Product Description
ALSC Notable Children's Book
Kirkus Reviews Best Book
FOUR STARRED REVIEWS!
★ Booklist ★ Kirkus ★ Publishers Weekly ★ School Library Journal
Perfect for fans of firefighters and fire trucks, this energetic rhyming picture book shows how a fire chief and her crew keep their community safe.
. . . lights begin flashing,
and—CLANG!—the bells blast.
They leap into action—
they need to move FAST!
If a puppy is in danger or a café is on fire, Fire Chief Fran is ready to help! Featuring a strong female role model, a huge fire truck, and an action-packed story, this read-aloud is a dynamic introduction to a day in the life of a firefighter. Follow along as Fire Chief Fran and her team respond not only to fires, but also to injuries, blocked roads, and more. With an irresistible rhyming text, acclaimed author Linda Ashman celebrates the many ways that firefighters help their communities. The book concludes with an author’s note that is packed with further fascinating information about firefighters, their equipment, their fire trucks, their training, and more.
From School Library Journal
K-Gr 2—Less than 10 percent of firefighters are women. Even fewer are fire chiefs. Readers can count Fire Chief Fran, a Black woman, among that small, illustrious number. In this book, Fire Chief Fran and her crew tackle many incidents during one busy day in a small town. A cafe catches fire, a puppy gets stuck in a fence, a tree branch falls. There is little downtime. Firefighters must put out fires, perform rescues, and administer first aid. Ashman's text is serviceably crisp, but a few rhythmic blips will trip up readers performing the book aloud. A highlight and saving grace is how the same verse repeats when the alarm bells go off throughout the day. This repetition, much like the clanging of the alarm bell, does a great job alerting readers to an emergency. Carpenter's illustrations are digitally enhanced acrylic paintings, using a predominantly primary color palette: red fire truck, yellow turnout gear, navy blue shirts. In addition to Fire Chief Fran, other firefighters are depicted with a variety of skin tones, genders, and ages. Back matter provides a comprehensive look at firefighting as a profession, including the statistics. Ashman concisely answers many questions young readers may ask, including how quickly firefighters must get ready and what they do when they're not responding to emergency calls. VERDICT A must-have for all community helper collections.—Chance Lee Joyner
Review
★ "Ashman’s text is serviceably crisp... [The] repetition, much like the clanging of the alarm bell, does a great job alerting readers to an emergency. Carpenter’s illustrations are digitally enhanced acrylic paintings, using a predominantly primary color palette: red fire truck, yellow turnout gear, navy blue shirts. A must-have for all community helper collections." —School Library Journal, starred review
★ "An action-packed day in the life of a fire chief....The story, told in an engaging and varied rhyme scheme and accompanied by bright, engaging acrylic and digital illustrations, doesn’t shy away from the amount of work that firefighters need to do, including the physical and practical training that keep the firefighters performing at peak capacity.... This book is on fire!" —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ "Fire Chief Fran leads a crew of firefighters, and a trusty firehouse dog, through a busy shift of wide-ranging calls, linked by Ashman’s rousing, rhyming refrain: 'Lights begin flashing, and—CLANG!—the bells blast./ They leap into action—/ they need to move FAST!'...Carpenter’s striking, digitally finished acrylic art combines a primary-colors palette with tissue-paper texturing...Together with its detailed, q&a-style afterword, it’s a first-rate portrayal of first responders." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "It's rare to see a Black woman as a fire chief in picture books, but Fran leads her diverse team of firefighte
