Rating: 5 speeding, life-saving stars
Who doesn't love a fireman? We are fans of all first responders in this house, but firefighters hold a special place in our hearts. Especially Ben's big little heart. I am sure that 99.8% of little boys go crazy when a fire truck speeds by, with sirens blazing, forcing cars to get out of the way. This is Ben--in fact, he starts crying and moaning when they pass, wanting to see them again. Ben really would love it if, one day, I put my blinkers on and go on the chase, following that fire truck in an exciting, traffic-dodging race to the emergency. He might pee his pants (which would happen anyway, of course, since he's still in diapers).
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| Fireman Ben to the rescue! |
Lorelei and I went to the library last Saturday and I spotted this book on the little shelf of board books. I'm so glad it jumped right out at me, because it's a great one. Firefighters are a pretty easy subject for a well selling book (along with trucks and princesses)--but there are definitely some duds out there. This one is great! It's a sturdy board book, which is essential in Ben's oops-did-I-rip-that hands, and is a poem, which is always nicer to read, especially to kids under 2 or 3. And it actually teaches small but important facts about firefighting; my two favorites: that saving lives is their most important jobs (many firefighter books shy away from this--their firemen rescue cats from trees or check the fire alarms in pizza parlors); and that cars need to get out of the way when a fire truck races past (all DC residents need to read this and re-learn that basic driving fact).
Ben has slept with this book since we checked it out from the library. I try and keep library books downstairs (after one got ripped up during a particularly destructive naptime) but this board book was an exception. It's way too cool a book to not read over and over and over and over again. I've not memorized it YET, but...give me another few days with it.
