A young fire ant creates a revolutionary contraption to extinguish fires more effectively.
A mix of humor, drama, and a metric ton of ant spirit, Fire Ants is a fun family book that will have parents and children rooting for the hero until the last fire is extinguished.
This book is about fire fighting ants that started as a family card game and morphed into the children's story available today. The story starts off silly with zooming in to Antlanta and accidentally zooming in to an ant in the shower, but eventually settling in to a story about fire fighting ants. After nearly killing a citizen with a giant drop of water and then ruining the ant's house, the rookie fire ant suggests trying his new device (a hose). The crew give it a try and although it is a little tricky, they are able to work together and use the new hose. The little rookie fire ant gets a promotion and is a valued member of the team. It is a sweet and a little silly book with fun illustrations, large, easy to read font and a simple storyline that will make this the perfect book for young readers transitioning to being able to read on their own. I would recommend this book for children in the age 3-7 range. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!
This is a... strange, little book, but in a charming way. It features simplistic art of ants and other insects, which while not overly complex or detailed is still generally pleasant and slightly reminiscent of modern daytime cartoons for kids. The story itself is a bit hard to explain, though.
I suppose I could call it a comedic take on making a pun out of fire ants. Instead of the dangerous creatures of real life, these fire ants are ants who happen to be firefighters. The story relies heavily on puns and child-appropriate 'dark humour' (for example, a water droplet puts out a fire but also destroys the ant-house at the same time) to move along, yet somehow it mostly works. In fact, the cited incident is what pushes the plot forward and leads to more amusement of the slapstick and fourth-wall-adjacent nature. The latter is hard to describe, but basically involves a narrator who occasionally gets acknowledged as a disembodied voice by the characters.
Overall, it's the kind of amusing quirkiness that I can appreciate. I'd rate this a 3.5 (rounded up to 4) because it feels unique to me. But it's not without flaws, such as none of the characters having names - just an ant, the chief fire ant, a fire ant, etc. - and the pacing being odd. There are also moments where the art tells more of the story than the text, but I'm not sure if that's much of a downside since the target audience will definitely be looking at the pictures anyway.
I loved this children's book about "fire ants". Filled with clever humor, puns, and a story about the beginning of fire hoses.
A brave, intelligent fire ant comes up with a way to use a fire hydrant & hoses instead of their old method of catapulting water droplets that causes misfires & destroyed houses. Cute & funny, my kids & grandkids and I will enjoy this for years to come.
The author said it started out as a card game...I look forward to seeing that!
(I was able to preview this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.)
The village of Antlanta has a very inefficient way of extinguishing fires. Their method causes more damage than help to those who need their service of putting out a fire.
An adorable rookie ant on the force has created an invention that just might be the very thing they need to improve their firefighting skills and bring them success.
He is hesitant to approach the chief and pitch his idea to him. What if his plan fails? Oh my, is he brave enough to step forward and persuade his superior to give it a go? Will it bring success to a now failing firefighting force?
This book will spark conversations and readers will experience elements of humour, enjoyment of silly scenarios and discover puns throughout the story. The illustrations are colourful, full of action and very kid-relatable. This inspiring book will appeal to toddlers and young readers. I recommend this book highly.
Read through all three of Adam. K White's picture books, Fire Ants, Space Otters From Otter Space, and The Electric 66. Collectively they are high quality picture books with rather unique stories. I'm not a reader of picture books, so can't comment on whether your kiddo will like them or not, but was better than the stuff I had access to as a child. I believe they deserve to be looked at.
"It's so cute," "I love that they are fire ants who put out fires" "The pictures are all so colorful" These are the first things my kids said after finishing the book. I agree with them. The book is short and sweet. Long enough that they are satisfied, but short enough, they don't get bored. The pictures are bright and colorful. And the story is very sweet. I definitely would recommend to my friends for kids 5 and under. I'm not saying my older ones didn't like it. I believe they were hoping for more. Other than that cute book, it is definitely enjoyable for my whole family.
The fire ants have a town that is protected by the fire brigade. When they put out a fire, they are more likely to hit a fire ant or destroy the abode. The newbie firefighter has an invention he wants to try. What is it? Will it work on the job? Will the fire captain allow him to try it?
This is a cute story with wonderfully colorful illustrations. The ants are funny as they battle fires and make it worse for the other ants. This is perfect for your toddler with a simple story and all the colors.