But we’ve had a lot of changes in our life: we welcomed a new baby girl into our family in November 2012.  She was born with a congenital heart defect and she had surgery in January.  It was a roller coaster, but I am pleased to say that mother and baby are both doing fine…and Jackson loves being a big brother!

I’ve also been experimenting with some 3 dimensional images of Mac The Fire Truck:

I still prefer the 2-images that we use, but I enjoyed exploring Mac’s 3-D world a little bit.

The main reason for this post was to let folks know about our free book giveaway contest.  These are not digital books, but actual real life, hot off the press.  And I (Trey) will sign each of them.  All you have to do it sign up here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

I’m an Amazon guy.  Whether it’s for gardening supplies, digital cameras, or children’s fire truck ebooks, my family and I use Amazon.  For that reason, and because we own at least one Kindle Fire (at the time of this writing) and we use Amazon for almost everything.  That free shipping for orders over $25 is just too tempting!

For this reason, each Mac The Fire Truck book is available only in Kindle format at this time.  But what about the millions of Ipod, iPhone, and iPad users who purchase content for their children from iTunes?  Yes, there is a Kindle app, but what about creating ebooks that are available for purchase directly from Apple?

Amazon offers authors an easy-to-use platform, and with a little programming, children’s books look great on Kindle and are accessible to millions of Kindle owners.  As an author, I would love to reach the people who order ebooks for Apple devices.  For this reason, I will be releasing each Mac The Fire Truck book in the .epub format on Apple iTunes.

These ebooks will be formatted for view on the iPad.  The illustrations will be brilliant and the ebooks will be easily read on any iPod.

The only downside to this is that the Mac The Fire Truck books on Amazon’s will no longer be available for free.  Due to Amazon’s terms of service, if I make the ebooks available anywhere other than Amazon, they will no longer be part of Kindle’s free book borrowing program.

So what do you think?  Is it a good idea to expand the fire truck ebooks to the Apple market and loose the benefits of exclusivity with Amazon?  Or should I stay exclusively with Amazon for the ebooks?  I would appreciate feedback from customers and readers on this question.  Thanks!

At some point in the future, the Mac The Fire Truck ebooks will be available on this website for purchase in all formats.  At least for now, though, I want my customers to be able to use the large ebook etailers (mainly Amazon).

In slightly unrelated news, Loved Again, a book I wrote from a teddy bear’s perspective, will be free as a Kindle ebook November 9^th-11^th, 2012.  This book is brilliantly illustrated with watercolor paintings that are amazing on the Kindle Fire (if I do say so myself!).  It is probably not as exciting as a talking fire truck racing to a fire, but it is a true story told from a stuffed bear’s perspective.  This is the first book that I have written with watercolor illustrations.  This is not a fire truck book, but I thought I would mention it anyway.  It is based on my son’s reaction to seeing my childhood teddy bear that I had told him about.  He had just turned three at the time, and his reaction was really hilarious!  And that bear is now part of his stuffed animal collection!

That is it for now….I appreciate each of you who read this from whatever corner of the world that you come from.  Happy reading!

- Trey Watson

It was a Christmas gift for my son in 2011.  It’s hilarious to see him scoot around on Mac’s back…and he’s almost 4!!!

I’m a dork, which is why I was thinking about another post on this website!

I started thinking about what children’s fire truck books do to enhance children’s literacy.  For boys in particular, a fire truck book may be just the thing he needs to develop an interest in reading.  A fire truck book with great writing and a fun story may bring a boy to a love of reading.

As I’ve mentioned before, all children, but especially boys, love fire trucks.  For active little boys who may not always like to sit down and read, an engaging books about a favorite vehicle could provide the seed for a love of reading.

Numerous studies in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, have found that boys do not respond t traditional methods of teaching literacy.  More often than girls, boys were resistant to group lessons teaching literacy based on books they had no interest in.  The same studies found that boys were far more engaged in learning when the books had characters and subject matter that they enjoyed (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/meRead_andHow.pdf).  It goes without saying that many boys enjoy vehicle books, and many fire truck books offer great illustrations and writing.  These books can be an important facet in teaching literacy to young children, especially boys.

The above-mentioned studies also showed that boys responded to technology-based literacy, such as fire truck or other vehicle ebooks, or web-based curriculum.  The Canadian study noted that boys who were resistant to physical books, found ebooks appealing.
According to Bright Beginnings for Boys: Engaging Young Boys in Active Literacy, there is a gender disparity when it comes to reading because boys tend to develop an interest in reading at a slower pace than girls.  This often leads to frustration in the classroom as some boys are viewed as trouble makers because they had no interest in the academic subject matter.

Including fun books and ebooks for boys (and girls) to read, such as a fire truck book, may help generate more interest in reading from young boys.  However it is done, it is imperative to foster a love of reading among boys and girls at a young age.  Studies have shown that children who enjoy reading do much better in school than those children who are discouraged by their own lack of interest in reading or by the social pressure they feel for not excelling in school.

And of course, turning off the tv, mobile phone, computer, and video game console and providing a quiet, relax environment at home will enhance the chances of a child, boy or girl, falling in love with reading.  Fire truck books for boys are just one of many tools available to help kids love to read.

Thanks to all the folks who downloaded the book!

For a direct link to this free fire truck book, go here: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Truck-Airplane-Adventures-ebook/dp/B008FS5KK4

Spread the word!

A lot of what I’ve written here has been about children picture books and fire truck books in particular.  I’ve mainly been writing about books for the 2-6 age range, but there are, of course, books for older children.  Older children have a wide variety of book types available, including fire truck books.

When I talk about older children, I mean kids aged 6-10.  For children this age, there are numerous fire truck books that are available for them.  Here is an incomplete list of fire truck book for older children:

Fight Fire: Trucks Tools and Tactics by Larry Shapiro – Geared toward older children and adults.  Full of high-quality detailed pictures

Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers by Walter McCall – Great fire truck book full of pictures and detailed information on all types of fire trucks, old and new.  Recommended for older children and adults.

Fire Trucks of the 1950’s by Walter McCall – Another fire truck book by the same author.  It is limited to the 1950’s, but the diversity of design and function of fire trucks at this time is amazing

American Fire Apparatus – Vol. 1 Pumpers by Wayne Mutza – Lots of pictures and descriptions of pumper fire trucks.  TONS of pictures.

Ford Fire Trucks by Kent Parrish – Brand-specific books loaded with pictures of Ford fire trucks, from the earliest production to modern times.

Heavy Rescue Trucks 1931-2000: Photo Gallery by Paul Barrett – As the subtitle implies, this book is full of photographs of a wide range of rescue trucks, not just fire trucks.  Very interesting to see how the trucks change over almost 70 years.

Aerial Fire Trucks by Larry Shapiro – As of the writing of this post, this book is only available as a used book from some Amazon sellers.  This fire truck book is full of wide-angle photographs showing the amazing heights and lengths that some fire apparatus can go to.

There are other fire truck books for older children, of course, but these are some neat ones I’ve come across.  And, truth be told, I am a fan of each of these books.  The emphasis on fire truck history and on the historical photos in each of these books is what makes them attractive to me.  Maybe I’m just a big kid at heart! J

Of course, the Adventures of Mac The Fire Truck series is not geared toward older kids, just like Thomas the Train and other characters are geared toward younger kids.  But for readers of this site and for folks who enjoy fire truck books even as adults, this partial list should point you in the right direction.

And of course, for the children ages 2-6, the Mac The Fire Truck books, which are profusely illustrated, will provide hours of reading enjoyment!  And perhaps even a few adults will be entertained as they read the crazy antics and adventures of Mac The Fire Truck.

For those readers interested in the listed fire truck books, they are all available from Amazon as the time of this post.  They were also all rated highly based on Amazon customer reviews.  I think each of these fire truck books is available only in print, not as a Kindle fire truck book.  I may eventually offer links to each of the books, but for now, I will just post the list.

I’ve been talking awhile about children’s pictures books in general and the fire truck book genre in particular.   The Mac The Fire Truck books are, obviously, fire truck picture books.  But in the interested of not being a complete self-promoter and to give people an idea the different fire truck book types there are out there and the titles available for kids, I thought I would include a list of books about fire trucks.  Some of these my son has; others are ones that are rated highly and look like they would be good for kids.  So, without further adieu, here is the list:

Fire Truck by Ivan Ulz – This books is a song written as a story.  It comes with a CD to let kids sing along.  There is also a great YouTube Video that my son and I found a couple of years ago.

Fire Truck by Peter Sis – Haven’t read it, but it is highly recommended by the School Library Journal.  It has moderately good ratings on Amazon

Big Frank’s Fire Truck by Leslie McGuire – Highly rated on Amazon.  My son has read it and it is great.  Great picture and text.

Curious George and the Firefighters by H. A. Rey – Who doesn’t love Curious George?  My son has seen the movie/show of this, but has never read the book.  Highly rated.

Create Your Own Fire Truck Stick Activity Book by Steven James Petuccio – Great fun, until the stickers are all stuck.  Still a good, fun read for kids.

All Aboard Fire Trucks by Teddy Slater – Great book for early readers or for parents to read aloud to kids.

The Little Fire Engine by Lois Lenski – Great story about a kid pretending to be a fireman.

Mac The Fire Truck and The Big Rig Fire by Trey Watson – Ok, so a little self promotion In all seriousness this is one of my son’s favorite fire truck books.  It is also the number one seller of the series.

Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry – This is a great little book that is not exclusively about fire trucks.  It is one of the highest rated children’s books on Amazon, which is well-deserved.  Plus what kid doesn’t like Richard Scarry books?

The Fire Engine Book by Tibor Gergely – A little golden book classic.  Easy, short read.

This is a short list…there are 261 children’s fire truck book titles on Amazon.  The books listed above were some highly rated books or books that we have enjoyed as a family.  I would be interested in any other fire truck book recommendations.

That’s it for today…Peace!

Picture books, including fire truck books, are extremely important in the literary development of children.  These books engage young minds with new words, ideas, and pictures that help to expand vocabulary and encourage creativity.  Picture books, with fire trucks or any other characters, are especially important because they help children comprehend words with the assistance of pictures.

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, picture books provide a wide variety of benefits to young children.  Some of the benefits they list include:

-Allowing children to enjoy fun, rhyming words

-Comprehending text and pictures together

-Helping children visualize new images and think about new concepts

-Experiencing the lives and thoughts of others vicariously

-Enjoying a story and sharing that experience with others

-Understanding how the parts of a book go together to make a whole

-Recognizing the unique styles of authors and illustrators

-Thinking about the connection between their life and the story in the book

These are just some of the things that fire truck picture books and picture books in general can provide to young readers!

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, picture books, like the Mac The Fire Truck books, are defined as “a special category or genre of children’s literature, are publications in which the pictures stand alone, the pictures dominate the text, or the words
and illustrations are equally important.”  (Please see http://naeyc.org/store/files/store/TOC/160.pdf for more information about the NAEYC).

Generally speaking, picture books for children have the following five characteristics:

1) The story line is presented in a brief, straightforward manner

2) The story contains a limited number of concepts

3) The book includes concepts that children can understand

4) The story is written in text that is easy for children to understand

5) The book is illustrated with pictures that help children understand the story

As I’ve mentioned before, my wife and I looked for fire truck books with these characteristics and found some.  We did not find any, however, with a character that our then-two year old could relate to.

The books in the Adventures of Mac The Fire Truck series are, of course, all fiction.  They are crazy stories that were in my mind that entertained my son and made him laugh.  There are many great books out there about fire trucks that are non-fiction.  My son (and countless other little boys and girls) have been educated and impressed by these non-fiction fire truck books.  I cannot tell you how many times we have read books in my house about the different types of fire trucks or what firefighters do.  These books have been invaluable to my son, whose insatiable appetite to learn more about fire trucks is almost never quenched!  Just the other day, there was a fire truck parked in front of a building we were exiting.  A firefighter was standing by it and he allowed my son to look inside and outside the fire truck.  My son recognized that it was a pumper truck, which impressed the firefighter.

I guess that’s all to say that picture books, about fire trucks or any other subject, imprint themselves on young minds!

Mac The Fire Truck is a talking fire truck, with eyes behind his windshield and a powerful water cannon on his top.  He lives in an unnamed small city surrounded by farm land.  His best friend and fire helper is Pudgy, the brown fire dog.  Both of these characters were created “out of thin air” as my wife and I were looking for fire truck books for our son.

We actually found plenty of fire truck books, but none had what we were looking for.  We found plenty of good quality, interactive fire truck books, but no characters that would seize our child’s imagination.

I actually looked for a book that was similar to what I was envisioning, but I found none.  For that reason, I decided to create and publish the Mac The Fire Truck books myself.

I am glad that I did!  Not only are these books now available for millions of children, but a fun new character has been created.  Without going into too much detail, you will see Mac The Fire Truck in some other digital media soon! J

That’s all to say that the Adventures of Mac The Fire Truck series is made just for fun; fun for kids and adults to read together.  The pictures are a labor of love that, even if you don’t like the story (but who wouldn’t?), will sure brighten a child’s day.

I also wanted fire truck books that broaden a child’s vocabulary, and these books do that.  They do have fun rhyming texts, but with words that will make children think and learn new words.

Fire truck books are great fun, and now the books in the Adventures of Mac The Fire Truck series are an exciting addition to that genre!