A Visit to the Fire Station

by Blake Hoena

Describes typical things encountered at a fire station, including equipment, workers, and different trucks, and discusses various things firefighters do while at the station.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Nonfiction

24 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Blake A. Hoena grew up in central Wisconsin, where, in his youth, he wrote stories about robots conquering the Moon and trolls lumbering around in the woods behind his parents house, and the fact that the trolls were hunting for little boys had nothing to do with Blake’s pesky brothers. Later, he moved to Minnesota to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Since graduating, Blake has written more than thirty books for children, including retellings of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Perseus and Medusa myth. Most recently, he’s working on a series of graphic novels about two space alien brothers, Eek and Ack, who are determined to conquer our big blue home.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Lauren Innes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
This book stands as an illustrated introduction to the various elements of a fire station. It is divided into 4 subsections, each narrowing in on a different fire station aspect, including: an overview of the fire station, the trucks and gear, what can be found around the fire station, and how the people who work at the fire station have a variety of important jobs. Additionally, this book includes a glossary of potentially confusing vocabulary words that independent readers of the text may struggle with, such as bay, dorm, and gear (p. 22). Furthermore, through connecting illustrations and relatively simple language, this book exists as a child-friendly overview of what the fire station is all about.

Response:
I think this book is an excellent tool for beginning readers, because of the various aspects it includes within it. For example, it presents a table of contents page that gives readers an overview of the various brief subsections that exist within the book. Also, it includes a glossary of terms at the end of the book, which includes the definition of vocabulary words that may have come across as unfamiliar or confusing to the reader. I really thought it was a strong characteristic of the book that it included this glossary, because independent beginning readers could refer to this list if they were struggling to understand a particular phrase in the text because of an unfamiliar word. Additionally, the book includes an index/word list (p.24) with accompanying page numbers for each word. The vocabularies listed in the index are all important words that were used in the book, and give readers a reference as to where those words or aspects of the story can be located. Moreover, this book includes a list of related internet sites that could potentially accompany the book if one desired to learn more about fire stations and fire safety (p.23). With all of this considered, this book was also notable because it contained all of the outstanding elements of literature (TMY, 2010, p.9). Due to its informational genre, the book did not contain any relatable child protagonists, because there weren’t really any characters in the book. However, the illustrated stood as relatable to children because they were realistic in nature and did include pictures of age-appropriate children, and some other child-friendly characteristics, like Dalmatians. As well, the images depicting children in various settings around the fire station were shown acting in ways typically would behave. For example, when a fire engine’s flashing lights and loud horns were being addressed; the accompanying picture for this text was an image of a young girl holding her hands over her ears with a shocked look on her face (p.7). I found these illustrations to really be relatable to the ways in which children behave in these situations. This particular picture of the girl holding her hands over her ears reminded me of times I’ve attended parades and seen the many young children grow frightened over the loud sirens of the fire trucks. Conclusively, I think this book deserves a 5-star rating because it expands awareness about fire stations and their various characteristics while encompassing child-friendly language and illustrations. I also think it is 5-star worthy because of the various book elements it introduces young readers to, including a glossary, table of contents, and index.

Classroom Connection:
I think a great accompaniment to this book would be to have children expand their awareness further on this topic by visiting one of the companion websites listed within the book itself (p.23). I visited one of the websites, (http://www.usfa.fema.gov/kids/flash.shtm) and found it had a surplus of kid-friendly information about home fire safely, smoke alarms, how to escape a fire, and also had some accompanying worksheets relating to fires and fire safety, including a crossword puzzle, coloring pages, and a word search. Keeping this in mind, students could be divided into 3 groups (or 6 groups if the class is large) and could each be assigned one of the 3 topics presented on the website (2 groups/topic if using 6 groups) to do further research on. Students in each group could work together to compile findings regarding their assigned subject and create a poster to help them present their information to the class in the way they deem most fit for their topic. (i.e. students w/ fire safety can make a list or chart of the do’s and don’ts to prevent a fire) Additionally, the website provides a way for students to become “Jr. Fire Marshalls” by taking a short quiz assessing them over the knowledge they are intended to acquire through the 3 topics presented on the website. Perhaps after each group presents their findings and each subject is thoroughly discussed as a whole class, students could be given the opportunity to become “Jr. Fire Marshalls,” which earns them a certificate if they successfully past the quiz. For a modification if not enough computers are available for a whole-class, the teacher could make up her own version of the quiz on print-format using the questions given on the online assessment, and she could print out certificates for the students in advance.

Text Complexity:
According to scholastic.com, the interest level for this book k-1. It has a GLE of 1.7, and a lexile measure of 420. A guided reading level was no available. Considering this information, this book should be suitable for a read aloud and or an independent read for first graders. Furthermore, with only 123 words; it is undoubtedly appropriate for beginning readers.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent easy reader non-fiction piece to introduce readers to a fire station. The layout is simple and memorable, so young readers know what to expect as they turn the page. On the left side, one or two sentences share what is being seen in the photograph on the right side of the page. For further study, the book includes a glossary, book list, internet sites, and an index.

Reviewed from a library copy.