Racing has never been furrier than in Hot Rod Hamster by author Cynthia Lord and illustrator Derek Anderson. The rhythmic text tells the story of an enthusiastic hamster as he works to build his own racing machine and show off his lead foot. The beautiful illustrations bring to life sizzling hot rods and the hamster’s adorable animal friends.
— At Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup, Jama was positively ecstatic over the main character of Hot Rod Hamster, who “oozes personality and kid appeal from every pore.” Jama especially liked the fact that the “characters talk in speech balloons, which keep the narrative humming along like a finely tuned, well-oiled machine.”
— Middle-school librarians Lynn Rutan and Cindy Dobrez of Bookends praised “Lord’s child-centered fun text and Anderson’s perfectly jaunty illustrations.” “This big picture book with its bright colors and bold shapes has our focus group’s name written all over it. Hamsters, race cars, building stuff — I knew they would love this and I wasn’t wrong,” stated Lynn.