A Fire Engine for Ruthie [Hardcover]

Lesléa Newman (Author), Cyd Moore (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2004 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Ruthie loves to visit Nana, but they don’t always like to play with the same things. Ruthie loves fire engines and motorcycles, while Nana loves dolls and dress-up clothes. Nana’s neighbor, Brian, gets to play with fire engines and motorcycles. So why doesn’t Ruthie? Energetic illustrations capture the loving relationship between Ruthie and Nana in this insightful and sensitive story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As with Newman's The Boy Who Cried Fabulous (reviewed April 12), the author here introduces a protagonist with interests that buck societal stereotypes. Ruthie and her grandmother spend lots of time together, buying Ruthie's favorite foods, checking out her favorite books and playing on her favorite swing set. But with each outing, Ruthie longingly observes the neighbor boy, Brian, playing with his noisy vehicles. " 'Do you have a train to play with at your house, Nana?'... 'No,' says Nana, 'but I have some beautiful dolls waiting at home for you.' " While Nana encourages tea parties and flower painting, Ruthie prefers the roar of toy motorcycles and fire engines. Moore (I Love You, Stinky Face) balances the enjoyable times the pair shares (as in a vignette of their playdate at the park) with the slight disappointment Ruthie feels when her preferences don't mesh with Nana's. The vibrant watercolors pack in plenty of detail and the cheery hues of the busy spreads echo Ruthie's sunny optimism, as do her short, curly red locks. Nana eventually learns to let her granddaughter be her guide into more boisterous play, though readers may feel that the ending goes too far when Nana gets carried away with Brian's trains herself. Young and old will likely appreciate both protagonists' points of view. Ages 4-8.
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From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–Ruthie is visiting her grandmother for a few days. Coming back from the grocery store, they pass a young neighbor, Brian, playing with a fire truck. Ruthie hopes that Nana has a truck like that at her house but she doesn't, and the woman suggests that they play with dolls instead. Before long, the girl has an imaginary fire going and turns a cardboard box into a pretend truck. The next day, Brian is playing with a train set. Ruthie is not interested in putting on a fashion show with dress-up clothes, so she creates a train out of chairs. So it goes until Nana asks her what she'd like to do, and Ruthie asks to visit Brian. They play with all sorts of transportation toys and when Nana arrives to pick up her granddaughter, she joins in the fun. The next day, the two visit the toy store to buy a fire engine and a train. Moore's realistic illustrations, done in watercolor, are pleasant enough, but they cannot carry this predictable story. Old favorites, such as Charlotte Zolotow's William's Doll (HarperCollins, 1972), do a better job of addressing issues of male-female role expectations.–Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; New title edition (August 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618159894
• ISBN-13: 978-0618159895
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #531,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great for tomboy's, March 23, 2005

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fire Engine for Ruthie (Hardcover)

This is a cute picture book about a little girl named Ruthie. She is visiting her Nana and her Nana has lots of things planed from them to do together like play with dolls and have tea parties. Ruthie does these things with her Nana but she doesn't like them very much. Ruthie likes to play with toys like trucks, cars, and trains. She see a little neighbor boy playing with thes things and she tells her Nana she wants to play with him. Nana lets her visit and once Nana sees how much fun Ruthie is having she joins them as well!

I liked that the book showed it's ok for girls to like to same toys as boys and for boys to enjoy things that girls like as well.

I would recommend this book to others. Girls who enjoy playing with "boy toys" will relate to Ruthie well.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 Nana Gets Her Groove Back, December 30, 2005

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fire Engine for Ruthie (Hardcover)

When curly-headed Ruthie's visits her grandma, "Nana" doesn't seem to have a clue about her granddaughter. She doesn't understand that Ruthie loves the fire engines and trains and motorcycles with which young Brian plays, even though she asks Nana if she has those three days in a row. Nana has a good heart; she simply doesn't own them. Instead, Nana suggests that they paint flowers, have a tea party, and throw a fashion show. Ruthie, however, just agrees to these activities, "even though she really doesn't like" them.

Nana fails to notice that Ruthie always inserts Brian's more exciting toys into the pretend play and painting that she and Ruthie do together: A motorcycle appears in Ruthie's daisy picture, and she pretends to smell fire. Nana appears oblivious to Ruthie's interests, and Ruthie's imagination has not yet developed enough to play without real-looking toys. For example, Ruthie makes a pretend fire truck from a box, but she loses interest because it "has no black-and-white dog sitting up front," and "no silver ladder that slides up and down and no yellow hose to unwind." The two are so out of touch that the book's funniest line occurs on day four, when Nana once again asks Ruthie, "What would you like to do today?"

"Ruthie tells Nana, 'I want to play with Brian.'" This comes as no surprise to the reader.

To make a long story short (and, unfortunately, the book does seem longer than its 32 pages), Nana finally understands Ruthie's need for more exciting, action-oriented toys and play when they visit Brian. Nana becomes involved with the kids, and even "buys a fire engine for Ruthie, a train for herself, and two motorcycles to share." The book's colorful pictures--especially one of Nana all dressed up in a feather boa and a floppy orange hat--maintain interest, even though Nana sometimes looks like a teenager. In fact, Nana neither looks nor acts much differently from a parent who doesn't know his or her own child. Real generational and gender themes are portrayed so subtly that the book sometimes lacks warmth and a feeling of authenticity. The book could be useful for instructional and counseling purposes, and it might be fun for grandparents to read with their extended family.