Fire Night! [Paperback]

Monica Driscoll Beatty (Author), Christie Allan-Piper (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Fires are scary. The appearance of firefighters can be scary, too. In Fire Night! twelve-year-old Katy Wong demonstrates that fire education pays off. Katy applies what she has learned to overcome her fears and make the right decisions.

Not long ago, a newspaper advertisement made me aware of just how terrifying a firefighter in full protective gear can be to a small child. Until then, I had never realized how scary I looked and sounded. I thought that if I were a child, frightened by smoke and fire, the last person I would trust would be a faceless monster, breathing like a nightmare creature. But I know that hiding from this "monster" will ultimately endanger the lives of children and the lives of the firefighters working to save them. Approximately 1,200 children die in fires in their homes each year. I sincerely hope that reading Fire Night! will help to educate your children and reduce this staggering number.

Education is the key. By sharing this book w! ith your children, you will motivate them to listen carefully when fire safety is addressed at school. They may even ask to visit me at the fire house, where they are always welcome. (Roy A. Davis, World Record Holder, Combat Challenge, Tacoma Fire Department, Tacoma, Washington)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Author Monica Beatty has included basic safety tips that should be learned by children and adults in her engaging story of what happens to a family home when it catches fire. Nicely illustrated throughout by the artwork of Christie Allan-Piper, Fire Night is a must for all school and public library collections with its message of fire safety behavior for kids. -- The Children's Bookwatch The Midwest Book Review

This beautifully written and illustrated book captures the full range of emotions children might experience during a house fire. Rather than frighten, the story will inform and reassure children, by teaching them how to respond to such an emergency. In the main character, Katy, the reader is presented with a positive and

competent model of a child who can look after herself and her siblings, even her pet, during a crisis. This is a much needed book about a neglected safety topic, and one that every parent and child should read together. -- Dr. J Kevin Nugent, Founder and Director, The Brazelton Institute, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Health Pr (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929173317
• ISBN-13: 978-0929173313
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,189,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every home with children must have this book!, February 16, 1999

By 

Lee Ellis (Indio, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Night! (Paperback)

Every week, I read aloud to third and fourth graders at Hoover Elementary School in Indio, CA. I volunteer for this as part of the Rolling Reader program which gives free books to students IF a volunteer will commit himself or herself to consistent reading. I will do anything to give children an incentive to read, for I firmly believe that the future of our USA depends on what we, as a society, do in the present. While there are many wonderful children's books to read, there are also many bad ones. I have lamented the fact that too many of the book writers try to get on the level of the kids by lowering the standards. In essence, the kids have slang and bad habits fortified by many writers. This is similar to the fad today that people should be friends to their kids instead of parents. We can see the results of this tunnel vision in so many kids not really being well educated. And so it was with delight that I discovered "Fire Night" and other children's books written by Monica Driscoll Beatty and beautifully illustrated by Christie Allan-Piper. Mrs. Beatty obviously believes, as I do, that children need to be taught and have their interest for learning accelerated. In Fire Night, children are entertained by a very human interest story to which they can relate -- children alone in a home when it catches fire. Mrs. Beatty has discovered that many children are frightened by firefighters because of their alien-like uniforms and masks. Often the children run and hide instead of letting the firefighter rescue them. By creating an exciting story about 12 year-old Katy Wong and her younger brothers and sisters, she keeps the readers (or listeners, if an adult is doing the reading) captivated by the minute-to-minute description of one fearful night. Every member of the third and fourth graders (32 in all) paid close attention as I read this marvelous book to them. I even asked questions as I read and the answers came tumbling out from the youngsters. There is no slang in the book and no bad grammar as is often used in too many other books. In addition to the story, there is a full page of fire facts --what to do before a fire starts and what to do during a fire. The youngsters even get beautiful pictures, along with descriptions of the firefighters' equipment. Finally as a lagniappe, the children learn that under one of the scary uniforms of a firefighter who comes crawling through a second-story window to rescue them is a young Black woman, thus proving that heroes come in both genders and all races. I recommend this book as a must for all homes with children. And while you are ordering one, why not get two extra ones for your local school or library.