Betty G. Birney (born April 26, 1947) is an American author, screenwriter, and teacher. She is best known for the ''

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

'' children's book series.

Personal life

Betty G. Birney was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up and went to school in

Affton Affton is a census-designated place (CDP) in south St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, near St. Louis. The population was 20,417 at the 2020 United States Census. Geography Affton is located at 38°33'4" North, 90°19'25" West (38.551052 ...

, a suburb of St. Louis, and went to college at Webster College, now

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

Webster Groves Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ( ...

. She spent much of her life as an English teacher. Today Birney lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Career

Birney wrote her first book, "Teddy Bear in the Woods" when she was only seven years old. As a professional writer she has written several books for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and has also worked at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

. She has also written for video games, television, and movies, including the 2002 made-for-TV film '' Mary Christmas''.

Bibliography

''Humphrey'' series

The Humphrey series, also known as ''According to Humphrey'', follows the daily adventures of Humphrey, a

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The b ...

who is the class pet at an elementary school. Every week the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, lets someone take Humphrey home. Humphrey is smarter than he looks and often helps people with their problems, though no one expects anything from him because he's a hamster. He can leave his cage whenever he wants because the lock doesn't lock, and nobody knows about this except for him. Every kid in Humphrey's class has a different nickname, such as Lower-Your-Voice A.J. or Speak-Up Sayeh. Humphrey also bonds with Aldo, a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

who comes in to clean the room after school. He feels negatively about Mrs. Brisbane at first, but warms up to her later. In book 2 another class pet, a frog named Og, is introduced. In the book ''Summer According to Humphrey'', Humphrey is brought to summer school. Starting in ''School Days According to Humphrey'', a new school year begins, and with it comes a new batch of kids. The first title in the series, ''The World According to Humphrey'', was published on February 2, 2004. PW praised The World According to Humphrey, calling it a "breezy, well-crafted first novel, narrated by a hamster." The series has two spinoffs: ''Humphrey's Tiny Tales'' and ''Og the Frog''. Birney announced on her website that a new Humphrey book will be released in 2024. * The World According to Humphrey (2004) * Friendship According to Humphrey (2005) * Trouble According to Humphrey (2007) * Surprises According to Humphrey (2008) * Adventure According to Humphrey (2008) * Summer According to Humphrey (2009) * School Days According to Humphrey (2011) * Mysteries According to Humphrey (2012) * Winter According to Humphrey (2012) * Secrets According to Humphrey (2014) * Imagination According to Humphrey (2015) * Spring According to Humphrey (2016) * More Adventures According to Humphrey (2009) * Humphrey's Big-Big-Big Book of Stories (2009) * Holidays According to Humphrey (2010) * Humphreys Book of Fun-Fun-Fun (2010) * Humphrey's Great-Great-Great Book of Stories (2010) * Humphrey's Ha-Ha-Ha Joke Book (2011) * Humphrey's World of Pets (2011) * Christmas According to Humphrey (2012) * Humphrey's Book of Summer Fun (2013) * Humphrey's Book of Christmas Fun (2013) * Humphrey's Ho-Ho-Ho Book of Stories (2013) * Humphrey's Mixed-Up Magic Trick (2016)

Humphrey's Tiny Tales

* My Pet Show Panic! (aka ''Humphrey's Pet Show Panic'') (2011) * My Summer Fair Surprise! (2011) * My Creepy-Crawly Camping Adventure (2011) * My Great Big Birthday Bash! (2012) * My Treasure Hunt Trouble! (2012) * My Playful Puppy Problem! (2013) * Really Wheely Racing Day (2013) * My Mixed Up Magic Trick! (2016) * Bumper Book of Humphrey's Tiny Tales (2014) * Bumper Book of Humphrey's Tiny Tales 2 (2014)

Og the Frog

* Life According to Og the Frog (2018) * Exploring According to Og the Frog (2019) * Wildlife According to Og the Frog (2020)

Picture Books

* What's My Job (1992) * Disney's the Little Mermaid (1992) * Bambi's Snowy Day (1992) * Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1993) * Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh and the Little Lost Bird (1993) * Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1993) * Black Beauty (1994) * Tyrannosaurus Tex (1994) * Disney's Toy Story (1995) * Pie's in the Oven (1996)

Other Books

* The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs (2005) * The Princess and the Peabodys (2007) * Tales from Winnie-the-Pooh / My Treasure Hunt Trouble (with

A.A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...

) (2011) (omnibus)

Awards

Birney has won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, three

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

s, and a

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

References

{{Reflist 1947 births Living people Children's writers People from Missouri People from Los Angeles American screenwriters