Fergus and Zeke and the Field Day Challenge: Candlewick Sparks

by Kate Messner, Heather Ross (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536223606
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/12/2022
Series:	Candlewick Sparks Series
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books for kids who like to wonder. A former teacher, she has written more than thirty picture books, chapter books, and novels for young readers. Kate Messner lives on Lake Champlain with her family.

Heather Ross is an illustrator and fabric designer. She lives in New York City and the Catskill Mountains.

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

06/01/2022

K-Gr 2—Fergus and Zeke continue their adventures, this time in the school's field day challenge. The two mice are eager to participate in the many sporting events, but they find their size makes activities either too easy or too hard. Determined, the clever pair create their own events to take part in the big day. When they are accidentally locked out of the school, all they've learned during the field day helps them make it back to the safety of their classroom home. The text is accessible for emerging readers; each page has corresponding images, so youngsters can draw on the vibrant illustrations to comprehend the plot. The story is targeted for young readers, but there are enough new words introduced like "shimmied" and "billowed" to help expand vocabulary. Ross's illustrations perfectly complement the text and are essential for anyone who has grown to know and love Fergus and Zeke. VERDICT Those unfamiliar with Fergus and Zeke should make them the next addition to their young reader collection. This lovable duo are Frog and Toad for a new generation.—Heidi Dechief

School Library Journal

2019-12-08
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. (Early reader. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews