Fergus and Zeke and the Field Day Challenge

Fergus and Zeke #3

by Kate Messner, Heather Ross (Illustrations)

Classroom pets Fergus and Zeke can't wait for Field Day! But all the events are the wrong size -- what can these two little mice do?

Fergus and Zeke love being the class pets in Miss Maxwell's classroom. From science experiments to art projects, they do everything the students do. But on Field Day, none of the events are the right size for the small mice -- the limbo is too easy, the high jump is too hard, and kickball is absolutely terrifying! So Fergus and Zeke create their own Field Day Challenge, with mouse-size tug-of-war, acorn throwing, and Hula-Hooping. After all the fun and exercise, it's time to go back to the classroom -- but Fergus and Zeke are locked out! Will they be able to use their new skills to get inside in time for ice pops? This new outdoor adventure in the endearing school-themed series from award-winning author Kate Messner, with lively pictures by Heather Ross, will have young readers jumping for joy.

Genres: Sports, Animals, School, Childrens, Juvenile, School Stories

56 pages, Hardcover

Published April 14, 2020

About the author

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.

Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com

Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner

...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner

Reviews

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of imaginations and fun! Fergus and Zeke are the pet mice for Miss Maxwell classroom. The classroom is planning a field day and the mice want to join. They find out fast how fun field day is but being small has it challenges. When they are locked out of the classroom, they find what they learned during field day comes in handy along with being small.

A fun read to read with your school age kiddos.

A Special Thank you to Candlewick Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Michele Knott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I thought of when I read this one was the number of Field Days that would be cancelled to this year's pandemic. That's a sad thought.
But the book is a lot of fun - two classroom mice get caught up in the Field Day fun at their school. Activities will be familiar to readers and the treat at the end will leave all readers hungry!

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an electronic copy from Candlewick Press through NetGalley.
Book 3 in this series.
Fergus and Zeke are back and excited to participate in the school field day. They join the class and discover how difficult the events are for mice. They create their own events and succeed. In fact, they succeed so well, they don't notice everyone has returned inside. Their final event is to get back inside the classroom through the open second story window.
Messner brings fun and action to these characters. She's continued to develop their personalities in each book. Younger elementary readers will enjoy seeing the latest adventures and misadventures of Fergus and Zeke.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fergus and Zeke are two adorable little mice who are kept in Miss Maxwell's classroom. They are smart little critters who participate in all the classroom projects just like the other students. Miss Maxwell announces that the following day Ms. Khan, the gym teacher, will be setting up a special field day for everyone to enjoy. Will the little mice be able to join in those activities too?

The duo try but soon discover they are way too small for the over-sized events. Not to be discouraged they decide to set up their own mouse-size challenges and have a jolly time just like all the kids around them. Success!

After everyone has competed in the tug of war, seeing how low they can go as they limbo, the hula hoop contest and a game of kickball ( just to name a few), it's time to go back into the classroom and indulge in an ice pop after all their hard work. The kids are very excited to do so. It's the perfect ending to a perfect day.

To their utter horror Fergus and Zeke discover that all of the kids are back inside their classroom enjoying their treat but guess what? The duo are locked out of the school. They missed their human ride back in. Oh my! Whatever shall they do now? Will these two little mice be able to use their athletic skills to get back inside and claim their ice pop reward also?

This easy-to- read chapter book sparks imaginations and highlights the themes of teamwork and problem-solving. The digital illustrations are full of expression, action and adventure. Whether it is read solo or shared out loud this book will certainly be well received by its targeted audience. I highly recommend it.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a way, it's a sad book to read because there will be no field days this year because of school closings. Nevertheless, those days will return and teachers will share this fun book so students can enjoy it. All the varied games and contests are there, hurdles and races, parachute play, and hula hoop twisting. Sadly, Fergus and Zeke, classroom pets, soon realize they are simply too little to participate. They can easily walk under the limbo rod; kickball is terrifying. Fergus and Zeke are not going to miss the fun, however, and devise their own games. A grocery bag makes a fine parachute and a lost bracelet makes a hula hoop. They have so much fun they don't notice that the students go back to class for ice pops! And that becomes another challenge. Heather Ross keeps the illustrations full of action and expressions, especially happy Fergus and Zeke. It is a cute new book about these mice!
Thanks to Candlewick Press/Walker Books US for the copy!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergus and Zeke and the children in their classroom are excited for Field Day. But when Fergus and Zeke try to join in, they find Field Day not really well designed for mice. They decide to see if they can make their own mice-appropriate Field Day activities.


A fun little adventure. I like seeing the Field Day activities through the eyes of the mice, and then having them do their own thing. They even get to apply their new skills when they accidentally get locked out. I had thought I remembered previous Fergus and Zeke books being more graphic novel-like, but this one is just normal text with regular full color illustrations.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Fergus and Zeke quickly and ingeniously figured out how to be part of the field day challenge when they realized the limbo was too easy-no need to bend over backward since the limbo bar was miles above them, and kickball was so fast and terrifying-all those running feet! They were about to be trampled! They found a plastic bag and sat under it while the air lifted it up and billowed it like the parachute the kids were using. Some sticks made mouse sized high jump and leaves worked to make a pillowy place for them to land on. A bracelet soon became a hula hoop. These are some super smart mice!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergus and Zeke get to go to Field Day and they're so excited they can barely sleep. But on the actual day, their size presents a challenge for what would usually be fun for any human participant. What will they do?

Our students at our international school would be able to read and identify with this as we also have a type of field day, and the kids all get super excited for it. Follow Fergus and Zeke through their day! I enjoyed seeing the mouse duo problem solve and make their day perfect for them.

[Heidi Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classroom pet mice Ferguson and Zeke are at it again, having adventures with the kids in class. This time the pair try to join in with the class field day activities, which they soon discover aren’t designed for small mice, so they make their own! This would be a fun book to read and then have the kids engineer some small games and activities for mice - STEAM!

[Jessica Gard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and fun chapter book for early readers. Fergus and Zeke, a pair of classroom pet mice, want to join in on the fun of Field Day. With many adventures ahead, they use creative problem solving to overcome obstacles. I enjoyed this story and illustration style.

[Julia Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book. My 6 year old was so sad to learn he will be missing his first field day. He loved watching the antics and fun that Fergus and Zeke has during theirs. Cute illustrations and easy to understand subject matter for the tiny humans. Thank you for the ARC of this sweet story!

[Stefanie Bevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute book. I read it to my one year old son to help him fall asleep at bedtime tonight. I liked that it had lots of photos and that kept him interested. The illustrations were adorable and the story was a cute one.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergus and Zeke create their own field day when they realize they are too small to participate with the students. But when they fail to notice everyone going inside, then they really need to use their field day skills to get back home.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Fergus and Zeke try to participate in the children's field day, they can't quite keep up. So they decide to come up with their own events! But they become so distracted that they forget to go inside with the students and must figure out their own way into the building.

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Class pets Fergus and Zeke are excited with the prospect of field day, especially the ice pops! Beginner chapter book fun!

[Demitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute beginning reader. Would recommend the series to readers that are beyond lower level readers but not quite up to beginning chapter books - good transitional series.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever story and lots of illustrations.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergus and Zeke are at it again - this time they’re preparing for the field day challenge. But is it a good idea to compete with the human children? Sweet characters and great team work!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars for this entry in class pets Fergus and Zeke's adventures as the two mice create their own field day experience

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/5/2023 ~ As always, it's fun to see routine classroom activities through the eyes of the mice. The showed good ingenuity in getting back into the classroom after getting locked out of the building.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Fergus and Zeke's newest adventure. As classroom pets, the two mice enjoy doing the same things the children do. They are thrilled when a day full of fun games and activities is announced. They immediately start exercising and preparing to participate. However, when the day arrives, the mice realize they are too small to really enjoy the activities with the children. But instead of giving up, the mice create their own field games. They are having so much fun they don't notice when the class goes back into the school. Now they have an even bigger problem: how to get back into the school so they can have their treat. Messner has managed to keep her characters fresh and funny in this delightful story of making the best of disappointing circumstances. I had to smile at the way Fergus and Zeke used their determination and a little ingenuity to solve the problems that come their way. A wonderful addition to a fun series that is bound to make young readers smile.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.