Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Miss Mingo, a pink flamingo, and her diverse animal students are back. As she begins to prepare the class for fire drills, they become anxious. "Panda started barking. Elephant trumpeted." Miss Mingo assures them all that with practice, they will know what to do. Fire Chief Grizzly visits and talks about "Stop!" "Drop!" and "Roll!" When the teacher leaves the room for lunch and the cafeteria monitor takes her place, an enormous sneeze from Hippo sends the other students into evacuation mayhem. Fortunately, their mistake prepares them for the real drill later in the week. Throughout the book, factual notations about the animals' defense mechanisms appear in small print. "When danger threatens, the proboscis monkey honks loudly, and its large, fleshy nose swells and turns red." The accompanying watercolor-and-ink illustration shows a comical creature whose nose is twice the size of his head. Harper's silliness helps deliver the well-articulated and important lessons about emergency behavior. Children will love the story for its charm and rollicking fun, and the salient points will make a lasting impression. A top choice for Fire Prevention Week.