Customer Reviews

The Fire Engine Book (Little Golden Book)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a darling book this is! It's really realistic, shows the firemen actually fighting a fire. It's nice to see that because quite frankly, you don't really see that is most fireman books. I keep saying fireman instead of firefighter, because this book was written before there were women on the force and thus, show all men in the story. It's great though, seeing the old firetrucks and the dalmation. The book was written in 1950 and just has the most beautiful illustrations of the firemen and all that red! It shows the fire chief's truck, the hose car (truck) and the hook-and-ladder truck with the firemen hanging on for dear life alongside. The driver steers in the back as well which makes for tons of conversation with my little one. It actually shows the firemen hooking the hoses up to the fire hydrant, eliminating the confusion that all the water comes from the truck. I've had to explain that sometimes when there isn't a hookup, they bring a tanker truck with water. The firemen are actually using their axes to put out the fire in the antique store and are rescuing items as well with the net. However, our favorite part of the book is the very last page which says, "Hurray for the brave firemen!" I think that says it all.

This is a great book to teach children about fire and fire fighting. The illustrations of firemen (not firefighters) at work are very vivid and colorful. The illustrations use clear lines rather than sketch-type illustrations. The historical fire engines (circa 1950s) are retro-cool. My two-year old daughter learned a lot about fires and firemen from this book. Most importantly, it kept her interest and mine -- the parent who has to read it repeatedly.

I was looking to expand my little one's library, with his birthday coming up. He LOVES to read and loves Little Golden Books. I always did too, when I was young, and I wanted to collect a few more of the "classics" to add to our shelf. This one was on the list of the most popular, and since my son's grandpa is a fire chief, I decided it was a must-have. The illustrations are dated, but still fabulous, and the sound effects that are written into the story are sure to be a hit with my little boy who loves to make noise! I have a feeling this will soon become one of his favorites, right up there with the Poky Little Puppy, The Little Red Caboose, and Scuffy The Tugboat.

Some of the Little Golden Books are ideal for little bitty kids, and some are not. This one is not. The pictures on all the pages are indistinguishable from one to the next, and indistinguishable in and of themselves. They're busily depicting firehouse activities in a way that is meaningless to a really little kid.

And then, actually to the credit of the authors/editors, there are no really defined depictions of the fires, which leads to confusion about what the fuss is over. I appreciate that it is difficult to pleasantly depict what firemen do but this book was a pretty bad exposition of it. Perhaps this book is better for kids who are 5 or 6 yrs old, but it's alternately scary and uninteresting/confusing for pre-schoolers. Don't buy for a really little one.

this simple story with its rythmic prose and sounds aplenty has enthralled my twins. The pictures feature lots of firetrucks and gently show hose, axe and ladder action at the fire itself - just the sort of thing that they couldn't quite imagine on their own yet are terribly curious about. Most early fire truck books sanitize the actual firefighting ( I don't know, too scary or glamorizing fire perhaps?) but those just left my kids confused. What do firemen DO, Mommy?

The trucks are quite dated in the pictures - circa 1945 perhaps - so purists might object that they aren't what one sees today, but my kids have never noticed. To us, its just a beautifully illustrated, interesting book for the very young.

This is my second one because the bind fell off the first one and my 2 year old tore a couple of pages out while reading in bed. My son calls this the Ding Ding book as this is what the fire station says on the first page. Great classic book.

My son's favorite book. Every page has so much detail, he is enthralled and loves to read/look over and over again. A nice change of pace from today's children's books which are much more simple in their design. P.S.--Note that the fire chief looks like Tom Dewey (as in "Dewey defeats Truman")!

I loved this book as a child and now my young children love it too. The illustrations are fantastic... the kind of illustrations that remained implanted in the back of my mind for 30 years: it was a joy to see them again and I was surprised at how clearly I had remembered them. Your little "fireman" is going to love this book. Be prepared to make lots of siren and alarm noises.

The plot is simple. The firemen get on their fantastic trucks and go put out a fire! No injuries and apparently most of the property is saved. "Hurray for the brave firemen!"

Our son's 20 year old copy is still in his "things to save box". His father was a professional Firefighter during his baby hood so, naturally, we had lot's of "Firefighter/Firehouse" things for our son. This book he loved the most. So, we kept it for him. Now, his daughter has her own copy to enjoy! I was especially pleased to see that this was still available!!! Thank GOD for Golden Books! They're timeless!

My son is in love with firetrucks!! He really enjoyed going through this book and looking at pictures while I read to him.