Five Little Firefighters
PreSchool-Grade 1—One might expect a book with this title to be a rhyming text or counting story, but this offering is neither. Instead, it tells of a group of firefighters who receive a call just as they are sitting down to dinner. They dutifully grab their gear, climb onto the truck, and speed through traffic to reach their destination. After they save the family and cat, they return to the firehouse, have dinner, and go to bed. The pictures mirror the text, with cartoon bubbles that indicate dialogue, while the action is narrated by a single sentence per page and occasional sound effects. The book's size, typeset, and simple pictures are reminiscent of Lois Lenski'sThe Little Fire Engine(Random, 2000). Although it is nice to see an old-fashioned-style book with a multicultural cast and a female firefighter, the inclusion of the word "little" in the title seems somewhat condescending and precious. An additional purchase.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.