The Great Hamster Massacre

In this flippantly twisted debut, first published in the U.K., nine-year-old Anna relays quite the tale of woe. Her easygoing cat was run over by a car, and the bad-natured New Cat literally scares a friend's pet rabbit to death. The cat is "Reason Number One" that Anna's mother (who previously owned two hamsters that met outlandish demises) refuses to let Anna and her younger brother, Tom, get a hamster, believing that it couldn't possibly survive. But after Anna's grandmother dies, her mother relents and buys a pair of hamsters. Not surprisingly, these animals soon suffer misfortune: Anna and Tom discover the hamster's eight newborn offspring dead in their bloodied cage; one of the hamster parents has disappeared, and the other is missing a leg (and eventually dies). Alas, the kids' bumbling investigation turns up no culprits. Despite its grisly subject matter, the novel is genuinely funny, largely due to Anna's refreshing spontaneity, wry observations, and matter-of-fact attitude. Shaw's droll pictures also buoy the saga, which continues with The Great Rabbit Rescue, out in December. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (May)