Find Fergus

Will bespectacled brown bear Fergus ever get the hang of hiding? There he is, on the very first page, staring right at readers with a big goofy grin. "Fergus!" writes Boldt (Bad Dog), channeling the kind of mock indignation that the target audience relishes. "We already found you! That was too easy. Try hiding again." Concealment at the page's margin and with a passel of polar bears is a total bust, but Fergus never gives up--a subtle nudge to readers who find their own attempts at mastery frustrating. Finally something clicks in a "ONE. LAST. TIME" double gatefold, where the ever-exuberant Boldt pulls out all the stops: Fergus hides amid all the animals who have appeared with him on previous spreads--a plethora of elephants, bears, moose, squirrels, rabbits, as well as a fox and duck--and he's all but invisible. Here is living, if silly, proof that by keeping one's furry shoulder to the wheel, success can be achieved. The book concludes with now confident Fergus's list of other items that readers can seek and find in the final gatefold, including "a squirrel carrying a rabbit who is carrying another rabbit." Ages 3--7. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Nov.)

A young bear learns the nuance of blending into a crowd when playing a game of hide-and-seek. Much like any naïve 3-year-old, Fergus, a brown bear with round, black eyeglasses, must first understand the concept of hiding. Whether out in the open or next to or behind a slender tree, Fergus is told he is easily found and must try again. The continual voice of the speaker is that of a kind, patient instructor as Fergus follows directions, presents various choices for hiding places, and works to improve strategy. "We're going to help you," says the narrator. "Start by hiding in a crowd." In a group of small squirrels and rabbits, Fergus easily stands out, as he also does in crowds of large elephants or polar bears. Hiding among moose while sporting tree-branch antlers doesn't quite do it either. Finally, Fergus, willing to keep at it, is able to successfully find concealment among a bunch of brown bears wearing a variety of facial expressions. Simple, black-line drawings augment Fergus' efforts through each encouraging directive. Having mastered the idea, Fergus then hides within a large, diversified animal crowd splayed across a double gatefold to create a Where's Waldo--like challenge featuring all the previous characters together. For the ultimate seek-and-find activity Fergus then challenges readers to search within the gatefold for a long list of items. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size; double gatefold viewed at 50% of actual size.) An amusing introduction to the long-standing diversion of hide-and-seek books. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.