Customer Reviews

Fire Fighters

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

 

 

Except for the handsome-looking dalmations that appear in place of people, everything in this book is realistic. My 2 1/2 year old boy loves to repeat the sound of the water whooshing from the hose, and he's excited when he sees a pole he can slide down at the playground, because it's just like the pole in this book's firehouse. For this author, "Fire fighters" is the best hit in our house.

My two-year old is fascinated with this book, and has been for months. The "fire dogs" work very well for her because she is interested in animals like most children her age. The fact that the fire fighters are dogs adds a playful element to the book. She loves to say "Whoosh" when she sees the hoses at the beginning and end of the book. She also likes the middle two pages which must be turned in a vertical orientation -- once this is done, a scene is revealed that is more dramatic than the rest of the book due to its larger size. From my own experience, I think this book is very appealing to a young audience, and conveys the spirit of fire fighting with as much detail and accuracy as is called for at this age.

An aunt gave this book to my son 10 years ago. It quickly became one of my son's favorites. As we've added 3 more sons to our family this book has been a favorite with them all. What little boy doesn't love firefighters and dogs? It has just the right amount of words on the page and enough things going on in each picture to point out our favorites on each page. I just came to look it up so that I can buy one for each of my boys. I will give it to them when they have children of their own so they can have the fun of enjoying this favorite story through their child's eyes.

Writing as the daughter of a fire fighter, there's too much wrong with this book. From the way the fire fighters get into their boots & pants separately, to the page where we see fire fighters without a hose running through thick grey smoke down a 2nd floor hallway (ostensibly to rescue someone), to their return home to eat dinner before they clean the trucks and other equipment, almost every page has something incorrect on it.

Several pages into the book, the orientation shifts for one page only and the book must be turned sideways to see the picture of a ladder, propped against a burning building with two Dalmatian fire fighters on it. I understand the concept of wanting to accentuate the length of the ladder and the fire fighters being high up on a ladder, but it seems contrived and doesn't work well.

Also, I'm certain there's a reason why the fire fighters needed to be Dalmatians rather than actual humans, but it escapes me. It seems like an odd choice to make for a book that purports to show what real fire fighters are like...