Herbie the Hamster Searches for Friends

About the Book

Why I Wrote Herbie the Hamster Searches for Friends When my children were young, we had several pets around the house. My oldest daughter, Leah, brought a hamster home from school, and the girls named him Herbie. Although Herbie lived in a hamster habitat, he managed to get out of the cage from time to time when someone forgot to close his cage door. As a father of four kids, I was always trying to teach them things I had learned during my life. I had witnessed how some people always believed they weren't good enough, or smart enough, or pretty enough, etc., so part of the story I tell in Herbie the Hamster is that a person's happiness comes from feeling good about himself or herself. I have also seen kids being mean to someone, or making wrong choices in life, and going down the wrong road. The other part of the story is to say that you need to pick your friends carefully, or you might head down the wrong path, too!

About the Author

Donald Pat Canuteson, "Pat", lives in Carrollton, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with his wife, Karen. They have two sons and two daughters, all of whom are married, two granddaughters, and one grandson expected in March of 2013. Originally born in Clifton, Texas, Pat attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1977. He has been the Executive Director of the Valwood Improvement Authority, a flood control district in Carrollton/Farmers Branch, Texas, for the past 23 years. Pat began writing poems in 1992, mostly about his life's experiences, to share with his family and to teach his children lessons about life. Some of his other poems include "Mom", "Daddy's Little Girl", "Life is a Game", and "The Hearts of Aggieland". "Herbie the Hamster Searches for Friends" is his first children's book.