My Big Wimmelbook: Fire Trucks!
Awhile back I shared a review of a set of look-and-find books for young children called Wimmelbooks. Titles I reviewed at that time were: At the Construction Site, On the Farm, and Cars and Things That Go. Subjects of high interest to pre-readers, especially little boys. What’s missing from that list of topics? Well, fire trucks, of course!
At the time I reviewed the other 3 books Fire Trucks! wasn’t part of the set Timberdoodle offered. They have since added it to the set, and provided me with a review copy so I could add it to my set as well.
Every one of these darling books provides hours of entertainment and discussion for the almost-ready-to-read crowd. What I particularly like about the Fire Trucks! book is that each page offers opportunity to think about and discuss safety and emergency scenarios in a very kid-friendly way.
For example, if you were in a burning building how might you get out? Down a ladder? By jumping? Would someone carry you? What if you didn’t have time to grab your shoes and had to go out in your bunny slippers? What if you were a neighbor and wanted to watch? You should definitely keep your distance and stay out of the way!
Like other books in the series Fire Trucks! starts with a cast of characters to find in every scene. Little readers will assume the role of Cici and Bobby as “their dad explains everything to them.” Except the only text in this book is on this page, so any “explaining” will need to be done by a favorite nearby adult. That being said, I expect most kids will be able to figure out a lot just by studying the pictures.
There are plenty of humorous details throughout, and the more you study a scene the more you will notice. For example, I zoomed in on this clip because I thought the pig spraying the guy was hilarious. I didn’t notice the other pig with a frog on his head until just now. And the frog is catching a fly! So much silliness to giggle over!
The recommended age range is 2 to 5, but in my experience that upper age could be extended by quite a few years. I think an older child would especially enjoy sitting down and poring over the pages with a younger sibling.
