The first two entries in the "In My Neighborhood" series made available in the United States deal with high-interest community helpers. Fire Fighters shows the team at Station Number 45 from the moment they get the dispatcher's call about a fire in on the top floor of an apartment building to the time they return to the station and clean up the equipment. Compelling information is accompanied by engaging watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations that add a lot of character to the story. Additional details about how fires are fought in rural areas, on boats, and in forests are briefly noted, as are some fire-safety tips. Garbage Collectors follows a similar pattern, showing us a typical day in the work life of Sam and Mabel, who work on the same garbage truck. As an added bonus, we get to accompany Mabel as she drives her full truck to the transfer station to dump the garbage, which is then pushed by a bulldozer into tractor-trailer that will take it to the landfill site. Author Paulette Bourgeois conducted in-person interviews with fire fighters and garbage collectors to find out exactly how they do their jobs. She has shaped this information into stories that will easily hold the interest of preschoolers in general. But the prime audience for both books will be those young children whose hearts skip a beat whenever they hear a fire truck's siren or the grinding blade of a garbage truck. (Ages 3-6)

Young people are introduced to the important jobs done by community workers in this fun new series. Facts blend seamlessly into the stories, which provide a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of fire fighters and garbage collectors. Full color.