Flashing Fire Engines (Amazing Machines)

My 3 year old daughter and I really enjoy this book and the others in this series. My daughter loves fire engines and this book is informative as well as fun. The story begins with the fire engines waiting at the fire house. The alarm bell sounds and the crew rushes off to fight a fire. As the story continues everything the fire crew does is explained in easy to understand terms. I really liked the expanation of how the water is pulled from the ground through the fire hydrant to fight the fire. After the resident of the house is rescued and the fire is extinguished, the crew goes back the fire house to clean up, take a break, and await the next fire. The illustrations in this book are just okay. The animals that make up the fire crew look a little strange to me but my daughter was able to identify what they were (bird, mouse, rabbit). The best part of this book is the informative rhymes that make up the story. Not too much information for a tired mom like me to read at night. My daughter and I really like the the last page of the book that lists pictures of fire engine parts and equipment and their names. Thanks to this book my daughter knows new words like water tank and pump and what they do. My daughter asks me to read this book often and it has become a favorite. If your child is really into fire engines and books about them check out the book Dot the Fire Dog. It's another one we really enjoy.

I recently bought the fire truck and train books in this series hoping to expand my 26 month old son's library of vehicle stories, and neither if us can manage to make it to the end of either one. The singsong-y text is annoying to me and confusing for my son, adding words that don't quite belong in order to rhyme. The illustrations are cute but unsatisfying and confusing-- even an 18 month old knows that birds don't drive fire trucks, and there's no context like there is in Richard Scarry's books to make that whole animal-community-worker thing make sense. Sorry to be so negative, but honestly, these books just completely grate on both of us. Try Scarry's Things That Go for whimsy, Lois Lenski's "Little" vehicle series for straightforward, calming and realistic text with childlike but beautiful illustrations, or the "There Goes A..." video series for real-life view of vehicles at work. But skip these books.

My son (age 2) has loved this book and the whole series of books by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker. The books use a lot of aliteration and poetry, so even younger children who can't understand the words like the rhythm of the words. The illustrations are pleasing and he gets a kick out of the fact that animals are driving. I don't agree with the reviewer who said they are only for under-three year olds; they actually give a lot of information and contain a glossary at the end. My son knows what a piston is that raises a dump truck, that a semi and tractor trailer are words for the same kind of truck, knows how tractors work, etc.. from reading this series to him (I even learned some things!).

I ordered this book for my 3 year old grandson and he loves it! Very cute book! Pictures are very detailed with soft- looking animal characters. The wording in this book is very suitable for children ages 2 to 5. This book would make a nice addition to any child's library!

Cute

Can't beat a rhyming book about fire trucks! My 2 1/2 year old son loves it.

My nephew loves all things fire trucks and this book is great! Great colors and illustrations.

I got this book for my four year old grandson. He loves books and after you read them a few times he goes through the motions of reading it himself. I had looked for a book on fire trucks as that is his favorite toy. This fits the bill. He loves it. I recomend it for four year old boys that are into books. Trucks too.

This is one of several in the series I purchased for my one and three year old grandsons. The narrative is in rhyme, not too wordy or too corny. The illustrations are cute and colorful. The paper stock is sturdy. I will purchase more!

Bought this for my 2 yr old .We both love reading it. Colorful pictures make it attractive for little readers. It would be a perfect book for kids who are jus beginning to read. At the end of the book is a pic of a fire engine with its parts labeled which i think is a useful addition