Big Frank's Fire Truck (Pictureback)

I bought this book for my 2 year old nephew who has become fascinated with firetrucks after watching the Mighty Machines DVD involving them. I wanted to get a book that would engage his interest but one that wouldn't show burning buildings because I don't want him trying to comprehend at this age that homes can burn down. This book fits the bill. The firemen fight a brush fire and a car fire. The car fire isn't the kind we usually see, i.e. a car pulled over at the side of the road that is all aflame for some mysterious reason, but is instead a car that has been in an accident (a roll against a light/phone pole). He's already seen accidents on the highways so he knows what they are. The drawing shows Big Frank comforting the driver who was injured but who is obvious ambulatory - just a big boo-boo to a child. The illustrations are well done and detailed - there's a lot of side activity going on that the child's attention can be directed to and discussed. The story itself is aimed at a slightly older child, making the story interesting rather than too simplistic. It's very easy to paraphrase for a child my nephew's age. By the way he was clutching it and looking at the pictures, I can tell that this book is going to be one of his favorites for quite a while. I would recommend it.

I'm very picky about what I give 5 stars to but this book has been requested by my 3 year old son every day since we gave it to him for Christmas (February 1 is tomorrow). My 5 year old daughter requests it nearly as often and my 7 year old daughter will also pick it up and read it from time to time. PROS 1. The illustrations are fantastic - the illustrations are my favorite thing about this book. They are very engaging with lots of action, bright colors and detailed enough to be interesting even after multiple reads. I'll be googling the illustrator to see if he has done any other books we might be interested in. 2. Informative & interesting - my kids seem to enjoy knowing the real words for the different types of fire trucks and the day-in-the-life format weaves everything together. 3. I also appreciated that they show multiple ethnicities (kids and adults) in the book. 4. This one is more subjective but after reading this book every night for the past night *I* still like it, which I can't say for all the picture books we own... CONS 1. I really had to rack my brain to think of anything. I guess it can be a bit of a long read if you're trying to rush your kids off to bed, but I think that could be said of ANY book. ;) And it's not nearly as long as any of Dr. Seuss' books (which I love but not if I want to get the kids to bed any time soon).

This is my nephew's favorite firefighter book. His first copy got ruined so he requested another copy for months, and loved it just as much. The book is very educational and realistic. Kids will learn about types of fire trucks, equipment, job duties, work hours, and roles. Big Frank goes for a 24 hour shift at the firehouse and responds to a car accident, teaches fire safety at a school, checks on a supermarket fire system, eats and sleeps at the firehouse, and then spends all evening and night working a large fire. Illustrations are very detailed, leaving lots of room to go beyond the story. Big Frank is even shown going home to his kids after his shift, which is interesting for kids who think firefighters just work at all times 😂. Only negative is that it is a LONG kids book so the third time in the day you're reading through it you really wanna skip on some of the story details 😂.

My 21 month old son loves firetrucks, and he kept insisting we read the one firetruck book we had, a Richard Scarry story with a bunch of bumbling firefighters. Cute book, but it got old quickly and wasn't really teaching him anything about firefighting. I'm glad I found Big Frank's Fire Truck on Amazon because this book has been terrific! It's a real story that shows what firefighting is really about, and my son loves it for the great pictures. He'll happily sit and listen to this book over and over again (and I'm happy to read it over and over), and it's taught him a lot of new words (hook-and-ladder, off-road, etc) and new concepts (red light means stop, helping people). Big Frank also does things like eat food and take naps and hug his kids, which are all great for my son to see. In short, this book is terrific. I highly recommend it for firetruck-obsessed toddlers!

I have been looking for a good fireman book for YEARS! Most fireman books do not have a story line and just randomly put out facts with no emotional connection. This book however provides the 24 shift of Big Frank the Fireman. He fills up the engines, teaches fire safety at a school, does a fire inspection, helps at a car accident, and helps fight a wildfire. At the end of the book, Frank goes home to his two children. I have to say the artwork was well done - not overly cutsey or brutally realistic - it was the perfect balance of cartoon and reality. I would suggest the book be for K+ but some PreK kids are advanced and will be able to handle all the words per page. I prefer The Firefighter by Jenny Goebel for toddlers.

I had a fire chief signed on my book! It was great! I'm going to share it with my kids or nephew.

My husband and I are so happy with this book. We (I mean, Santa) gave this book to our two-year-old son for Christmas, and he absolutely loves it. He has wanted to read it at every nap time and bed time since then, and he practically has it memorized. The firefighters put out two fires in the book, including a big one at the end. At first, I was worried that my son might be scared of the pictures of such a dangerous fire (since he's still so young), but he wasn't at all. He just seemed interested in what was going to happen and how the firefighters were going to put it out. This book does a great job of emphasizing the importance of what firefighters do and illustrates both the routine and the dangerous aspects of their work. The pictures are wonderful, and my son especially loves naming all of the different rooms of the firehouse. An instant classic in our house!

She loves reading this every night. My one suggestion is to not use the term 'big frank,' and just use the term 'frank.' The book was informative to me, too! I love giving it as a gift to people now, since we have loved ours so much!

Fantastic book, my son loves it and the story is detailed enough for a pre-schooler to learn a lot about big Frank's fantastic job.

Nice book for a fireman lover . The idea of explaning the shift if a fireman is great but it may be à little too much reading for my 4 year old so I skip some if them :-)

消防士Frankの一日を描いた、読みやすい絵本です。 消火活動、予防課業務や防火教育も触れていて、アメリカで教育している stop drop & roll も書かれている本格的な内容になっています。 英語も難しい単語はなく、中学生でも読める程度です。 消防車が大好きな息子は毎晩この本を読んで欲しいとせがみます。

Lo leggo insieme ai miei bimbi di 3 e 6 anni e rimaniamo affascinati dalla storia e dalla belleza e accuratezza delle imlustrazioni. Complimenti davvero.

Great detail. Covers in detail firefighters duties. Age appropriate Detail in explanations