Diary of a Firefighter

Diary of a . . .

by Angela Royston

This book takes a fun look at a typical week in the life of a firefighter. It is written in the form of a first-person diary and looks at some of the key skills that a firefighter needs and how they became a firefighter. The endmatter includes a spread on how readers can start their own diary.

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

Here is some brief information about myself.

I’m interested in science because it helps us to understand the world. I enjoy finding out about new things and then working out how to write about them in a way that is both clear (and accurate) but which also conveys my own excitement and interest. I particularly like writing books that are fun, and I have been lucky to have had so many chances to do so.

I was born in Yorkshire in England, but grew up in Stranraer, a small town in south-west Scotland. I graduated from Edinburgh University and then came down to London, where I have lived ever since. I enjoy reading novels, watching films, and walking in the countryside.

Reviews

[Brittani Laski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We have been talking a lot about community helpers and today we are going to focus on firefighters. In this story,Diary of a Firefighter, we are going to follow this firefighter around for a whole week. What types of activities do you think happen in the life of a firefighter? (Children's responses) It says Diary of a Firefighter. Do you know what a diary is? (Children's response) A diary is writing that a person does to reflect on what happened each day. Also, sometimes people include pictures of what happened on that day in their diary.(Show them a page in the text) Does anyone have a diary or do your parents keep a diary? (Children's responses) Everyone's diary is different and I am excited to explore this firefighter's life through his diary."

With this text, I...
-Alert children to the unusual features of the text
-Draw attention to its genre
-activate prior knowledge


I chose this text to complete by text set because I wanted a nonfiction work that added a different genre. My students enjoyed seeing the pictures and what someone does in their job. I liked how the text was written in diary form, so they could see a selection that was written a little differently. The conversations about what a diary is prior to reading the book really helped by allowing the students to understand how the book was laid out.

[Karlie Rowan]

This book is an informational nonfiction book, meaning that it is intended to inform through the use of facts. It is in the form of a first person diary and takes the reader through a typical week of being a firefighter. It shows all of the tasks and responsibilities that firefighters have. The target audience for this book are grades 1-3.

The text that I chose to pair with the Diary of a Firefighter is called My Mom is a Firefighter by Lois G. Grambling. This book is a realistic fiction book, meaning that it contains made-up characters but is a situation that could happen in real life. The target audience for this book is K-3. This book is about a child who's mom is a firefighter. He goes to work with her a lot to lend a helping hand and sees first hand what being a firefighter is like.

I chose to pair these books because they have a similar target audience so a child who reads one book can also read the other. They also have a coinciding theme which is firefighters. After reading Diary of a Firefighter, a child can use that knowledge of what the career really consists of and can apply that to the other book when reading it to gain a deeper understanding of the characters.