Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill

Miss Mingo

by Jamie Harper

Perfect for National Fire Prevention Week, October 4-10, 2009
It’s Fire Safety Week in Miss Mingo’s room, which means it’s time to learn what to do in case of a fire. Of course, this isn’t your typical classroom, and Miss Mingo isn’t your average teacher! Alligator, Panda, Octopus, and the others work hard to master the rules of fire safety and perform the perfect fire drill, but thinking about fire is a bit nervewracking, and each of them reacts differently - often with hilarious results. Sprinkled with fascinating facts about animal behaviors, this second story about the characters in Miss Mingo’s one-of-a-kind class is sure to appeal to readers of all stripes.
Stop! Drop! Roll! Learning the rules of fire safety is a lot more fun (and less scary) when demonstrated by a charming and diverse group of animals.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, School, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Young Readers

40 pages, Hardcover

First published July 28, 2009

About the author

Once upon a time, I was a pastry chef, and before that I worked in an office, crunching numbers. Writing and illustrating children's books is by far the best job I've ever had (well, that is, after being a mom). I fell in love with picture books from reading so many to my children. Then I took some classes at MassArt and tried my hand at making one myself. I got my first job illustrating a poem for Click magazine in 2001. Two years later my first picture book was published. Now I'm working on lots more.

I live with my husband and three girls in a small town just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. My kids give me lots of ideas for stories and the pictures that go with them. Every morning, before I start working, I eat one giant malted milk ball (I tell myself it makes me more creative).

Ten Things You didn't Know about Me

1. My favorite book as a child was Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.

2. I always carry some penny candy in my purse, just in case.

3. Sometimes I sneak out to the movies when I should be working.

4. One day, I'd like to work for Pixar and make an animated movie.

5. I got the idea for Miss Mingo from drinking so many Snapple® iced teas.

6. My favorite part of a picture book is the endpapers.

7. I can't resist collecting things – my biggest collection right now is of magnets. When I was little, I collected pigs and Wacky Packages.

8. My girls, my husband (even the neighbors) pose for me if I need models for an illustration.

9. I love Mud Pie ice cream, especially when it's soft and soupy.

10. When I was doing research for Don't Grown Ups Ever Have Fun?, I stuck cooked pasta to the kitchen walls to see if it would stick... and all of the wall paint came off with the pasta!

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just tries to do to much, helping calm fears about fire dills and giving information about animal behaviors.

[Jan Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too tedious. It combines fire safety with animals' defense mechanisms.

[Steve Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today was a big day in any primary classroom at the beginning of the school year . . . the day of the first fire drill! Ha! I teach second grade, so this isn't such a huge deal for my kiddos, as they've been there a time or two. In preparing, discussing, and reviewing what is needed with my class, I've been reading Miss Mingo for several years. It makes for a great connection to the day.

This is a very fun read aloud! Miss Mingo's class is a scared, unique bunch, and it's exactly the opposite of how you want your class to respond. It should be noted, however, that a class of kiddos is much different from this one! The illustrations are well done, and with the dialogue between different animals, makes for some fun reading interpretations. There aren't too many "fire drill/safety" books to choose from, but I also love how this one serves multiple purposes. The animal facts written around the different events in smaller text provides some great information for kids about the animals they're smiling and laughing about. This does make for a good yearly read aloud!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very good book to introduce children to facts about fire drills, and fire safety in general, along with how animals react differently when they feel threatened.

There are numerous facts included in the book that could be skipped (like we did) on the first read through with younger children. On our second reading, we talked about what each animal was doing as they felt afraid or scared.

I would recommend this book for children learning about fire safety.

[Taylor Tomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss. Mingo is teaching her class about fire safety. They are all very anxious about fire so she has a firefighter come to their class and teach them everything they need to know about fires. At the end of the week they had a practice fire drill and they all did excellent with getting out of the building safely and following the rules.

[Carson Belle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about a class of animals learning about fire safety and preparing for a fire drill. I think this book had good intentions and potential but in execution was just doing way too much. There was good information about fire safety but the added information about how each animal acts when frightened was too much in my opinion and distracted from the big idea.

[Carly MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a book about fire drills for my kindergarteners; however, this book adds in a ton of extras about animals defense mechanisms... Not the best for a fiction fire drill book... would be cool for a non fiction book.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tries to be two different things: a cute fire safety story using animals, and a tedious explanation of animal defense mechanisms. Skip the small print. It adds nothing to the story, and it's boring.

[Diana Pettis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am using as a read aloud for my first grade class.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classroom of various animals prepares for a fire drill. The book discusses the different animals' defense mechanisms.

[Millie · Rating 4 out of 5]

love it!

[Montana · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot that happens in this book. However, I think with the right direction and guidance this book could be a huge asset to teaching fire safety to young kiddos.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

My reading group loved this book. The nonfiction tidbits made the book interesting for them and allowed me to teach them that some books are hybrid with fiction and nonfiction features!

[Mila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some big words for preschoolers

[Nancy Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Date I completed reading the book: 11-19-20

My star rating (1 to 5):

The date: 11-23-20

Genre: Fiction, Children's literature, Animals

Grade range: Preschool-3

Book review: This is great book that talks about fire drills and animals and how they react in danger. The book has small little paragraphs about the animals in the book and what they do while facing danger. This would be a good to use during Fire Safety Week or talking about the community helper firefighter.

[Jennifer Velez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the illustrations in this book, and the facts about different animals. This book is about Miss Mango's class who is practicing the fire drill. The book has different facts about the different defenses the animals use when they feel they are in danger. I think this would be a great book to talk to the students about what are the procedures they need to follow if there is a fire in the school. Also this book would be good to teach different reactions animals have when they fill endangered, because the book gives the facts. We can also take this book and take a look at all the different punctuation marks we can find, and describe what is their purpose and how they are being used.

[Nielson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stop, Drop and Roll! The students in Miss Mingo's class are in for a treat as they learn about fire safety....at least they think they are until they realize that is can be a scary thing! As they go through the different steps of a fire drill, each student is worried about something different. As each animal-student gets scared, they use different protective mechanisms to defend themselves. This would be a great book to help students prepare for an actual fire drill in school! It would also be a great book to discuss what certain animals do when they are scared or threatened. EL-ADVISABLE. Whitney, Library-Teacher.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Even though it was a book about fire safety and fire drills, it felt more like a book about animal protective instincts! At first I thought it was cool the author incorporated it into the story, but then as it went on, I thought "Boy... I don't know if this book would help or hinder kids from practicing fire drills at school" since the animals were so terrified and they were doing crazy things when they were scared.

All in all, it's an educational book on the matters of the animal kingdom and fire safety, I just worry that the animals being so afraid of the fire drill isn't a helpful message for kids (but that's my own opinion)

[Kerri Harshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book to teach students about the fire drill. Every student in Miss Mingo's class is afraid of a fire drill always being right around the corner and they tend to act a little crazy and silly when they think a fire drill is about to happen. When a fire drill finally happens, the students remember everything they have learned and make it out of the school perfectly. A good message of important things to do when having a fire drill, and the students will surely have a laugh or two during the story.

[Seher Patka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Miss Mingo's class learning about fire drills. Different animals make up the class. This book is informative because it tells students what to do during a fire drill. A teacher can also read this book to introduce her own procedures to the fire drill. Also, it touches on science because with every animal, it illustrates and contains a blurb on the defense mechanisms they use. Very entertaining and educational.

[Maleigha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book to have in the classroom. One, for safety. It's important for your students to know what to do and your expectations during a fire drill. This book takes you on an adventure of animals performing a fire drill. It's a cute, funny story. This book can also be used to teach about animals. The different facts included in the book could be used for a creative writing piece, "my favorite animal" or something similar.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it's teaching you more about how everybody looks when they're getting ready to put out a fire, you know, how the firemen look. And it also tells you what to do if your clothes catches on fire, because that could also happen.
Everybody gets scared when the fire alarm is there, then they stop getting scared then they get to go to the fire department.
That's why I like this book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual fire prevention book because it goes into great detail about the children's experiences and fears of fire - which is combined with fun little facts about how animals behave when they are afraid. I liked the serious fire prevention information combined with the animal facts. Makes for a good book.

[Asha Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Mingo starts the day by telling her students that there will be a fire drill. The students all start to worry but Miss Mingo eases their mind by telling them there will be someone special will come in and help them prepare for the fire drill. The day of the fire drill the children do wonderful and are rewarded.

[Guadalupe Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I even began to read this book I thought,based on the titled, "What a great book to read to read to Pre-K students on the week for fire safety." After reading this book, i would label it as fiction and non-fiction. In my perspective this book would be suitable for all elementary grade levels because it is a fun way to teach about fire safety.

[Stephanie Ung · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about a class filled with animals learning about what to do in case of a fire emergency. This would be a good book to teach about fire safety. This book also features little paragraphs that talk about animal defense mechanisms. This book can also teach students about what different animals do to protect themselves and reactions.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does two great things- it gives students a good idea of what to expect at school when there is a fire drill, but it also has information about many different types of animals. This would be a great read aloud in a classroom because there are several different subjects that can tie in to it!

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have book for every grade school classroom. Miss. Mango is a teacher with a large variety of animal students. For fire safety week, she teaches her pupils all about stop drop and roll, and how to safety exit the class room during a fire drill. During this week we also learn all about how the various animals react when scared.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how this book incorporated true facts about the animals along with how to do a fire drill. As I read this book I learned so facts about animals that I didn't know they did. Miss Mingo and the fire drill is a good a book to read to elementary students about fire drills. A good book to put into your must have books.

Published: 2009
Genre: Informative, Science, Picture books.

[Mina Saeed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be used when teaching children about Fire Drill routines...
In the book there are animals and the teacher is teaching them about the safety issues and rules of fire drills, on the sides it also tells what those animals do when they are scared.