Fire Ants

by Adam K. White

A young fire ant creates a revolutionary contraption to extinguish fires more effectively.

A mix of humor, drama, and a metric ton of ant spirit, Fire Ants is a fun family book that will have parents and children rooting for the hero until the last fire is extinguished.

31 pages, Paperback

Published October 18, 2021

Reviews

[Angie]

This book is about fire fighting ants that started as a family card game and morphed into the children's story available today. The story starts off silly with zooming in to Antlanta and accidentally zooming in to an ant in the shower, but eventually settling in to a story about fire fighting ants. After nearly killing a citizen with a giant drop of water and then ruining the ant's house, the rookie fire ant suggests trying his new device (a hose). The crew give it a try and although it is a little tricky, they are able to work together and use the new hose. The little rookie fire ant gets a promotion and is a valued member of the team. It is a sweet and a little silly book with fun illustrations, large, easy to read font and a simple storyline that will make this the perfect book for young readers transitioning to being able to read on their own. I would recommend this book for children in the age 3-7 range. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

[Anomaly]

Cute and Quirky

This is a... strange, little book, but in a charming way. It features simplistic art of ants and other insects, which while not overly complex or detailed is still generally pleasant and slightly reminiscent of modern daytime cartoons for kids. The story itself is a bit hard to explain, though.

I suppose I could call it a comedic take on making a pun out of fire ants. Instead of the dangerous creatures of real life, these fire ants are ants who happen to be firefighters. The story relies heavily on puns and child-appropriate 'dark humour' (for example, a water droplet puts out a fire but also destroys the ant-house at the same time) to move along, yet somehow it mostly works. In fact, the cited incident is what pushes the plot forward and leads to more amusement of the slapstick and fourth-wall-adjacent nature. The latter is hard to describe, but basically involves a narrator who occasionally gets acknowledged as a disembodied voice by the characters.

Overall, it's the kind of amusing quirkiness that I can appreciate. I'd rate this a 3.5 (rounded up to 4) because it feels unique to me. But it's not without flaws, such as none of the characters having names - just an ant, the chief fire ant, a fire ant, etc. - and the pacing being odd. There are also moments where the art tells more of the story than the text, but I'm not sure if that's much of a downside since the target audience will definitely be looking at the pictures anyway.

[Gina Rae Mitchell]

Fire Ants by Adam K. White is a beautifully illustrated children’s picture book.

The Antlanta village fire department needs a better system to put out fires. Their current ways result in more damage than help.

A young rookie ant on the force has a plan to improve their firefighting. Is he brave enough to present it to the chief? Will his plan fail?

This cute story, suitable for toddlers and young readers, offers many opportunities for adults to connect with children through discussions.

The tale is told from the view of a humorous narrator, giving readers of all ages a laugh or two through silly situations and puns.

Fire Ants will be a pleasant addition to all libraries catering to youngsters.

4.5 of 5

[K T]

I loved this children's book about "fire ants". Filled with clever humor, puns, and a story about the beginning of fire hoses.

A brave, intelligent fire ant comes up with a way to use a fire hydrant & hoses instead of their old method of catapulting water droplets that causes misfires & destroyed houses. Cute & funny, my kids & grandkids and I will enjoy this for years to come.

The author said it started out as a card game...I look forward to seeing that!

(I was able to preview this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.)

[Storywraps]

The village of Antlanta has a very inefficient way of extinguishing fires. Their method causes more damage than help to those who need their service of putting out a fire.

An adorable rookie ant on the force has created an invention that just might be the very thing they need to improve their firefighting skills and bring them success.

He is hesitant to approach the chief and pitch his idea to him. What if his plan fails? Oh my, is he brave enough to step forward and persuade his superior to give it a go? Will it bring success to a now failing firefighting force?

This book will spark conversations and readers will experience elements of humour, enjoyment of silly scenarios and discover puns throughout the story. The illustrations are colourful, full of action and very kid-relatable. This inspiring book will appeal to toddlers and young readers. I recommend this book highly.

[Donna Maguire]

I read this book with my five-year-old daughter and we really enjoyed it

The story was easy to follow and my daughter was able to read the book to me which she really enjoyed as it helps her get more involved

As a mum I liked the underlying theme for the story as well

The illustrations for the book were lovely too and really brought the story to life.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended and a fun read!

[Vanessa Krauss]

Read through all three of Adam. K White's picture books, Fire Ants, Space Otters From Otter Space, and The Electric 66. Collectively they are high quality picture books with rather unique stories. I'm not a reader of picture books, so can't comment on whether your kiddo will like them or not, but was better than the stuff I had access to as a child. I believe they deserve to be looked at.

[Mrs. Elliott]

This was a fast cute read!! My four year old loved it.

[Dominique Valiquette]

"It's so cute,"
"I love that they are fire ants who put out fires"
"The pictures are all so colorful"
These are the first things my kids said after finishing the book. I agree with them. The book is short and sweet. Long enough that they are satisfied, but short enough, they don't get bored. The pictures are bright and colorful. And the story is very sweet. I definitely would recommend to my friends for kids 5 and under. I'm not saying my older ones didn't like it. I believe they were hoping for more. Other than that cute book, it is definitely enjoyable for my whole family.

[Anna Fox]

This was a cute story and I liked the illustrations.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Shari Lane]

rookie

This is a cute story of courage and determination. Showing that new things can be useful. Children love to hear it.

[Sheila]

The fire ants have a town that is protected by the fire brigade. When they put out a fire, they are more likely to hit a fire ant or destroy the abode. The newbie firefighter has an invention he wants to try. What is it? Will it work on the job? Will the fire captain allow him to try it?

This is a cute story with wonderfully colorful illustrations. The ants are funny as they battle fires and make it worse for the other ants. This is perfect for your toddler with a simple story and all the colors.

[Sentinelle23]

❤️🤗I love it!!


In the little ant village, life is very sweet.

The fire company is well equipped and makes the youngest ants dream...

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Excellent surprise with a very good funny story, very beautiful, joyful drawings in beautiful colors, very pleasant to read!

I highly recommend!!

[Karen Siddall]

Bright colors, literal humor, and ants fighting fires: everything my boys would have loved when they were littles.