Big Yellow: Firefighting Superstar

by Polly Carlson-Voiles, Consie Powell (Illustrator)

This fun and informative picture book features Big Yellow, a personified water-bombing airplane who fights wildland forest fires by scooping water from nearby lakes. The story shows how Big Yellow helps fight fires, and explores underlying themes of what it means to gain self-confidence and to work as part of a team. Includes back matter with details about the CL 215 and CL 415 water-bombing aircraft, about forest fires, and about other aircraft that help with the important job of fire fighting.

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 15, 2021

About the author

Polly Carlson-Voiles grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spending memorable long summers in Hawaii, Virginia, and the north woods of Minnesota. Stray animals, wild animals, deep woods, ocean waves, storms and lakes helped shape her love for science and the natural world. During high school and college she discovered the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, which became a lifelong magnet. After graduating from the University of Minnesota in English and Art, she lived in California for several years before moving back to Minnesota to teach special education and English.

Polly's interest in writing for children ranges from poetry, picture books, non-fiction, and middle grade novels. Her teaching spanned grades K-12 in settings from elementary to juvenile detention to teaching teen parents. From her teaching Polly learned that books are windows, glue, tunnels, and telescopes for children at any level of learning.

While visiting her cabin on Lake Vermilion, Polly noticed a disturbance in the glassy water of the lake, only to watch a deer swim out into the water, pursued by a wolf. After several attacks the exhausted wolf swam back to land 50 feet from where Polly stood, camera-free but electric with interest. It is this wolf who worked its way roundabout into Polly's winter book, Someone Walks By, The Wonders of Winter Wildlife. She says it was this wolf and a frozen frog who inspired her to illustrate and write this book.

With their children grown, and both retired from teaching, Polly and her husband Steve moved up north to live full time in the wild and beautiful lap of the BWCAW, outside of Ely, Minnesota, where the wolves howl and leave their tracks at the bottom of the driveway.

Reviews

[Steve Voiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Yellow saves the town from forest fire and proves she can do a hard job. In the spirit of Katy and the Big Snow, Stanley Steamer and The Little Engine that Could, this picture book will delight young readers and teach them how forest fires are sometimes fought.

Back-matter details the fact about these amazing super tankers than scoop water from available lakes to drop on fires. The CL-215 and CL-415 are used around the country and inspired the author to create this story after a personal encounter on a camping trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.