Firefighters' Handbook by Meghan McCarthy

There's a lot of interest in firefighters and their equipment and our schools usually have units on community helpers which include firefighters, so I'm always happy to add more to this section. Even more so when the book takes a unique approach, as does McCarthy.

McCarthy speaks directly to the reader as a potential firefighting cadet and starts out with the exercises needed to pass the Candidate Physical Ability Test. A diverse group of genders and races are shown practicing for the tests, including children. Once they've passed the test and interviewed, they learn all about the equipment, trucks, and different kind of firefighting. They will be trained in rescuing people, fighting fires, and as a paramedic. Having graduated from the fire academy and been assigned to a station, firefighters must get along with their coworkers on long shifts, do chores, and keep the equipment ready to go just in case there's a fire.

McCarthy's cheerful illustrations, showing pop-eyed cartoon figures, present a cheerful but realistic pictures of firefighters training, working, and living together. There are no victims or destruction pictured, making the book appropriate for young children, although perhaps a little unrealistic. The fire chief, modeled on a retired fire chief who is interviewed in the back, is an older white male. The book doesn't address rural or volunteer fire departments, but that's a more complex subject and probably outside the scope of the book.

Verdict: This is a nice introduction to the training and work of firefighters; it will definitely attract readers who dream of being a firefighter one day and emphasizes exercising, getting along, and practicing as part of preparation for a firefighter's career. An excellent addition to your community helpers sections.

ISBN: 9781534417335; Published September 2019 by Simon & Schuster; Galley provided by publisher; Purchased for the library