Fergus and Zeke and the field day challenge

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

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 parachutewhich 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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.