Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/15/2022 Firefighter Flo, “a hero and a pro,” commands a fire station staffed by a diverse group of people. Flo is in constant motion throughout this propulsive book. She gets the emergency call and wakes up the company, drives the fire truck, is at the front of the huge fire hose, uses an ax to break down a door, and runs into the burning building to rescue a puppy. The focus is as intense as the fire, lasering in on one nighttime firefighting mission. The simple rhyme scheme (“The window smashed . . . / The ceiling crashed”) puts emphasis on the action, as do the one-­dimensional, high-­contrast digital illustrations. Especially effective is the way sounds are highlighted—like the red “STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!” lettering for the firefighters as they run from their bunks to the fire pole, or the white “BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!” that accompanies Flo’s use of an ax on a door, intensifying the feeling of urgency. An exciting book for all readers, especially empowering for girls. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 11/11/2022 K-Gr 2—The creators of the noisy and memorable Trashy Town kick off the aptly named "Big Jobs, Bold Women" series with another high-volume celebration of public service workers. Wakened by a jangling phone, Firefighter Flo and the rest of her crew tumble out of bed and into their gear, then roar down the street on a flashing, clanging, WOOOOO-ing fire truck to a burning building. As the others turn on the hose, Flo smashes down a door, plunges into the smoke…and carries out a trapped puppy for a grateful pajama-clad family. Sturdy, running figures and the big truck in Yaccarino's blocky digital screen prints capture the urgency of the call, and Zimmerman opens and closes her clamorous narrative with a gratifyingly rousing chant: "Hey, yo!/ Firefighter Flo!/ You're a hero!/ You're a pro!" Along with making dramatic reading on its own, this pairs up nicely for story time with Linda Ashman's Fire Chief Fran, likewise centering a woman firefighter while offering a broader picture of what she does all day. VERDICT A quick and effervescent tribute to every city's bravest, suitable for younger audiences, one-on-one or in a group.—John Edward Peters - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.