Fergus and Zeke

Reviewed by: Jill - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 13, 2017

Review

This is a solid early chapter book for emerging readers in first through third grade. Fergus is a mouse who happens to be a very contented class pet; he always follows all of the rules of the classroom. When a class trip to the Museum of Natural History is announced, Fergus assumes that he will be attending too. Upon learning that class pets don't generally attend class field trips, Fergus realizes that he will have to break a rule and sneak into one of the backpacks so that he, too, can see the butterflies and wish on a shooting star in the Planetarium. At the Museum, Fergus does not have a field-trip buddy...enter Zeke. He is a mouse who lives in the Museum and he agrees to be Fergus's buddy and show him around. Ross's breezy illustratons show the two mice interacting with each exhibit as they move from room to room supporting Messner's text without overwhelming it. When Fergus and Zeke get caught up in the dinosaur room, they almost miss the arrival of the bus for the class's return to school. As they rush back to the backpacks, Fergus invites Zeke to come along to live in the comfortable classroom (where some favorites include story time and music class) and the class acquires a new class pet. A nice read alound prior to a class field trip. A great choice for those readers ready for a chapter book as it includes repetition and the use of sight words to scaffold reading success.

Overall Book Score: very good