The Amelia Bedelia books are great for growing the vocabularies of newly independent readers. In Amelia Bedelia Gets a Break, Amelia Bedelia is put in charge of caring for her class hamster over a school vacation.

But Amelia Bedelia gets more than she bargained for when the hamster goes missing! Amelia Bedelia is left in charge of her class pet—a hamster named Harry—over school break, and she’s excited to learn all about caring for an animal.

But when Harry goes missing, Amelia Bedelia is upset. Her friends Dawn and Clay help her search the house and make “lost pet” signs, but it seems hopeless, until Amelia Bedelia puts herself in Harry’s shoes and finds him hiding in her favorite spot in the house.