The Fire Station

PreS-Gr 2—This bright, upbeat series introduces children to the social and community services at the heart of every neighborhood, from the library to the hospital. Each page contains expansive, borderless photography. The white text is set apart in boxes with color backgrounds. The illustrations communicate most powerfully here, although the understated text, with its basic facts, also deserves praise. For example, in Fire Station, Carr notes that "The fire station has a large garage. This is where the fire trucks are parked." And "Sometimes people stop and ask the police questions" in Police Station is another example of simple, strong writing. The photographs of neighborhoods include a range of urban and suburban settings, which affirms the homes of children of diverse backgrounds. Each book includes a quiz that encourages readers to test their visual knowledge of a place and a website that will take them to online resources. This series, which succeeds in inviting students to look more closely at their worlds, would be an ideal precursor to a neighborhood field trip.