Fire Engines by Anne Rockwell

Prompts

Ask the child questions after the second and third readings of Fire Engines, to start a conversation about the book. You can prompt the child on every page, using the questions below. If the child says something spontaneously about a picture, be sure to expand on it and listen while he or she repeats it.

1. What is the little dog riding in? (He is riding in a little toy fire engine.)
2. Who are the other dogs in the picture? (They are fire fighters.)
3. What are they doing? (They are washing and polishing the fire engines.)
4. How many fire engines are there? Let's count them together. (There are two.)
5. What is this? (This is a ladder truck.)
6. Can you point to the ladders? (Note: there is one long brown ladder on the side of the truck, and a gray extension ladder on the top of the truck.)
7. What is happening in this picture? (The fire fighters are climbing up the ladders.)
8. What has happened to the building? (The building is on fire.)
9. What is this? (This is a pumper truck.)
10. Can you point to the hoses? (Note: the black hoses pump water from the fire hydrants. The yellow hoses pump water to the fire.)
11. What is happening in this picture? (The fire fighters are using hoses to spray water on the fire.)
12. What is happening in this picture? (The fire fighters are racing to a fire.)
13. What are these two cars? (The white car is an ambulance, and the red car is the fire chief's car.)
14. What colors are these fire engines? (One is red and one is yellow.)
15. What kind of fire engine is this? (This fire engine is a boat.)
16. What are the fire fighters doing? (They are spraying water to put out a fire on the dock.)
17. Where are the fire fighters now? (They are back at the firehouse.)
18. What are they doing? (They are taking off their boots, helmets, and coats, and hanging them up.)
19. Can the little dog be a fire fighter? (No, not now. He can be a fire fighter when he grows up.)

Vocabulary

The words listed below come from the story and its pictures. As you page through the book, point to the pictures and ask the child to name the object or the action shown. This will help the child learn new words. You can use the words below, or you can choose words you think will interest your child. Below are words for every one or two pages of the story.

• fire engine, bell, driving
• fire fighters, fire engines, washing, hose
• ladder truck, wheels, ladder, ax
• fire, smoke, climbing up the ladder, helmet, coat
• pumper truck, hoses, dials, pumps
• fire hydrant, connected, spraying water
• siren, holding on
• white ambulance, red fire chief's car
• yellow fire engine, red fire engine, fire
• boat, water, dock, life preserver, harbor
• boots, helmets, coats, hanging up
• playing fire fighter

Excerpted from Read Together, Talk Together, the Pearson Early Childhood research-based program that makes reading aloud even more effective!