Fire Engines ~ Old Picture Book & KID KANDY

Fire Engines
The Little Golden Fire Engine Book
Pictures by Tibor Gergely
(Golden Press, 1959)

Who remembers Little Golden Books?

I have many fond memories of time spent with my Golden Book collection. I have one particular image in my mind of a certain shopping trip. I had my money in hand and was looking intently at a rack full of Little Golden Books. I can still feel what emotions swirled around me as I perused the titles, striving to choose the most perfect book to add to my library.

Fire Engines is one such book, though I would not have chosen it for myself. Instead, a few years back, I found it for my husband, a long-time volunteer fire fighter in the Yakima Valley. For many years he lived, breathed, slept, and dreamed of fires and fire departments.

The illustrations are dated, the pages yellowed, the text short and sweet. But to me, old books are a precious part of my childhood. The original cost was 29 cents.

This is also apparently true for my adulthood.

KID KANDY:

Make a Fire Truck

All kids love the thrill of pretending to be a fire fighter. Together, create a fire engine from household props.

Materials: large box, utility knife, red paint or markers, black construction paper, scissors, round paper plates, rope, fire fighter play clothes, bell, play radio or walkie talkie

1. Cut the extra flaps off of the box. Cut side doors that open out so your child can open them and enter the fire engine.(Caution: Adults are the only ones that should use a utility knife.)

2. Help paint or color the sides of the fire engine red. Do check out the color of the fire trucks in your community. There are other colors out there and your child may want his or her fire engine to match the ones seen around town.

3. Cut large black circles the size of paper plates. Glue four to paper plates for the tires. Attach to the fire truck.

4. Cut the middle from a paper plate, leaving radial strips, to form the steering wheel.

5. Hang the rope out of the back to be the hose and put the bell by the steering wheel.

6. Dress up is fire fighter clothes and get to work saving the town!