Reading aloud to son... Man the first few chapters are brutal. I'm trying to convince him to hang in there. So many descriptions of food, places and people.
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It never stopped being over descriptive. The use of overly long names, uncommon (or made up names) and the over describing made the skeleton of the story hard to see or appreciate. Seriously both of us were groaning out loud in the last chapter.

"At the tall, pointing statue of General Montmorency, Fergus and the captain turned left and headed up into the labyrinth of narrow alleys. They hurried through square after familiar square, past fountains and sculptures, flower-stalls and candy-booths, and small, candle-lit shops selling intricately carved wooden figures.

Turning right at old Mother Bleeny's bagel-stand, Fergus and the captain emerged onto the bustling Boulevard Archduke Ferdinand with its tall, slightly shabby buildings...."

There about 5 more paragraphs of that. Something important happens at the end of those paragraphs but by the time we got to it we were just grateful the story was over. We already had to deal with this description of the town in the first chapter. I don't see why we had to read through it again in the last chapter.

2 stars for the presentation of the book. Great artwork throughout. ( )

Fergus lives alone with his mother and attends school on the ship "Betty Jeane" with five other students. The only class they have is "pot-holing". A box with wings flies into Fergus's room one night with a message warning him of danger. This leads to adventure with many crazy inventions and the discovery of what happened to his father and the truth abut the teachers/crew of the "Betty Jeane". ( )

Fergus Crane is a boy living with his mother Lucia (the inventor of the world's best cookie: Florentines) and attending a school on a ship. His father has been missing since he was born and his mother has been mum on the subject. One midnight, he awakens to a noise and discovered a flying box with wings and a message inside. His life changes. Fergus sets out on an adventure to find out all he can about his family and meets new and old friends and family.


This book is lovely and I believe every child, especially those with overactive imaginations, should read it. Like the majority of children's books, it does feature illustrations; though unlike most children's books, these pictures are found almost everywhere, even right between blocks of text. This presents an almost graphic-novel-esque feeling to the book. The story is also well written, and I look forward to reading the remaining books from this series. ( )

(For the whole series): own, truly exceptional children go on truly strange adventures. While each of these books could be read separately, they are definitely a series, as the kids all end up at the same crazy school in the end. As always, Stewart and Riddell have created a world full of odd inventions, odder people, and strange beasties of different shapes and sizes. The kids are spunky and resourceful. The characters would make great fun for make-believe play. The illustrations are amazing. Riddell has a style I would recognize anywhere, which complements Stewart’s odd brain.

Fergus Crane is a great addition to the already stellar list of books by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. The story centers around young Fergus Crane, who desperately wants to know more about his lost father. Every time Fergus tries to get information out of his mother she bursts into tears. Those aren't his only troubles though. He also has to deal with his new teachers who look an awfully lot like pirates, not to mention that the school is on a pirate ship, and when young Fergus wakes up to a knocking on his window one night to find a box with wings perched on his windowsill things get complicated. Inside the flying box is a note addressed to him with only 4 words. "your in great danger".
This book is a must read for any fan of Paul Stewart. With many characters that only Stewart could imagine and amazing pictures by Chris Riddell that serve to fuel along the imagination you wont put this book down until the very end. ( )