Details
Synopsis
In this version of the old rhyme the fire turns out to be the smoke from the candles of a birthday cake.
| Size | | Height: | 10.0 in | | Width: | 8.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 11.2 oz |
Industry Reviews
The slapstick humor and fast-paced action of this version of an old rhyme begin immediately on the cover: "Fire! Fire!" shouts the title as the WXYZ Helicopter news team spots the smoke. In signature rhymed verse, one line per page, Martin supplies the simple dialogue ("`Where? Where?' said Mrs. Bear. `Downtown,' said Mrs. Brown") while Egielski fills the pages with tumultuous events and a modern and human cast of characters. Mrs. Bear is a Carol Channing look-alike wearing an enormous fur hat and coat, and Mrs. Kitty ("What a pity!") is a bespectacled waif with an apartment filled with cats. Throughout, the women star: Mrs. Kopp ("Near the top!") is a police officer directing the crowd, and Mrs. Chi ("Let me see!"), a photographer, records the events. At the end of the book, the men and women firefighters find to their surprise that the smoke is caused by the many candles on old Mrs. Wear's birthday cake. From beginning to end, Egielski's rumble-tumble stage business and inventive subplots combine with Martin's comic puns and rhythmic verve to make this picture book a five-alarm de-light. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)
Lopate
PreS-Gr 1 The pace is rigorous, the rhymes are silly, and the all-female cast is strong as these women track down the cause of smoke and ultimately discover it to be a birthday cake for an octogenarian. The text is adapted from an old American nursery rhyme. The one-line-to-a-page verse keeps the pages turning as readers chase down the fire with Mrs. Kelp, Mrs. Kopp, and Mrs. Orr (an amazon of a woman), among others. Egielski's broadly humored, jam-packed illustrations expand the text thoroughly. He creates each character's role the firefighter, the cop, the photographer, the babe to its fullest. From the declaration of "Fire!" by Mrs. McGuire to the fall of the McDavis family, everything is visually on the go with people running, crowds gathering, and cats flying. This book will encourage multiple readings as children choose to rejoin the wild adventure. The abrupt, out-of-sync ending will surprise even seasoned readers, at best into a laugh, at worst into a puzzled frown. They'll probably end up inventing their own wacky rhymes. Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Lopate
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