Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms by Christine Kole Maclean

Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms by Christine Kole Maclean, illustrated by Mike Reed

Rating: 5 stars

I always go on a hunt for books for birthdays and other special occasions.  I try and find a bunch of books that I think the particular child would like, and then I check them out at the library to preview them, and then we buy one or two for the child.  Well, I kind of ran out of time for my very best friend's son's 4th birthday and I had to do what most people do: buy a book without reading it first!  Gasp!

Now that you've gotten over your shock, I'm here to say that the gamble work.  This particular little boy is happily in the Firefighter Stage, which I hear is inevitable and lasts awhile.  I had tried to find other books on firefighters, but when I came across this one and decided to take the risk.  I am glad it was good.  My best friend reported back to me on his birthday that it was great and the birthday boy loved it, so I checked it out to make sure she wasn't just being polite.  (Unlikely.  We've been friends far too long for that.)

This book is about a big brother and little sister who have several imaginative scenarios while playing in their house, supervised by their mother.  They pretend to be firefighters putting out a fire, police officers capturing criminals, EMTs taking care of victims, construction workers building some pillow thingie, helicopter pilots rescuing people from "gigantic storms," and astronauts going to the moon.  And Mars.  The great illustrations show the brother and sister: a) playing together really happily (the little sister gets a special role in each situation), b) using normal household things in a super creative way, and c) the mother sometimes supervising, sometimes playing right alongside them.  What great things to see!

After each little scenario, the mom requests a hug, but the little boy is too busy fighting fires or rescuing people, to which the mom replies: "Even firefighters (or EMTs or...) hug their moms!"  She gets rebuffed every time until the end, when he finally gives her a hug (the illustration is very sweet) and explains to his little sister, "Even firefighters hug their moms!"

Very, very cute book for a bunch of different reasons!  The copy from the library is so beat up...it looks like a lot of people agree with me that this book is very much worth reading. 

So, happy birthday, G!