Magnus at the Fire

by Jennifer Armstrong

Magnus lives and works at the Broadway Firehouse. He knows that when the fire alarm clangs, he and his partners, Billy and Sparks, are supposed to spring into action. Without them the firemen would never be able to move the gigantic steam pumper. And without a pumper the crew wouldn't be able to put out fires. Then one day the captain drives into the firehouse on a loud, newfangled contraption called a motorized fire truck. It doesn't need horses...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689839227
• ISBN13: 9780689839221
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.2" x 12.3"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A classic

I love this book and so do my sons. Anyone that loves horses will consider this a classic. It is very well written and you really feel for Magnus and want to take him home to your own farm. This is one of my favorites!

Magnus at the Fire

MAGNUS at the FIRE BY Jennifer Armstrong AND Owen Smith Magnus at the Fire is a good book for young readers . It shows how horses helped people do there jobs like helping policemen and fighterfighters . They helped fighter fighters by getting them to the fire on time . If you like horses you should read this book

Burn baby burn

I didn't like horse books growing up. Nope. I trumped the whole girls-and-horses trend that began with "National Velvet" and ended with "My Little Pony". I even made a point of avoiding anything horse/wolf/dolphin related for years and years to come. Now I'm in my late 20s and I figure that if I can't put the past behind me and start reading some horsey books then I'm not worth my librarian credentials. I had first heard of "Magnus and the Fire" when a children's literature listserv to which I belong (Child_Lit in case you're interested) started singing the praises of this book. I was familiar with author Jennifer Armstrong already. She penned the extraordinary non-fiction retelling of Shackleton's ill-fated voyage in, "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World". With a keen eye for a good story lurking in history's facts, I found her switch to picture books interesting. This isn't her first, of course, but it's probably the best. Considering the fates of those work horses utilized by fire departments until 1900, she gives us a touching story of one horse who had a hard time letting go of his job. At the Broadway Firehouse in Hope Springs, three big gray horses were needed whenever a fire broke out. Strapped to the heavy steam pumper when the fire bell would clang, Magnus, Billy, and Sparks knew how to pull the equipment to the source of any and all fires. All that changes the day the firehouse buys itself a newfangled motorized fire engine. Suddenly the horses are put out to pasture behind the firehouse. This is all well and good, but they have a hard time hearing the fire bell and not attending to the fire themselves. Magnus becomes so disturbed at being left behind that he constantly leaps over the fence, sometimes busting through it when the firemen try to pen him in. This seems like a huge nuisance until the day the new fire engine breaks down and Magnus is needed to pull it to the flames. After that, it becomes clear that while Magnus was necessary one last time, he isn't any longer. He's taken to the country to live with the old Captain and his grandkids and the only bell he hears is the dinner bell. "And pretty soon Magnus learned that the sound of the bell meant one last hug from all the kids before they ran inside, where the fire in the stove was nice and warm". Much of what determines how good a picture book is comes in what an author and an illustrator DON'T do. For example, Armstrong knows that her story stands strong on its own two legs. She doesn't need to add fantastical (some might say sickly) elements like Magnus and the other horses talking amongst themselves or with the firemen. Similarly, artist Owen Smith gives us beautiful and realistic paintings for each scene. And there isn't a moment in this book of a child trapped in a firey building only to be saved by a heroic horse. Armstrong isn't going for the easy emotions or the cheap sentiments. "Magnus and the Fire" is a class act through and through. I

Firehorses & Firefighting History

This book captures a historical piece of the turn of the last century that must be kept alive in early American Firefighting. Magnificent artwork gives the visual excitement of the struggle of horsepower against early motorized fire engines. This book isn't just for children, but for all who need to remember the great contributions that the beloved fire horse gave to society in the performance of their duty. The overall story is short, but very powerful in preserving what should be. Definitely this is going to be a collector's item for the firefighter, his family and friends everywhere!