Hamster Princess
#764.23 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 6 books Status Complete 2015–2018 Reading commitment Medium Ursula Vernon Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
Hamster Princess follows Harriet Hamsterbone, a rodent princess cursed at birth to prick her finger on a hamster wheel and die at twelve; rather than avoid the curse, Harriet treats it as a loophole granting her near-invincibility until then, and spends the series seeking out dragons, giants, and other classic fairy-tale dangers head-on. Each completed volume parodies a different fairy tale (Sleeping Beauty, the Pied Piper, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood) through Ursula Vernon's illustrated comic style.
Fairy-tale retelling, Comic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (6 works) counts toward ranking
Hamster Princess Ursula Vernon
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Harriet the Invincible | 2015 | 1 | core | 4.16 (4,374 ratings) |
 | Of Mice and Magic | 2016 | 2 | core | 4.30 (1,414 ratings) |
 | Ratpunzel | 2016 | 3 | core | 4.31 (1,003 ratings) |
 | Giant Trouble | 2017 | 4 | core | 4.26 (768 ratings) |
 | Whiskerella | 2018 | 5 | core | 4.39 (703 ratings) |
 | Little Red Rodent Hood | 2018 | 6 | core | 4.29 (562 ratings) |
A completed six-book illustrated middle-grade fairy-tale-parody series about Harriet Hamsterbone, a hamster princess cursed at birth to prick her finger on a hamster wheel and die, who instead treats the curse as a loophole to seek out danger. Confirmed a separate, unrelated universe from Ursula Vernon's own Dragonbreath (a different illustrated middle-grade series) and from her adult work published as T. Kingfisher.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Hamster Princess? Hamster Princess's Core Canon is 6 books.
- What is the reading order for Hamster Princess? Publication order, starting with Harriet the Invincible. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Hamster Princess finished? Complete (2015–2018).
- How much reading does Hamster Princess take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 6 Core Canon books).
- How is Hamster Princess ranked? #76 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 8,824 reader ratings across 6 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #76?
Ranked #76 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.23 across 6 core books.
- A smaller readership (8,824 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #75, The Pandava Quintet.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 6 books · Complete · 9k ratings · Ranks #76 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (6 Core Canon books)
- Harriet the Invincible (2015)
- Of Mice and Magic (2016)
- Ratpunzel (2016)
- Giant Trouble (2017)
- Little Red Rodent Hood (2018)
- Whiskerella (2018)
Documented internal/story order
- Harriet the Invincible (2015)
- Of Mice and Magic (2016)
- Ratpunzel (2016)
- Giant Trouble (2017)
- Whiskerella (2018)
- Little Red Rodent Hood (2018)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Hamster Princess and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Skulduggery Pleasant Urban fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.35
- Howl's Moving Castle Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.21
- Dragonbreath Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.17
- Fairyland Portal fantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.02
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.23 across 8,824 ratings on 6 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Hamster Princess (Ursula Vernon) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: All six completed volumes register as Core Canon; no further installments are planned.