Review - Find Fergus

Find Fergus
by Mike Boldt
Date: 2020
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: library

The hilarious mind behind I Don't Want to Be a Frog and Bad Dog brings picture book fans the super-funny, interactive story of Fergus the bear, who loves to play hide-and-seek with the reader . . . but can't really seem to get the hang of it.

Children will giggle from start to finish as they follow huge, loveable Fergus and see all the silly ways in which he is TERRIBLE at playing hide-and-seek -- such as hiding behind a VERY tiny tree ("Found you, Fergus! That was too easy!") or hiding in a giant crowd of bunnies and squirrels ("Try bears, Fergus. Bears!").

But wait -- the game isn't over yet! The last two pages fold out into a giant panoramic look-and-find scene, where Fergus is well and truly hidden, and young readers can have fun looking for him and lots of other silly details in the the crowd. There's a ton of play value in this adorable book, and children will want to come back to it again and again.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Find Fergus was a little underwhelming for me. The illustrations are cute and the premise is solid... but it's just not my thing. I've never really been big on Where's Waldo? and this is just a variation on that. Sort of.

Fergus the bear is really bad at hiding. Most of the book is taken up by his increasingly successful attempts to blend into a crowd. I don't think that part of the book has all that much re-read potential. At the end, though, Fergus gives the reader a list of 14 things to find other than him... so that could keep readers busy for a while.

This is fine if you love those books where you have to find things. The writing is solid and the premise is sound. It's just not for me.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5