This is Freddie

This is Freddie is the first of a series of five books about Freddie, a fireman, and his friends. In this book, Freddie drives his fire engine through the countryside. He spots a cat up in a tree. The cat needs rescuing, so Freddie uses the ladder on his fire engine to get up into the tree and rescue the cat. Book two introduces Freddie's friend Andy who drives an ambulance; book three introduces Freddie's friend Dave who drives a digger; book four introduces Freddie's friend Polina, a policewoman who drive a police car; and book five introduces Freddie's' friend Tom who drives a truck. These books can be used as 'read to' books for preschool children or as 'read with' books for beginner readers. There are full-colour illustrations throughout. The simple line drawings appeal to young children and the emotions of the characters are clearly depicted. The text uses alliteration to support phonic skills, and repetition to assist with word recognition or identification. The focus on vehicles, or transport, is intended to appeal especially to boys. The books are best read in sequence as they gradually introduce Freddie's friends. Additionally, the books repeat vocabulary introduced in previous books to assist with long-term word identification.