World Famous Comics: "Fire! Fire!" Said Mrs. McGuire
"Fire! Fire!" Said Mrs. McGuire
By: Bill Martin Jr Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Harcourt Children's Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 32 Publication Date: May 01, 2006 Reading Level: Ages 4-8
A group of silly mice live happily in a cozy closet, until one day they spot a menacing orange glow through their keyhole. It must be . . . fire! What will they do? "Water! Water!" says Mrs. Votter. "Break down the door!" says Mrs. Orr. But is all the fuss really necessary?
Bill Martin Jr's classic text gets a fresh update from Vladimir Radunsky. With the wry wit that fans have come to expect, Radunsky creates a wacky world of bumbling rodents behind the closet door. And for more fun, a keyhole cutout reveals a delightful surprise ending.
Amazon.com Review: A modern adaptation of an old nursery rhyme, Fire! Fire! Said Mrs. McGuire combines the whimsical illustrations of Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Richard Egielski with the playful one-liners of Bill Martin. When Mrs. McGuire, a television news anchor, hears about a fire from a reporter flying over the city in a helicopter, a hilarious transfer of information begins. "'Where? Where?'" said Mrs. Bear. 'Downtown!' said Mrs. Brown." The story climaxes as the fire department arrives in a flurry to extinguish a blaze that turns out to be the candles on elderly Mrs. Wear's birthday cake.
Please review your reviews, this isn't the book you say! Please pay attention! The book "Fire, Fire said Mrs. McGuire" by Bill Martin Jr. and Vladimir Radunsky is not the book to which amazon has attached these two reviews. These reviews refer to another edition of the book. Also, almost every comment is directed toward the OTHER edition of this book. Bill Martin's book features not a blonde woman, but mice and kitty cats. Please be conscientious of what you write. This is fine book for children.
To teach rhyming We use this as part of a text series to teach rhyming. It is good for that. I don't really get the "story". I have to admit that I have never noticed the page where the firefighters are so interested in the blond. I guess I need to look at it more closely this year. However, since I've used it for 4 years and have never noticed it, I'll bet my students haven't either.
Update (Oct 13, 2006) - The version of this book we use is not the same one (with the offensive illustration). I guess this one might not be advisable. My students do love the rhyming text.
Disappointment As a k-2 school library assistant, I have been a fan of Bill Martin Jr. for many years so when I saw his name on Fire, Fire Mrs. McGuire I did not hesitate to order the book for our Accelerated Reader collection. The verse is delightful and most of the pictorial content is funny and detailed but As I read the book I was appalled with two illustrations in particular that are extremely sexist. The firemen depicted in the book are seen leering at a very sexy, blond, flirting female. In this age of being politically correct, I do not see the need to exploit men or women in children's literature. It portrays sexual discrimination in both directions as well as giving a mixed message. Women are strong and capable on the one hand but sex objects on the other. I found it to be very inappropriate material for a book directed at young children. What kind of message do we want to project; That women get men to act foolish and irresponsible (the fire fighters are more concerned with the blond than with catching a falling fire victim or pursuing the fire) by being flirty and sexy? That is the message I feel the illustrations depict and I would not recommend this book for children of any age. I am very disappointed that Bill Martin would be associated with illustrations such as these. Richard Egielski, you started out well with this one but I think you forgot who your audiance is.
Help! They're chasing me! My daughter checked this book out of the library and made me read it to her over and over again. I didn't see the appeal of this book! But she loved it. So for Fire Safety week with my preschoolers, we read this book. They loved it! My god, they made me read it over and over and over again. They followed me around the room and made me read it. I still don't see the appeal. But kids love this book. Each Mrs. is on the proceeding page, they tell the story of a fire in an apartment building. It takes a bit of explaining for 4 yr olds to get the concept of a flaming cake, but they got it. They even counted the candles. The old lady is represented by about 30 candles---thanks to the author for that one!
Fire! Fire! Said Mrs. McGuire The rhyme and story in this book are so much fun to read, they would keep young children asking to read it over and over. However, I do not feel I can use it in my classroom because of one illustration. A sexy blond is using her body to get what she wants from firemen-very inappropriate for young children! Bill Martin, please bring back your original version of this wonderful book.
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