The World According to Humphrey: Chapters 10–15

by Betty G. Birney
This first book in the series introduces a hamster named Humphrey, who comes up with plans to solve the problems facing him and the humans of Longfellow School's Room 26.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–15
35 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bellow
    shout loudly and without restraint
    “May I have Humphrey this weekend? We don’t have a dog or a cat,” he bellowed.
    “Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. I’ll let you know on Thursday. There may be other students who want Humphrey as well.”
  2. skedaddle
    run away, as if in a panic
    “Go on, rat. Skedaddle.”
  3. innocent
    free from evil or guilt
    “Cool it, Garth!” yelled A.J., jumping out of his chair. “Man, I’m tired of these rubber bands.”
    Garth acted innocent. “I don’t know where they came from. They could have come from anywhere.”
  4. defy
    resist or confront with resistance
    Hamsters are incredible acrobats and climbers. They seem to defy the laws of gravity.
  5. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    “Sorry, Humphrey. I’m trying to hold still,” A.J. told me as someone bumped his elbow and sent me sprawling on the floor of my cage.
  6. blare
    make a loud noise
    I soon noticed that everybody at A.J.’s house talked extra loud. They had to, because in the background the TV was always blaring.
  7. relief
    the feeling that comes when something unpleasant is removed
    When Beau finally fell asleep, Mrs. Thomas yawned and flicked off the TV. Blessed relief.
  8. bombard
    address continuously, as if with a barrage
    The combination of being nocturnal and being bombarded with sight and sound kept me wide-awake.
  9. feat
    a notable achievement
    Then, with Great Effort, I managed to pull out the plug: one of the most difficult feats of my life.
  10. bicker
    argue over petty things
    They whined and bickered for quite a while. They got so loud, I managed to scamper back to my cage, unnoticed.
  11. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    The bickering was a nice, soothing background after all that racket.
  12. squabble
    argue over petty things
    I was only half-asleep when the squabbling changed.
  13. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    “Shake hands, Anthony. Garth is here to help you take care of Humphrey.”
    A.J. and Garth reluctantly shook hands.
  14. spell
    a period of indeterminate length marked by some condition
    “Then you sit down and rest a spell, hon. I’ll sweep. Go on, don’t argue.”
  15. reflect
    think deeply on a subject
    Since Mrs. Brisbane didn’t say a word to me on the drive home, I had time to reflect on the last few months.
  16. gracious
    characterized by kindness and warm courtesy
    I had not had a bad experience with any of the families I had visited. In fact, they had all been gracious and welcoming (except Miranda’s dog, Clem, but I knew how to handle him).
  17. grit
    clench together
    “And on top of everything else, I have to rake!” Mrs. Brisbane said through gritted teeth.
  18. stubble
    short hairs growing on a man's face when he has not shaved
    His chin was covered with gray stubble and he wore very wrinkled tan pajamas.
  19. expression
    the feelings shown on a person's face
    His expression was so sour, he looked as if he’d just drunk a glass of vinegar.
  20. sneer
    express through a scornful smile
    Mr. Brisbane sneered. “This is unacceptable! For the little pay you get, that school can’t force you to spend your weekend baby-sitting a rat!”
  21. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    Pardon me, but I resented being called a molehill almost as much as being called a rat.
  22. scowl
    frown with displeasure
    While Mrs. Brisbane was clattering pots and clinking pans and making things smell good, he sat in his wheelchair in the living room and frowned. No, I know a better vocabulary word: scowled.
  23. vantage point
    a place from which something can be viewed
    I watched them eating their dinner from my vantage point on the table in the living room.
  24. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    “We’ll see about that,” I squeaked as I bustled off to the living room.
  25. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    From the den, I scuttled over to the hallway.
  26. cunning
    showing inventiveness and skill
    But before he followed me, Mr. Brisbane slammed the bathroom, bedroom and guest-room doors. Aha! He was limiting my range of possibilities. Pretty cunning.
  27. stew
    be in a huff; be silent or sullen
    I hid under the couch. Then I let Mr. Brisbane stew for five minutes.
  28. rosy
    having the pinkish flush of health
    “But your face is all rosy. You look different. And you’re wearing a baseball cap,” she said.
  29. serious
    concerned with work or important matters rather than play
    But one night during the week, Aldo pulled his chair up close to my cage and said, “Humphrey, old pal, I’ve got something to discuss.”
    This sounded serious, so I put on my most serious, problem-solving face.
  30. extension
    an addition that expands a main building
    “This is my gift to Humphrey. This extension attaches to his cage and makes it bigger. Now you’re all going to help me build Humphrey his holiday present: his very own playground.”
  31. insist
    be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
    Mrs. Brisbane made everyone sit down again and asked Ms. Mac (of course, she insisted on calling her Ms. McNamara) about her travels.
  32. pine
    have a desire for something or someone who is not present
    “And here I thought you’d be pining away for me.”
  33. reel
    be dizzy, disoriented, or bewildered
    My head was reeling from all the surprises and excitement as we headed out to the car.
  34. raw
    not treated with heat to prepare it for eating
    I nibbled on raw apple and squeaked along.
  35. temper
    a characteristic state of feeling
    Like hamsters, humans come in many, many sizes, shapes, colors, talents and tempers.
Created on Fri May 03 10:41:59 EDT 2024 (updated Fri May 03 16:26:31 EDT 2024)

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