OUR COPY HAS THE SAME COVER AS STOCK PHOTO SHOWN. MINOR SCUFFING AND EDGE WEAR ON COVERS. SPINE STAPLES REMAIN TIGHT. PAGES INTACT. NO MARKING OR WRITING NOTED WITHIN BOOK.
I read this book to my daughter, and if she was doing the rating and reviewing, it would probably get 2 stars. There were no princesses, no unicorns and a distinct lack of Piggie and Elephant (her favorite series). She listened to me read it with polite indulgence and when done said, "Thanks daddy... can I pick the next story?" She had humored me enough. It was time to get back to the princesses and unicorns.
But I'm in charge of this review and I do the rating around here.
This book has a lot of sentimental attachment to me. It's one of the first books I remember having read to me, and one of the few I distinctly remember my dad reading. I remember sitting at the table, eating Oreo cookies, and having a glass of milk as my dad read.
My dad was also on the fire department, so when he read this, I knew I was getting the real inside information, not just the distilled kid take. This obviously was how it was.
In that regard, the book is actually pretty good. It does have a lot of details that I wouldn't necessarily expect in a kid's book (even down to explaining that people in the fire department have overnight shifts, and have to live part of the time at the firehouse). So would I suggest it? If you know a child into firefighters, fire trucks or anything like that, absolutely. If the child is like my daughter and prefers princesses, ponies and finds that a lack of pink in her book is a distinct disadvantage to the story... you may want to pass.
That said, it's still staying on our bookshelf. :)
We have read this book so many times. One of my child’s favourites. He loves firefighter books! The page with the equipment labeled is their favourite.
Another one that I just don't know if I had as a child. Something about the outside is so familiar, but nothing about the inside.
I can see why it'd be appealing to kids. Kids love trucks and they certainly love fire trucks. Giving some insight into what they do would work wonderfully for younger kids.