FERGUS AND ZEKE AND THE FIELD DAY CHALLENGE

The lovable class pets are back (Fergus and Zeke, 2017), this time experiencing field day.

The two mice do everything that their human classmates do, from science experiments to gym exercises. So they anticipate loads of fun when Miss Maxwell announces field day: hurdles, a waterslide, a tug of war, a hula-hoop contest, a sack race, and a parachute game. But reality doesn’t measure up, literally in the case of the mice: The limbo isn’t even a challenge, they almost get trampled in a race, the water balloons are too heavy, and kickball? “Absolutely terrifying.” The only solution is for Fergus and Zeke to make their own field-day events using found objects: an acorn for tossing, some sticks for a high jump, a lost bracelet for a hula hoop, and a plastic grocery bag for a parachute…which comes in handy when the two mice have to get back to their second-story classroom window without hitching a ride with a human classmate. Once again, Ross’ digital illustrations both break up the text, which is a bridge between easy readers and chapter books, and provide kids with a fun, mouse-sized view of the world; the duo’s repurposing of small items is particularly charming.

Kids will look forward to their own field days after reading about this one.