Fergus: The Farmyard Dog

by Tony Maddox

Fergus the dog tries to take a nap in the farmyard but is kept awake by the many noisy animals.

Genres: Picture Books

26 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 1992

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergus the Farmyard Dog is an all-time favourite of mine. Fergus, who lives on a farm, is relaxing in the yard and just ready to fall asleep when he is rudely roused by his fellow farmyard friends. Upon awakening, Fergus hears an unfamiliar noise ‘Squeak….squeak….squeak’. Fergus decides to explore the farm to find where this sound is coming from. He visits the various animals in their usual surroundings, listening to their recognisable sounds; “He (Fergus) ran to the Paddock. The donkey went Hee Haw, Hee Haw!” To no avail, Fergus moves onto the next animal, listening attentively to their sound. Fergus’ mystery comes to an end when he finds the farmer sleeping on an old garden seat hanging from an apple tree making the, now familiar, Squeak. The famer fixes this problem with a drop of oil however; the story has a humorous ending. Fergus and the farmer begin to snooze together on the old garden seat and are once again interrupted by another unusual sound, the sound of a lawnmower.

Although modest English is used to describe a humble story, you will learn to fall in love with Fergus and his inquisitive mind. The story is written alongside colourful illustrations and is best suited to the Early Year’s age range. It introduces the child to a farmyard setting alongside a lovable dog, Fergus. The sounds and habitat of each animal living on the farm are explored. Each page consists of two/three sentences allowing the child to explore the picture and relate the words to direct imagery while imitating the sounds of the animals. Fergus is portrayed as a playful puppy which many children will relate to. The story would be a great introduction to children to a farmyard setting through thematic learning. The children would be amused imitating the sounds which the animals make and also learning the habitat of each animal.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a farm dog who wants to nap, but ends up going around the farm trying to find out what is making the squeaky sound he hears. Illustrations are lovely watercolor paintings. Read this for story time and the children would repeat the sounds of the animals and tell me what animals they saw.

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a dog. A great read aloud for children who love dogs and other animals.

[Raghavan]

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[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice illustrations of all the farm animals. Story is built upon Fergus trying to sleep and hearing all the animal sounds, but what is that squeak? Good for the young preschooler.