Fergus and Zeke are excited when Miss Maxwell announces a science fair. Lucy plans to train the mice to run through a maze, but the mice don't want to BE and experiment - they want to DO an experiment. So Fergus and Zeke decide that while Lucy trains them, they will train her.

"Are children animals?" Zeke asked.
"I think so," Fergus said. "But I hear Miss Maxwell say the same things to them over and over. They seem very hard to train."
"There's only one way to find out," Zeke said. "We will have to do an experiment." ( )

This book was about children making projects for a science fair. Each child choose something to do. One did a solar system model, one planted seeds to grow, and one child made a maze for mice to run through. The little girl that made the maze trained the mice to run through it and she gave them a treat at the end. The mice had their own agenda and they would only run through the maze if the little girl cheered for them. Their were many science related topics in this book. ( )

Please see entire review, along with teaching ideas on Reading Rumpus: https://www.readingrumpus.com/2019/06/fergus-and-zeke-at-science-fair-by-kate.ht...

Fergus and Zeke at the Science Fair is a cute second in series book about two anthropomorphized classroom mice with lots of personality. I did not read the first in the series, Fergus and Zeke, but Kate Messner books are always a treat so I can imagine why there is sequel.

Fergus and Zeke at the Science Fair has many opportunities for interdisciplinary literacy for beginning chapter book readers, some solid vocabulary words related to science and the scientific method, as well as a cute story about classroom mice wanting to DO an experiment rather than BE an experiment.

With no ‘big’ themes to struggle over requiring teacher guidance, Fergus and Zeke at the Science Fair is a solid literary circles selection for grades 1 or 2 and/or a striving 3rd grade group - probably more of an individual selection rather than a whole class read. See teaching ideas below... ( )

My six year old (and I!) love the adventures of Fergus and Zeke. A fun book that is perfect is encouraging new readers. ( )

This book is really cute! Unfortunately, it hits right between my kids ages (10 and 4), so neither of them were particularly interested, but I liked it, and my younger daughter will probably love it in a couple of years! ( )