Fire Engine Man

Andrea & David's "Man" Books

by Andrea Zimmerman, David Clemesha (Illustrator)

Calling all preschoolers—grab a hose and ladder—it’s time to put out fires!

Alarm rings. Lights flash. Sirens sound—FIRE!
Here comes the fire engine man. Dressed from head to toe in special gear, he drives his trusty fire truck to the scene and puts the fire out. It’s all in a day’s work for this brave firefighter.
Told in simple words from a little boy’s point of view, this action-packed picture book celebrates a child’s world of adventure.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Firefighters, Trucks, Juvenile, Transport

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 2007

About the author

Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha are married and have created several children’s books together, including Digger Man, Fire Engine Man and Trashy Town, an ALA Notable Book. Zimmerman was born in Ohio and grew up in New York, Utah and California. When she was young, she loved exploring nature, reading comic books, and riding her horse. She studied fine arts for children in college, then later went back to school at UCLA and became a dentist. Clemesha grew up in England and moved to the United States when he was 16. He always loved playing tennis, drawing and reading. He studied English in college and became an elementary school teacher. Zimmerman and Clemesha live in San Diego, California, with their three sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrea...

Reviews

[Pamela Hatch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fire Engine Man / by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha -- New York : Henry Holt and Company, c2007. (32 pages)

SUMMARY: Here comes the fire engine man! Dressed from head to toe in special gear, he drives his trusty fire truck to the scene and puts the fire out. It's all in a day's work for this brave firefighter! (bookjacket)

REVIEW: The book starts with the statement -- "I love fire engines" as the young boy plays with his toys that includes fire engines and firemen. He acts out the job of a fireman with his toys pretending to put out a fire in the playhouse. His actions turn into daydreams as he tells what he will wear and drive as a fireman. The story continues as to what firemen do at the station house and how proud his family will be of him...and then goes back to the pretend with the toys...and at the end includes his little brother who has joined in the fun -- "He can be a fire engine man, too."

Good story and good illustrations that could be used for those that like firefighters or to talk about jobs.

NOTE: there is a female firefighter in the story

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this with my toddlers for Storytime. I think it would be better for one-on-one sharing.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little surprised to see this children's picture book written in the future tense, that's not so common: "I will drive my own big fire engine. It will have a loud siren and flashing lights."

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This board book has bright pictures and simple words to delight the younger child. This book is all about the responsibilities and "fun" that firefighters have, from driving the truck to using the water hose. This board book is great for preschoolers-kindergartners. I would recommend this for any child who is curious about firefighters as well as those who love fire trucks.

[Jessica DeWitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine book about a boy who has a fascination with firefighters and firefighting, a rather common trope. He wants to bring his baby brother along/serve as a role model, which is cute, I guess. My daughter unsurprisingly was mainly into pointing out the babies, both human and bear, as well as the daddies and mommies.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book about a young boy imagining himself as a firefighter. I love how he uses the excuse of his little brother watching or visiting to point out certain aspects of the job and to highlight safety. Simple and toddler appropriate.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll be honest, nothing about this book stood out to me. To be fair I’ll give it 3/5 stars ⭐️ the most distracting thing was that some parent allowed their child to mark it up with crayon and then return it back to the library. All I could focus on was how rude that was.

[Paige M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read for before a fire truck visit. Preschool or toddler, very brief text, but covers a lot of the things fire fighters do.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boys loved it. It is about a boy wanting to be a fireman and having his little brother there.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute pictures, but I can’t get over the sexism in this series.

[Orion Kopf · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mom was pretty annoyed with the way this book is perpetuating stereotypes of fire fighters only being men. If it didn’t have that repressive choice of language it would be totally cute.

[Ally Salmans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a fine book. I read it for fire safety, and it worked really well for that. It is a super easy read. I don't think it is super exciting for a group story time.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I LOVED the illustrations in this book! I will be checking out the other Zimmerman & Clemesha on my next library visit for that reason.
I picked this book up for my two year old who loves firetrucks. I did like that it had simple sentences that fit a toddler's attention span, but the sentences didn't flow well together. It was hard to get a rhythm going while reading, and that was the main reason I didn't particularly enjoy the story overall.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another in the Digger Man series....which I have loved since my kids were tiny. Part of what I love about these books is the big brother/little brother dynamic. The illustrations are charming. There is good informational content too, at a very basic level. I nice story for little boys who are into firemen and their parents who are sick of reading about fire trucks.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for little ones learning to read.... A lot of sight words and new ones they need to sound out too. Matthew went through it pretty quickly; Daniel took a little longer but was still engaged. The illustrations capture little boys' imaginations about being a firefighter, and I love that the main character is so nice toward his little brother.

Format: Hardcover, Rodeo Library

[Yahira Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really cute. The words are small and beginning readers could read this book. The illustrations are wonderful. This book was about a little boy who wanted to be a firefighter The little boy described the life of a firefighter and how his brother could also be one when he got older. I enjoyed reading this book!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple book about a little boy who would like to be a fire engine man and all the things he plans to do when he is one. There is also a nice theme running through the book about his little brother and how he would show his little brother all of the things he does. The illustrations are simple but sweet and my 2yo son loved to look at them.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple text and colorful pictures tell the story of a young boy who would like to be a "fire engine man" when he grows up. The side story of him being a big brother and his friendship with his little brother is also very touching.

[Bobby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so tired of reading this book to my son. Since I brought it home from the library we're averaging about 2 reads a day. Simple story with basic illustration, but my he loves it so it must connect on some level that I don't understand.

[Sterrett Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Gabriel] It's good because it encourages kids to be what they want to be, but it's not reasonable because if you're a kid you can't drive a fire truck. 2 stars

[Matthew] I liked the pictures. 2 stars

[Daniel] The pictures were awesome. 5 stars

Read aloud by Gabriel on 1/7/13

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet book a young boy who wants to be a fireman and share the experience with a younger sibling. (Toddler)

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good choice for those looking for books and stories about fire fighters.

[Olson Family Matters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book.

[Anj · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 2 year old son loved this book. We might have some unhappiness when it gets returned to the library. It's not literary genius but enjoyable enough. The illustrations were really nice.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storytime - Fire Safety!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice illustrations and a very short text.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another story about the big brother from Digger Man. This time he imagines his life as a fire fighter. A useful preschool concept book for a community helpers unit.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy imagines what it is to be a firefighter!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is OK. The illustrations are OK. The text is OK. The story is OK. Nothing really stands out about this book, either good or bad.

[Erin Gruber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for a 3-year-old boy who loves fire engines and has a little brother.