Fire engines

Ages 2-5. Peopled with that old-time firehouse mascot, the dalmatian, Anne Rockwell's cheery introduction to fire trucks finds the canines performing fire fighters' typical duties. Simply structured sentences identify ladder trucks, pumpers, and a fire engine boat and capsulize their operation. A firehouse ambulance and chief's car also report to the blaze. As in her other popular vehicle books, Rockwell's colorful, clean lines and fundamental facts are unpretentiously delivered and will invite youngsters to learn about these traditionally favorite trucks. EM. 628.9'25 Fire engines / Fire fighters [CIP] 86-4464

PreS Another companion volume to Rockwell's fine basic transportation series, Fire Engines has all of the merits of the previous books: crisp, bright illustrations in a spectrum of primary colors; a direct, simple text that is personalized by the use of the first person to heighten the appeal to very young children; and solid information conveyed in a picture book format. The earlier volumes are ``peopled'' with animals (for example, Boats has bears and Trucks is filled with cats). The lively world of Fire Engines is fittingly and amusingly inhabited by dalmatians. The book invites comparison with Gail Gibbon's Fire! Fire! (Crowell, 1984), which is similarly bright and appealing, but which is written for a slightly older audience and therefore conveys more information on fire fighting in different locales, and on points of fire safety. Certainly there is room for both in libraries. Rockwell's book will appeal to the many who, like the young dalmatian in the book, want to be fire fighters when they grow up. Connie Tyrrell Burns, Portland Public Library, Maine (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.