The Little Family by Lois Lenski

The problem is that any childrens’ story about fires and fire fighters will necessarily have to deal with safety, and while Lenski has given careful attention to the sounds and appearances of the the fire engine, she has neglected the proper response to a fire, which was just as important in 1946 as it is in the 2000s.

The fatal problem with The Little Fire Engine isn’t that it is poorly written or poorly illustrated in many ways it is a beautiful book. Age might even be a teachable moment, to explain to our children that things change over time. In other cases, like The Little Engine That Could, we understand that this is an “old story,” but the message is important enough that we can look past or even enjoy its age. In some cases, like the nature stories of Eric Carle or the epics of Margaret Wise Brown, the date of the story is almost invisible, because the subject is so universal and well-told. If you like this review, you can give it a thumbs up or comment on Amazon.