My Mom Is a Firefighter

by Lois G. Grambling, Jane Manning (Illustrator)

Every little boy has a hero. Billy's happens to be his mom. Billy has two families—his mom and dad, and his firehouse "uncles," who work with his mom. Having a firehouse family is lots of fun. But Billy also knows that firefighters have an important job to do, protecting people and putting out fires. To get the job done right, they all have to work as a team—even Billy can lend a hand! From award-winning author Lois G. Grambling and New York Times bestselling illustrator Jane Manning comes a heartfelt story of a little boy who wants to be just like his mom when he grows up.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Storytime, Firefighters, Gender

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

I feel like this book wants to teach kids about fire fighting/what to do in case of a fire more than anything else, and I found myself a little bored.

However, I had been worried that in its defense of a woman being a firefighter it would be reifying the idea that that's exceptional, and I was grateful that it emphasize that the mom being a firefighter was anything exceptional for a woman (except for the fact that her 4 co-fire fighters are all men, sigh -- though I did appreciate that they weren't all white).

I also liked that the son takes a caregiving role and cooks at the end of the book :)

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a necessary book, and not because it skews gender roles. Nope, this is a necessary book because the main character, a boy of 8 or 9, is walking, exploring, and cooking independently. It's nice to see. I think it'd be a good book to talk about gender roles, and about fire prevention and safety, but it's also great to see a kid behaving responsibly by himself.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Mom Is a Firefighter is a realistic fiction book about a boy whose mom works at the fire department. His mom is the only woman that works there, but she is shown as doing all the same work as the men at the station. She is accepted and contributes. The boy likes that he has a second family at the fire department and he knows he is welcome there. There isn’t a very complex plot, but there is enough to keep younger children interested and engaged. The illustrations are cheery and enhance the text on every page.

[Julia McMenamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It explains what firefighters do day to day and also what to do if you ever experience a fire. Along with being informational, this book breaks the stereotype that firefighters are usually men. This book shows a female audience they can be anything they want to be!

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An elementary and up picture book about a child visiting his mother thefirefighter at work and all the parts of her job and then how his life is effected by her job.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 4 and up. A young boy's hero is his firefighter mom. An excellent book for teaching kids about firefighting and busting stereotypes along the way.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a touch on the wordy side for kindergarten, but overall it was a good fire safety/firefighter read aloud. I did like that the mom is a firefighter instead of the dad.

[Juliedrake05 · Rating 2 out of 5]

APA Citation: Grambling,L.(2007). My mom is a firefighter. New York, NY. HarperCollins.

Category: Picture Book Soak

Review:
I really wanted to like this book however I can't say that I did. I thought this would be a great book to read to students on Career day and I also love books that show women in traditionally male roles. The pictures are colourful and interesting to look at however the story itself just bored me. The writing was very staccato and I felt there were many parts that just did not fit and only served to stall the story. I am very disappointed to say that I would not recommend this book.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book where a young boy idolizes his firefighter mother and loves spending time at the firehouse with his "uncles," the other firefighters. The book explains in interesting detail what firefighters do for their job, all within the context of this young boy and his mother.

The illustrations are simple cartoons that show the equipment of the firefighters as well as a happy young boy in the firehouse environment.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story told from a little boys perspective about his mom who is a firefighter. The book gets into the details of the jobs around a fire house and the extended family that forms through being a part of the firehouse.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book showing a boy interacting with the fire crew and sharing some of what being on a fire crew entails. I liked how it showed them taking care of and sharing the responsibilities and encouraging the young boy.

[Angela Record · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great to show children a gender role reversal. Also its great to use to teach about fire safety. Also this book has good pictures.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story told from the point of view of the son who's mother is a firefighter.

[Sally Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for kindergarten children to learn about the life of fire fighters while on duty. It is also a great book to promote females as fire fighters!! Cute story!!

[Kaylen Matherly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book switches up the gender roles teaching children that women can be firefighters too. This would be a great book when learning about different careers. It discusses the life of a firefighter.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids enjoyed this one

[Jannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My storytime kids weren't quite at the level for this book yet, but of all the firefighter books our library system had, this was my favorite. Describes the job of a firefighter (some parts can be applied to first responders in general) from the family's perspective. In a field where few children's books depict a female firefighter in the illustrations, this book puts a woman front and center showing her active both in a male-dominated industry (The National Fire Protection Association reported that in 2012 only around 3.4% of career firefighters were women)and having raising a family. I also appreciated that her son was learning how to be responsible and volunteering to help out in the house, cooking dinner for his parents and further challenging traditional gender roles.
Some people in other reviews have commented that it's boring - but for a child who has a parent in a career involving public service and variable hours, this would be a great, realistic title with which they can identify.