Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2^-5. Matt loves fire trucks of all shapes and sizes. When he wakes in the morning, his first words are "fire truck." Before he goes to sleep at night, "fire truck" is his last utterance. One day he wakes up to discover (in a big, foldout page) that he has turned into a fire truck. After a momentary lapse of focus in which he stops to survey his equipment (giving kids the chance to bone up on their numbers 1 to 10), he sets off to save the community with his heroic deeds. Only pancakes can lure him back into his little-boy body and away from putting out fires and saving cats and teddy bears. Sis' simple line drawings and use of blocks of color (mostly red) show a charmingly different side of the familiar author-illustrator. Children will enjoy his depictions of the trucks and will have no trouble relating to Matt's fire truck fascination. See the review of Sis' new adult book, Tibet, on p.195. Kathleen Squires
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Sís blends simple text with bold pictures to give insight into one boy's vivid imagination. Matt's passion for fire engines permeates his whole life: "His first words in the morning were `fire truck.' The last thing he said before he went to bed was `fire truck.'" Not content just to play fireman, Matt wakes up and finds that he has actually become a fire truck. Only the insistent aroma of pancakes can bring him out of his enticing daydream. One simple sentence per picture allows for plenty of page turning without sacrificing the clear story line. A fold-out page of the fire truck accompanied by a numbered list of items to look for can be read as part of the narrative or returned to later as a find-and-count game. Matt's pajamas and cap are flamboyant red like his extensive collection of toy trucks, while other details of home are reduced to plain black outlines, showing how imaginary worlds can seem more real than everyday life. Small groups of toddlers will love tearing around the room making siren noises just like Matt. This short, active story (plus the undeniable allure of fire engines) is perfect for children who have just discovered the joys of pretending.-Torrie Hodgson, Burlington Public Library, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) Matt loves fire trucks so much that one day he wakes up as one. (His bed serves as the truck from his waist down while from the waist up he is still Matt-a fire-truck centaur, if you will). He zooms through the living room ("the neighborhood"), where he puts out a fire, rescues a cat, and saves a falling teddy bear. Only when he smells pancakes does he "park" at the kitchen table and become Matt again. Sís's deceptively spare style is the genius of this book-simple black lines against lots of white space emphasize the uncomplicated nature of Matt's world, while the almost exclusively red palette focuses all of our attention (like Matt's) on fire trucks. Poster-board quality paper will fare well in the eager hands of recent board book graduates as they delight in Matt's "this is my world" attitude-an attitude that begs the question, What do you want to be when you wake up? marilyn bousquin From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sís (Starry Messenger, 1996, etc.) celebrates a universally cherished childhood favorite--the fire truckin simple, clean lines and smooth planes of color. Matt loves fire trucks so much that one day he wakes up to find himself metamorphosed into one. Matt-the-truck has a heroic morning putting out fires and saving victimsa house cat and a beloved teddy bear. Matt-the-truck is transformed back into a little boy by the irresistible lure of pancakes. ``The fire truck parked at the kitchen tableand Matt ate his breakfast.'' Included within the book is a gate-fold illustration that opens up to reveal a large rendering of Matt in his fully equipped truck state; the three-page spread ingeniously incorporates a counting lesson, from one driver to ten boots. Understanding of the scope of youthful imagination, Sís fulfills one of a child's dearest fantasies, in crisp black line drawings on a white background with brilliant splashes of red, and only occasional bits of gold, brown, and blue-gray. The spartan application of color makes the intensely red fire trucks leap off the pages, perfect for point-and-name games and for inspiring similar flights of the imagination. (Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
