By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In Burlington author Lynn Leitch’s Dear Classroom 1B, teacher Miss Lee is working hard to instruct her impressionable young students to be creative, considerate, and well-versed enough to express their thoughts in words for the classroom’s Idea Box. Another classroom inhabitant is learning to read alongside the students, and he has some suggestions to put in writing as well. This is Norm, the classroom pet hamster.
“Hey Room 1B,” he writes with a stub of a pencil he snagged from a desk. “I think you might have taken ‘beauty rest’ the wrong way. Once in a while, if you must comb my fur…okay. But trust me, I can handle grooming by myself. Yours truly, Norm. P.S. Anyone have a very small hat?”
Dear Classroom 1B was published by Scholastic Canada on July 7, 2026, and makes for excellent, empathy-driven reading for beginner readers. It’s especially timely for young readers who are at an age when their households and classrooms might be getting their very first pets. A pet is a rite of passage in a child’s upbringing, and it’s vital that children are taught how to care for it correctly so that the pet does not get harmed or neglected. Children can be tender-hearted, but they can also be reckless, and Leitch’s story, illustrated by Christine Battuz, teaches kids that the responsibility of caring for a pet is one that requires much compassion and common sense.
Children must learn how to care for an animal so that it is properly nourished, enriched, and well-rested. Poor Norm the hamster is feeling worn out by his energetic kids, and he attempts to explain himself as best he can, despite the obvious communication barriers. The kids are much too rough and active with him. He doesn’t want to be squeezed or carried around. He doesn’t want to be made to race through the halls like a racehorse. And he especially does not want to be woken up from a nap to play.
Battuz draws Norm as hilariously expressive and prone to mood swings. His facial expressions reflect the frustration he’s feeling as the involuntary plaything in a chaotic classroom full of kids who need to be taught boundaries. He may look cuddly and adorable, but he’s got attitude. He’s a prolific writer who writes with a direct, sassy style, advocating for himself in a world that does not grant him much personal agency. From reading his letters, children will not only learn respect for animals, but also a genre of prose that will one day come in handy when they’re ready to write to stand up for themselves.
“GAH! I’m a hamster, not a goldfish! That water fountain in the hall? NOT a bath!” scribbles the outraged Norm after a particularly trying afternoon with his kids. Leitch did her research for this book. Hamsters groom themselves by rolling around in sand, a fact that some young readers may not know. You do not need to bathe them with water like dogs.
Parents in Burlington who want to teach their kids how to properly care for domestic animals can visit a local animal shelter to meet potential pets and seek knowledge from animal care professionals. The City of Burlington operates the Burlington Animal Shelter, which is located at 2424 Industrial Road and houses cats and dogs. The Burlington Humane Society, located at 740 Griffith Court, offers a variety of programs and classes to teach people of all ages about pet care, including their Pet First Aid Course and the Burlington Humane Kids Club. Readers can check Burlington Local-News.ca every week for the “Adoptable Pet of the Week” column.
For those who enjoy local author Lynn Leitch’s writing, she has published two more children’s books with Pajama Press: The Setback (March 2026) and Dinos Driving (2022). With National Young Readers Week taking place in the United States from Nov. 9 to 13, Burlington Local-News.ca encourages young readers in Burlington to mark the occasion by hunting through the city’s six library branches for some good reads.
