55 pages • 1 hour read
Betty G. BirneyThe World According to Humphrey
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2004A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
Self-Discovery Through Learning from Others
When Ms. Mac buys Humphrey from Pet-O-Rama, she does so with the intent of teaching her students responsibility by caring for a class pet. Driving him home from Pet-O-Rama, she tells Humphrey, ‘You can learn a lot about yourself by taking care of another species […] You’ll teach those kids a thing or two” (1). However, by the end of the book, Humphrey realizes that the humans he interacts with during his time in Room 26 need taking care of as well. He learns enough to write his own guide at the end of the book, titled “Humphrey’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans,” which parallels the hamster-care guide the students consult.
To Humphrey, the most important rule is “You can learn a lot about yourself by getting to know another species. Even humans” (124). This is a direct parallel to Ms. Mac’s words. While Ms. Mac’s intent in buying Humphrey was to foster responsibility and self-discovery in her students, Humphrey took her words to heart. He makes this his worldview and manages to help Sayeh find her voice, to make Mr. Morales’s children respect him, to help Aldo find a wife, and to repair the relationship between 
