The Little Fire Engine (Mr. Small Books) Board book – Picture Book, September 12, 2017

I love the illustrations in this book but honestly it’s a little scary for children. It talks about a family’s house on fire & a little girl trapped in her room at the top of the house & the fireman has to rescue her. Nothing too intense but when I first read it it surprised me! We have the Little Airplane by the same author which is such a sweet & innocent story so I was surprised by the story in this one. I kept it anyways but just a heads up...

My son loves this book, and we appreciate the details of what's on the fire truck and how this "pumper" works. I'm not sure why the author would take such great pains to include this kind of detail, but then, after the fire is put out, indicate that it would be possible or safe for the family to move right back in! There are also no female firefighters in the book (I suppose because of when it was written), so I often will tell my son that there are also female firefighters in our city. In any case, this is a huge hit, and we are reading it almost every night.

My two year old does not talk alot yet but this book gets him so excited that it is the most I hear him babbling. It is simple enough for a two year old but there is actually a story here that should grow with him in the next few years. There is so much happening in the book and my son points to every part of firetruck. He loves the sounds that are in the story. For example, he loves the bell that goes "nang, nang" and the siren that goes "oooheee". He loves that Fireman Small climbs up the ladder to save the girl and her kitten. It is fun to watch him follow and point along with this story. When the people stop on the side to watch the firetruck go by, my son even points to the people pictured. He has learned all about the parts of the firetruck too. This book has turned him on to fire engines now. I am going to look at other book by this author. The pace of the book is perfect for my son.

I love read8ng this to my 2 year old. He loves the simple story and the pictures. If your looking to buy something for the fire truck obsessed toddler in your life, look no further.

I love Lois Lenski, I love many of the books of this type (Cowboy Small etc.) however, this one is not my favorite. I bought it with my firetruck obsessed toddler in mind. But there are definite weaknesses here. The weirdest part is how after they put out a house fire, the fire chief says, "The fire is out! You can move right back in!" .... right....after they had holes chopped in their roof and water sprayed throughout. I mean, I'm all for things being make believe when they're supposed to be make believe. But this seems like it's being at least somewhat educational. Even my little kids were very skeptical about that part. ("Won't they need to fix the roof Mommy?") Also, the way Lois Lenski does perspective in some of her books is pretty mind-bending. I get what she's after I think, but kids can be pretty literal. Some of the illustrations look like the firemen are working on a dollhouse. They found it to be pretty bizarre. I wouldn't buy it again, even though I am a fan of her books.

Cute book, 2 yo son loves it. Explains exactly what the firemen do. But, not a super clever story to read (moms & dads may get bored with this one). Still, son loves it and makes us substitute his name wherever it says "fireman small" :).

Charming story with sweet illustrations. I read it to my daughters years ago and now I am reading it to my grandsons. Love the book!

We cannot say enough positive things about Lois Lenski books. They are comprehensive inside glances at professions and stages of life for children. Our nephew adores all of them. His favorites are The Little Fire Engine, Papa Small, and The Little Train. We read them over and over. Do not hesitate to purchase any of these books.

The only reason I did not give this book a five star rating is due to a small area of the story line. The fire engine responds to a call out and on arrival at the address the owners are found moving their furniture out of a 'blazing' home! We all know you should leave a building if there is a fire leaving everything behind. I laughed it off with my grandchildren and explained that it is not what should happen. A lovely book otherwise.

Interesting book but is a little dated in terms of fire safety message. Was able to discuss with my class the first things to do in case of a fire and why we wouldn't stop to remove our furniture as the story says. That said my class enjoyed the story and the illustrations.

A great little book detailing all the things a real life fireman does. My 4 year old pre-schoolers loved it.