About This Book:
Will the two classroom mice make it back to the bus on time, or will they be stuck on the farm forever? A funny adventure tailor-made for farm-loving kids.
Fergus and Zeke love being the class pets in Miss Maxwell’s class, and they always want to do whatever the students do. So when Miss Maxwell tells the class they’re going on a field trip to a local farm to help with the animals, pick some apples, and learn about where food comes from, Fergus and Zeke can’t wait to sneak their way onto the trip. Unfortunately, the farm is not as fun as the mice had hoped: while the children head off to care for the animals after sampling some honey, Fergus and Zeke become covered in the sticky stuff and lose sight of the class. What if the diminutive pair adapt a few farm activities of their own? With plenty of physical comedy and a few annoyed hens, cows, sheep, and goats, the latest tale about the endearing and enterprising duo will have readers in fits of giggles
*Review Contributed By Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
Intrepid Mice Down on the Farm
In this sixth adventure of Fergus and Zeke, Miss Maxwell has a surprise for the students, and this mice are interested as well. She brings in apples, and asks the children where they grow. The next day, she brings in vegetables, and even pots and dirt in which the children plant beans. They make posters showing how different plants grow. Neela talks about the fact that milk comes from cows, and while some kids don’t like milk, they DO like ice cream. Fergus and Zeke are fond of cheese, so rather interested in the whole process. Miss Maxwell’s surprise turns out to be a visit to a farm, where the children will pick apples and be able to take a pumpkin home. The trip to the farm is very exciting, and of course the mice manage to stow away in a back pack. Once there, the children get to sample honey, which Zeke manages to spill. Covered in the sticky stuff and separated from the class, he offers to be the tour guide for Fergus. The two try to gather and egg, to no avail, and are also unsuccessful in trying to milk a cow. None of the other animals seem pleased to see them, but they do have a good time swinging on a rope in the barn and lounging on a sunflower. They miss the school bus, but don’t seem too concerned, and Miss Maxwell comes back to talk to the farmer, so they just barely manage to sneak into her tote bag and make it home. Back at school, Fergus and Zeke are glad to listen to the students share with them all about the trip, even though they were there!
This is a great early chapter book series for readers, and I especially appreciated the information that was shared about how plants grow and the different food products that come from bees and cows. The illustrations about the mice trying to milk the cows was very accurate, and I’m not surprised they weren’t successful. I’ve seen middle school students who think that strawberries grow on trees, so this is really essential for young readers to understand. I definitely remember going to a Christmas tree farm in kindergarten, but budget cuts may mean that fewer students get to go on field trips. A virtual outing is better than none at all!
This is a great length for beginning readers to process, and the story moves quickly and has a lot of humor. Fergus and Zeke are a bit goofy, so it’s fun to watch their exploits.
The fact that this is a series will encourage readers to pick up book after book. Fans of Jarvis’ Bear and Bird, Michalak’s Frank and Bean, Cordell’s Poppy and Cornbread, and Clanton’s Narwal and Jelly, and other dynamic duos will be glad to join these intrepid mice on further adventures.
