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Welcome To Nicole and Her Fire Fighting Friends!

"SAFETY PATROL NICOLE and her FIRE FIGHTING FRIENDS"

  • 32 PAGE-24 STORY PAGES & 22 SPREADS

  • 8"X 11" FULLY ILLUSTRATED

  • INTEREST LEVEL K-6, 5-11 YEAR OLD

  • GENRE: COMEDY REALISTIC FICTION

  • GUIDED READING LEVEL: T-V

  • CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK

We asked TWO Fire Marshals To Fact Check Our Manuscript. After The Necessary Corrections, They Absolutely LOVED It! AND...They Put It In Writing!

DUring her family's yearly visit to her hometown "children's safety fair", Nicole gets a grab bag with 4 toys and a note that says "Sing these words here written and all your wishes and dreams will come true"!  She decides to do as the note says, she sings and sings, loudly! then the toys spring to life! Nicole has always cared about other people. SHe always wanted to make a difference. her wish and dream is coming true! now she be,  "Safety-patrol-nicole". with her new four friends! today she will deal with fire. tomorrow another safety issue for her family and friends!

MANUSCRIPT

Pages, 3 & 4

Manuscript Text:

For days, it’s been raining and raining and raining. I’m still in bed with my eyes closed. I don’t know what the weather is like yet this morning because Then I remembered what I read on the to-do-list hanging on our refrigerator yesterday” “Nicole, the fire safety fair is tomorrow” “The fair, it’s today!” I shouted. Rain or shine, Mom, Dad and I must get ready.

 

 

 

Pages, 5 & 6 

 

Art Concept: 

(3 kids standing at a street crossing, foreground left. In their hands are open brown paper bags and there excited. Nicole is holding hands with her parents looking over her right shoulder at the kids not paying attention to the blinking “don’t walk” sign. A duck and chicks are waiting to cross too middle ground. A fire stations. On poles are triangular flags lead the way on left and right. The banner closest to Nicole says fire safety, next, bike safety, next kids in a line to a box surrounding a “small trampoline” landing on their butts pretending to jump from windows. Ferris wheels etc.… by firefighters. Background.)  

 

Manuscript Text:

Every year the safety fair is different. This year’s fair is about “fire”. The one thing that never changes is the gifts each kid gets to take home. Some kids even trade their gifts with each other. Their called “Grab-bags”

 

Pages, 7 & 8

 

Art Art Concept:

(People dressed as drops of water and flickers of flame like cover art. There are groups of flames and waters, also one costumed water running after a flame smiling being followed by a person running dressed as a fire extinguisher toward the foreground. Fire running eating ice cream, water running eating hot-dogs. There is also a “water tanker”, its written-on side of truck, using a hose held by firefighters and kids spraying a toy open mouth of a miniature house with a meter that causes an indicator to rise with the markings on it that say 100 gal all the way up to 1000-gal one indicator is at 200 the other is 300, like the water game at a carnival. Two stations do this in competition. Balloons are in the air and Nicole’s back is facing us. Middle to back ground. Far background a fire rescue truck)

 

 

Manuscript Text:

There was a great big fire truck with its ladder extended while a fire rescue truck had sirens that screamed into the air. The water tanker truck was filled with 1000 gallons of water!

 

Pages, 9 & 10

Art Art Concept:

(A larger sign reads “specialized fire apparatus”. Under that are several signs with pictures in frames of items.

Closest to foreground is a full-grown dog with black dots and a firefighter hat on. Under its named “Dalmatian brave friend” Slightly behind that is a picture of a Oxygen tank and mask reads ‘breathing equipment. Etc.… Right spread Nicole is kneeling and the puppy is on hind legs licking her face. Nicole’s right hand is raised over the puppy’s head implying ‘clap for this name’ In her left hand is a card that reads “Smokey” that the book reader can see. On the ground behind her are other cards, implying other puppy names.)

Manuscript Text:

There was even a puppy with black dots running in and out and between people. Some kids wanted to name him “Fire Puppy” or “Spot”, but I voted for “Smokey.”

 

Pages,11 & 12

Art Concept:

(Full spread with “Smokey” facing the reader with a sign in his mouth that he retrieves from a stack on the reader's’ right. On the reader's left there are signs that are stuck to a wall crooked and with puppy bit marks on their corners. These cards imply the questions that have been addressed).

 

 

They will read:              

("Do you have an escape plan with 2 ways out? Where is your family meeting place? Where are the smoke detectors in your house? How often do you test the batteries?

When do you call 9-1-1"?)

Manuscript Text:

Smokey was cute and smart. He held up signs with questions that kids tried to answer. 

 

Pages, 13 & 14

Art Concept:

(Nicole is dressed in firefighter’s pants, helmet with googles on top, boots, gloves and an air pack. In the right corner of the spread is the back of a camera that’s supposed to be a picture of Nicole except it’s a white and yellow imperfection resulting from the flash and reflective tape on Nicole’s suit. Helpful firefighter and Nicole’s Dad are shown smiling not in picture on camera)

Manuscript Text:

Inside the firehouse there was a firefighter’s suit for kids to try on. “Wow, it’s heavy and hard to move in,” I said to the firefighter helping me. She said fire suits are made to protect against a fire that can reach up to 1000° 𝐹. I screamed, “Dad, that’s more than two times as hot as when you put a pizza in the oven.” Mom took my picture and the flash bouncing off the yellow reflective tape on my borrowed fire suit not only ruined the picture but showed how it helps firefighters be seen when a fire can turn a house dark in minutes.

 

Pages, 15 & 16

 

Art Concept: 

(Left side foreground. Nicole sliding down the fire pole inside the firehouse laughing and smiling, unaware of the show behind her. From middle to background are several kids at an angel watching a puppet show. The angle is necessary to show the “Smoke-jumpers” behind the stage controlling the puppets. They also have “Smoke jumpers” written on back of shirts. The puppet show is marionettes. The marionettes are little firefighters with deployed parachutes on a puppet on a stage that is a forest. Show airplane as stationary prop and water dropping. Puppets are shown non- marionettes in fixed positions fighting a fake cardboard fire)

Manuscript Text:

I was so busy looking around the firehouse I almost missed the show the “Smokejumpers” had. That’s what they call specially trained firefighters who fight wildfires in remote areas. We all laughed when the airplane dumped water all over the puppets.

 

Pages, 17 & 18

 

Art Concept:

(Nicole with her trademark grin is standing in front and below of an old-style PA (public address) that was under a large school clock showing both hands clearly on 12 in front and first at a table marked “Grab Bags” with brow bags on it. In Nicole’s hands, she is holding toys and she’s reading a scrap of paper. Kids heads are stretching from behind her waiting their turn)

Manuscript Text:

At noon, the intercom boomed “Get your grab bags”! “Get your grab bags”!].” I was first in line because I knew that “grab-bags” were passed out more than once a day, and ripped opened my grab bag. I got four little toys: a fire hydrant, map, yellow whistle, and fire extinguisher. I pulled out a scrap of paper that was tucked in the fire hydrant and read:

“Now that we’re free from that wrapper, we can have more fun, just say this word four times backward… Emergency.”

 

Pages, 19 & 20

Art Concept:

(Left middle ground. Nicole is sitting on her bed. Her eyes are wide with surprise 3/4 face mouth open and pieces of paper are air borne in middle ground. In center foreground are “Koolit”, “Wherewee”, “Whirl”, “Johnny-Pump,” bouncing around on an electric piano in front of sheet music named “Fire” Reason for sheet music is to give scale to little figures as being about 3”)

Manuscript Text:

As soon as we got home, I wrote “Emergency” backwards and read “YCNEGREME” which sounded like Eesh-ne-ger-mee.

I took a deep breath and said,

“YCNEGREME, YCNEGREME,

YCNEGREME”, YCNEGREME.” 

Pop! “Hi, I’m Koolit,” said the little fire extinguisher.

POP! “Hi, I’m Wherewee,” said the little map.

POP! “Hi, I’m Whirl,” said the little yellow whistle.

POP! “Hi, I’m Johnny-Pump,” said the fire hydrant.

I did not know what to say, especially when they started to sing….

 

Pages, 21 & 22

Art Concept: 

(Nicole is now standing and doing the “jitterbug” even pointing a finger. Her friends are dancing at the piano except “koolit” on same electric piano, “wherewee” on a little sax, “Whirl” on a little violin and “Jonny-Pump” on a little upright bass) 

   

Manuscript Text:

Fire, whoa - Fire! 

I can’t see the fire

I see the glow, it’s time to go Got to get out of here!  

 

They sang well, so I sang with them,

 

Smoke, whoa - Smoke! 

I can smell the smoke

Take a breath, I’m gonna’ choke It’s time to get out of here! 

 

Emergency, Emergency, Emergency, Emergency,

“YCNEGREME” (eesh-ne-ger-mee) “YCNEGREME” (eesh-ne-ger-mee) 

“YCNEGREME” (eesh-ne-ger-me)!

Pages 23 & 24

Art Concept: 

(Nicole has changed her clothes to 1940’s “beatnik” style except her shirt, hat included. Nicole has a pointer and on her wall, are pictures, one with a kid rolling on the ground, one with a smoke detector in it, one with a ladder in it, and one with a kid crawling on all fours with obvious dark thick black smoke above the kid. Her four friends are still playing instruments with their mouths drawn open singing)

Manuscript Text:

My four new friends and I spent the afternoon making up fire 

Safety songs like “Stop and drop and roll, roll, roll.” 

Suddenly they stopped singing and looked at me.

 

Pages 25 & 26

Art Concept: 

Left spread-Nicole is standing with her little friends smiling and pointing to her shirt that reads “safety patrol Nicole”. 

Right spread-Nicole’s new friends stand smiling atop the piano. At their feet lay a book that reads “internet safety”. 

 

 

Manuscript Text:

“Are you ready?” they asked.

“For what?” I said.

“To make the world a safer place.”

“I do like this safety stuff. Are you going to stay?” I asked.

“Of course,” all the little toys said.

“Then you can call me Safety Patrol Nicole,” I said.

“Koolit” nodded and said. “A neighbor may work from sun to sun but a safety girl’s work is never done.”

 

End

Click red button to listen to"Fire" song  

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