy to the front of the cage. I had a little trouble climbing the outside of the wheel. It kept spinning, and I wasn’t getting anywhere. But sweet Pearl suggested I jam a sunflower seed at the side of the wheel, and it worked! After that, it was easy. I shimmied up the wheel and popped the lid right off.
**Question:** Who’s going to eat every yogurt drop in the sunroom?
**Answer:** ME!
**Night Eleven**
Note to self: Cats can be tricky. I’m writing this from under the sofa. One wrong move and Pearl will have me for dinner. For starters, the staircase is not made of sunflower seeds. It’s just carpet. It tastes strange. And the sunroom is nice, but there wasn’t a yogurt drop in sight. And when I heard Pearl say, “Hello, Seymour,” I knew something was wrong. She looked really hungry. But all of that time on the wheel paid off. I raced past her and squeezed out of the sunroom just in time. I made it here, but now what? Pearl keeps clawing under the sofa. I’ll probably never see my cage again.
**Question:** Who’s in big trouble?
**Answer:** ME!
**Night Twelve**
I’m doomed. I’ll never make it out of here alive. I can see Pearl pacing back and forth. She says she’s looking up recipes. I tore a tag off the bottom of the sofa, found an old pencil, and wrote out my will. “I, Seymour Q. Hamster, being of tired mind and hungry body, leave my FuzzyBoy 360 to my 17 brothers. I leave my water bottle to my 22 sisters. And to my sweet mother and father, I leave the four yogurt drops hidden in the corner of my cage. I won’t be needing them.” I sniffled a few times and fell asleep. “Goodbye, friends. I love you all.”
**Night Thirteen**
So hungry and tired I could barely move, I heard Pearl purring the way she does when she sleeps. It was my only chance. I tiptoed out from the back of the sofa and headed straight for my cage. I was going to make it! But suddenly, there was a terrible noise. It sounded like a hurricane. An enormous monster was coming right at me. I looked up at its terrible eyes and read the most frightening word: HOOVER! It was trying to suck me inside! Buck heard the commotion and started barking like crazy. That woke up Pearl, who hissed, “He’s mine!” and started racing right toward me. Hoover had me by the tail, Pearl was swiping at me, and Buck was howling. I was a goner. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. And then came the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. “SEYMOUR!” It was suddenly very quiet. Hoover, Pearl, and Buck stopped in their tracks. And one surprised but happy Little Girl got to me first. She kissed me on the nose, a lovely, beautiful, sweet kiss. And I kissed her right back. Twice.
**Night Fourteen**
My life is perfect. I have a bowl full of seeds, a cozy pile of wood shavings, and room to run. I’m never leaving here.
**Question:** Who’s the luckiest hamster in the world?
**Answer:** ME!
What I really liked about this book is that it’s a story about appreciating what you already have and feeling grateful for the life you have. You know, a lot of us are looking around and thinking other people have it better or maybe there is somewhere more exciting, and I just love that at the end of the story the hamster realizes, “You know, I have a very happy little cage and a wonderful wheel to run on and somebody who loves me.” He starts to appreciate the love of the little girl, which is really sweet. I also really just love a memoir in general because I think people’s stories are fascinating, and hamster stories are fascinating too, as it turns out. And I just love hearing stories that are like a day in the life. And so this book was kind of perfect. Thank you for watching Storyline Online. Make sure to check out all of our stories. Keep watching and keep reading.
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