Ned and the Great Garden Hamster Race

There’s only one thing on Ned’s mind today and that’s winning. He’s been training hard and at last the day has arrived for the Big Garden Hamster Race.

As he lines up at the start, he sees hamsters from all over the world: big ones, small ones, hairy ones, scary ones, and some who look as if they’ll be very fast. But Ned didn’t do all that preparation for nothing, and soon he’s ahead of the pack.

Ned is so focused on "win, win, win" that he can’t spare a second to reassure a little, lost slug or to help a small rabbit trapped in a very deep hole. But when he takes a nasty tumble and ends up in a precarious situation himself, a little kindness from an unlikely source makes him reconsider his priorities.

Ned and his fellow competitors bounce through the pages with a sizzling energy that moves the narrative forward. Seeing the garden from a hamsterly perspective, along with imaginative use of speech bubbles, makes the illustrations integral to the impact of Ned’s story.

Heartwarming and very funny, this delightful tale shows the value of kindness to those who give it as well as those who receive it.