July 15, 2022
Good firefighters know they need to go with the Flo. Flo, a firefighter with light brown skin and curly brown hair, knows that firefighters always have to be prepared. One night, when a call comes in to the station reporting a fire, Flo rouses her sleeping team of fighters, leads them as they quickly suit up, and gets the diverse team (and their Dalmatian) onto the firetruck. "Flashing lights shined. FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! The loud siren whined. WOOOOOOOO! The bell went CLANG! each time it rang. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" Arriving at the scene, the team works together to douse the flames, and Flo bravely breaks into the building to save a trapped pup and reunite it with its family. In the end, Flo and the team reward themselves by going back to bed. It's an exciting story, and one that's chock-full of descriptive words that will help build young readers' vocabularies. Aiding that goal are the bold and bright digital illustrations, which have a sleek, classic vibe and make use of pops of red to keep young (and older) eyes dancing around the page. This one will be a popular choice among librarians, caregivers, and readers for years to come. Readers will be happy to have Flo in their homes day or night! (This book was reviewed digitally.) This book's on fire! (Picture book. 2-4)

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September 15, 2022
Preschool-Grade 1 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, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 17, 2022
This inaugural entry in a series focused on women workers opens and closes with a cheer that should rev up young audiences: “Hey, yo!/ Firefighter Flo!/ You’re a hero!/ You’re a pro!” Zimmerman’s rhyming narration remains at a fever pitch as Flo, a firefighter portrayed with brown skin, rouses the firehouse crew, portrayed with varying skin tones, in the middle of the night: “The smoke is thick!/ Flames have spread!/ Come on, crew./ Out of bed!” With percussive onomatopoeia pumping up the action, Flo drives the team to a burning house, and leads their response efforts (“The water rushed. The hoses gushed. SSSSHHHHH!”). When Flo spots a frantic dog still trapped inside the building, she breaks through the door with an axe, and as the fire roars around her and the building starts to collapse, she gets the pooch to safety. Yaccarino’s punchy graphics are in full force, employing lots of eye-catching red and black as well as some terrific visual winks (the firefighters wear matching red plaid pajamas in the firehouse, and their dalmatian’s spots are Ben-Day dots). The story ends with a good night wind-down, but Flo’s bravery is served up with five-alarm excitement. Ages 3–6.

November 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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2023
Geometric digital art using bright, flat colors and patterns paired with the fast rhythm of the text catapult viewers through an emergency call to the fire station and a nighttime run. "Hey, yo! / Firefighter Flo! / You're a hero! / You're a pro!" burst the opening lines of the text as a crescent moon shines down on the fire station, with one lit window upstairs. Inside, Firefighter Flo and the firehouse Dalmatian are up and rousing the crew (a diverse mix of genders and skin colors), who are off and running for the fire truck on the next page. "STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!" Loud onomatopoeia (CLANG, SCREECH, RUFF, WHOOOSSHH!) appears on every page, extending the visual momentum. At the site of the blaze, a two-story house, the firefighters battle the flames from the outside, and Firefighter Flo charges inside to rescue the family's dog. Once all is well, Firefighter Flo and the other firefighters head back to the station and to bed. The story closes with the same jaunty cheer for Firefighter Flo that opened the book, as she sleeps peacefully on her bottom bunk, with another firefighter snoozing above her and the Dalmatian curled up on the floor. This high-energy, heart-pounding tribute to firefighters, with its bold visuals and enthusiastic text, would make an especially lively pick for a group setting like storytime, even for the youngest listeners -- invite a local firefighter to share in the fun.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)