2 January 2023 FIRE CHIEF FRAN by Linda Ashman and Nancy Carpenter, ill., Astra, October 2022, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-63592-426-8

"No, you only need to learn to be a lady

The duty isn't yours for to try and run the world

An engineer could never have a baby

Remember, dear, that you're a girl"

– Peggy Seeger, “Gonna Be an Engineer” (1972)

"Female admissions to colleges and graduate programs picked up speed, driven by female ambition, the law, and a growing acceptance that it was simply wrong to reject someone just for being a girl. Between 1971 and 1976 the number of women attending college jumped 40 percent. By the fall of 1976 one in every four law students was a woman, up from fewer than one in ten in 1971; likewise, a quarter of first-year medical students were female, up from about one in seven just five years before."

–from LET ME  PLAY: THE STORY OF TITLE IX, THE LAW THAT CHANGED THE FUTURE OF GIRLS IN AMERICA by Karen Blumenthal (2005)

“Back at the station…it’s time for a tour.

Mr. Lee’s class pours through the door.

They check out the pumpers, the nozzles, and tools,

while Fire Chief Fran shares safety rules:

‘Don’t play with matches. Or lighters. Or gas.

And don’t start a fire near dry leaves and grass!’”

Overflowing with firetrucks and other fire fighting equipment, high action spreads, and precarious situations requiring the skills and strength that firefighters must possess, FIRE CHIEF FRAN is a picture book that will captivate darn near every little kid out there.

Us oldsters will also love the depiction of the new world brought about by Title IX. Fire Chief Fran is a buff Black woman who, in addition to being in charge, matches the male firefighters’ skills and endurance as they fight fires, respond to accidents, maintain equipment, and rescue the little doggie with its head stuck in the fence.

Nancy Carpenter has been illustrating picture books for decades. Her work has included whimsical visual portraits of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Mother Jones. Here she does a notable job of portraying both the characters–firefighters, children, victims, and critters–and the constant action. 

The story depicts firehouse routines, showing readers what keeps the chief and crew busy between calls. These are interspersed with the chorus of: 

“Then…

lights begin flashing,

and–CLANG!--the bells blast.

They leap into action–

they need to move FAST!”

The firefighters drop whatever they’re doing and are off to the next call!

FIRE CHIEF FRAN is a four-alarm must-have.

Richie Partington, MLIS

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