Fireman Fred

July 15, 2013
A title for beginning readers, this entry in the I Like to Read series follows Fireman Fred from the firehouse, out on a call and back again. The napping Fred, asleep in his gear on what appears to be a wooden table with wheels, his hat on the floor beside him, is awoken by the fire alarm. The firefighters rush to the truck: " 'Run! Run, ' calls the chief." Arriving at a house with bright orange flames coming out the upper window, the firefighters get the hose and extinguish the fire. They then rescue a woman's cat ("Mew, mew") from a tree and try to find the owner of a yipping dog. Failing that, Fred rides back to the firehouse with the dog, and the two curl up together on a real bed for a nap, though Fred's gear is still either on him or scattered on the floor. Indeed, firefighting purists will cringe at Reed's trademark gouache artwork. Her firefighters, rather than looking confident and professional, seem disorganized and even dismayed, their arms flailing about. There is no talk of taking care of gear nor anything about fire safety, and sadly, firefighting is reduced to putting out fires and rescuing cats stuck in trees. While the vocabulary is certainly easy and limited (alone and chief are the two hardest words), beginning readers will have heard enough stories about firefighters to spot the problems. (Early reader. 4-6)

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August 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-This easy-to-read title features appealing folk-art paintings and a correspondingly simple text. Fireman Fred is napping at the fire station when the alarm goes off, signaling a fire. Once he and his crew have successfully extinguished a house fire, they rescue the owner's cat from a tree. When they find a dog that no one claims, Fireman Fred adopts it. At story's end, he and his new pet are in bed, resting from their day's adventures. The text features simple words with much repetition, making it perfect for new readers. The brightly colored illustrations have an endearing, childlike quality. Houses are simple triangles on top of rectangles and perspectives are askew. Altogether, this is a kid-friendly presentation about a popular topic.-B. Allison Gray, Goleta Public Library, CA

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