A tension-packed mystery thriller involving the tennis circuit from Australia to Wimbledon.

Describes the parts of a fire engine and how fire fighters use them to fight fires.

discusses the different aspects of a fire engine and how they are used to help save people
1 book

Fire Engines by Anne Rockwell is an informative children’s book. It informs the reader of what a fire truck looks like as well as what the components on a fire truck do. For example, “Pumper trucks have hoses and pumps. Water is pumped from a hydrant. Hoses spray the water on fires.” This clearly explains what the hose does and how it works. The illustrations are clearly connected to the text of the book. That is important so that the reader can associate the two together, especially if they cannot figure out a word. I thought the illustrations were really clever because the narrator and fire fighters are Dalmatians and those dogs are typically associated with fire engines. I think the overall message or main idea is just about fire trucks in general. It tells the different parts and what these fire engines do. Overall, I thought this was a good book and someone who loves fire engines would love this. ( )

Summary: A little Dalmatian tells all that he or she knows about fire fighters and fire engines, and expresses his or her interest in being a fire fighter when he or she grows up.

Review: This book is very simple, yet very informative. It talks about different types of fire engines and what fire fighters do with some degree of detail, yet the language is very kid-friendly. The book is written in first person, and the illustrations are not exactly realistic (cartoon images of Dalmatians as fire fighters driving trucks and putting out fires), so it is not the best source of information about fire engines. That being said, it is a good book to begin introducing informational books to children, because the format is similar to the storybooks that they are familiar with. Also, what I really liked about this book is that the author never puts gender into it; many times fire fighters are stereotyped as males and called firemen. But the author never reveals the gender of the narrator, and uses the phrase "fire fighters" throughout the book, which I think is great.

Central Idea of Fire Engines: Fire engines and firefighters are very important and really awesome. ( )