This post contains affiliate links.
It’s Fire Prevention Week so we are reading and learning all about firefighters and fire safety. I was surprised how many books in Spanish about firefighters we found at our local library! Of course I knew I had to share the list with you guys! What books in Spanish about firefighters or fire safety do you have to add? Did we miss any? Which ones are your favorites?
For a printable list to print out and take to the library with you, scroll to the end of this post!
BOARD BOOKS / PRESCHOOL
Mi primer libro de contar: Los bomberos
By Cindy Entin
Ages 2+
Count from one to ten and learn all the fun vocabulary words surrounding firefighters: helmets, fire suits, Dalmatians, firehoses, lights, fire hydrants, sirens and more!
Osito Tito Bomberos al rescate
by Benji Davies
Another board book, and this one rhymes! Written all in Spanish this board book also has slides that can be pulled out on each page. Short sentences and fun illustrations perfect for toddlers! Osito Tito has more books as well: Emergencia al volante, Aventuran submarina, Un dÃa en la granja and more!
Fire Trucks // Camiones de bomberos
At the time of this publication, this book hasn’t been released. You can pre-order it on Amazon, and it looks to be a good one. It’s a board book that comes with a song (I’m not sure if the song is in Spanish too, or only English). What stood out to me with this one is how you can see the way noises are written in Spanish. Instead of WEE-OO WEE-OO, the camión de bomberos says Niiinoo! Niinoo! Also, fun fact: the illustrator studied art in Valencia and lives in Madrid. 🙂
ENGLISH SPANISH-INTEGRATED TEXTS
Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos
By Susan Middleton Elya – Illustrations by Dan Santat
Have you hear of Susan Middleton Elya? She writes books in English that rhyme and that have one or two Spanish words in each line. Her books are great for kids who are just beginning to learn Spanish! Each book also has a glossary at the end for learning what the Spanish words mean and how to pronounce them.
In Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos not all the new vocabulary words are necessarily firefighter-related, but this is a great book nonetheless to add to your firefighter Spanish unit! **We found this one at our library!**
Tito, the Firefighter // Tito, el bombero
by Tim Hoppey
I think you’ll really like this one. Young Tito walks by the firehouse each day and teaches a few phrases in Spanish to the firefighter who speaks English. One day they need Tito’s help translating for an older gentleman who can’t speak English. I like how this book shows the importance of community. It’s written in the same style as the one above, English text with integrated Spanish words in bold with a glossary at the back! **We found this one at our library!**
FAMILIAR CHARACTERS
Curious George and the Firefighters // Jorge el curioso y los bomberos
By authors H.A. Rey and Anna Grossnickle Hines
Who doesn’t love to see what kind of pickle George can get himself into?! This book is a plus for me for two reasons. One – it’s bilingual, which means I will have a much easier time getting my kids to sit down and read it with me in Spanish since I can tell the story to them first in English. Secondly, anytime there’s a familiar character my kids will be more inclined to pay attention in Spanish.
Clifford el perro bombero
Another familiar character — Clifford! Clifford gets to be a part of the fire brigade and save the day, but not without a few silly mishaps. Kids can also learn a little fire safety while reading the story, like “Stop, Drop and Roll.” This one is written all in Spanish, so if you or your kids are just learning Spanish, you might want to get the English version as well. **We found this one at our library!**
NON-FICTION / READER TEXTS
¡Que vivan los bomberos!
A short non-fiction read (Lexile Measure 420) that explains the things firefighters do in our community to keep us safe! From the perspective of reading this book with Spanish learners, I like that it uses a variety of verbs. “Las sirenas suenan . . . las luces alumbran . . . ” It’s also fun to get some practice using a non-fiction text in Spanish, like talking about the “Tabla de contenido” for example.
Una visita a . . . La estación de bomberos // A Visit to . . . The Fire Station
By B.A. Hoena
Here’s a fun bilingual non-fiction one for you! Filled with photographs, kids can see and learn what firefighters do. The sentences are short enough for beginners to read, and having the English text helps too. What I like about his one is the diversity of the people in the photographs!
Capstone Press publishes this “Pebble Plus” series and I’m really digging it. A note to parents at the beginning of the book points out that this book “supports national social studies standards related to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services” . . . and “the images support early readers in understanding the text.” **We found this one at our library!**
by Carol K. Lindeen
Also from Capstone Press! Camiones de bomberos “supports national standards related to science, technology, and society” . . . and “the images support readers in understanding the text . . . repetition of words and phrases helps early readers learn new words.” All of which are perfect for language learners as well! **We found this one at our library!**
What’s Inside a Fire Truck? // ¿Qué hay dentro de un camión de bomberos?
Part of a reader series, this book is marked for fluent readers. The text is bilingual and has 20-40 words per page. So for beginning Spanish learners, the photos aren’t enough to lean on for comprehension. Meaning, you’d need to do a lot of pre-learning with your beginners in order for them to understand the entire text. However! The book has lots of great photographs, including a labeled one at the beginning, for pointing out vocabulary words on the theme of fire trucks and fire fighter tools. **We found this one at our library!**
What’s Inside a Firehouse? // ¿Qué hay dentro de un cuartel de bomberos?
Same series, different book. Now you get to take a peek into where fire fighters live, eat, sleep, and work while they’re on duty. I appreciate that this book mentions some fire fighters are volunteers from the community! **We found this one at our library!**
Want to check out other bilingual reader series from this author?
Just the Opposite // Exactamente lo opuesto (Emergent Reader)
Guess Who // Adivina quién (Early Reader)
What’s Inside? // ¿Qué hay adentro? (Fluent Reader)
A fun and easy read for beginning readers or beginning Spanish learners. The pages in this book have nice large text and one or two sentences per page, perfect for beginning readers. Although each page spread has a great photograph showing firefighters helping in some way, I do want to note that the pictures don’t necessarily match the text. This book is part of a Weekly Reader series called “People in My Community/La gente de mi comunidad.” **We found this one in our library!**
Lo que hacen los bomberos // What Firefighters Do
For ages 5-8, this book has a big heading on each page with a good size paragraph to elaborate: What do firefighters do? What do firefighters use? The Fire is Out. Firefighters are Heroes.
Lots of pictures throughout, and a couple are even labeled with common tools and equipment firefighters use.
A part at the back of the book also talks about making an escape plan as a family. **We found this one at our library!**
STORIES
Querido dragón va a la estación de bomberos // Dear Dragon Goes to the Firehouse
Dragon and his classmates take a trip to the local firehouse in this story. They get to try on the firefighters’ coats and they each get their own pretend helmet to wear. This would be a fun read if your family or class will be taking a trip to your local firestation. It could help prepare expectations of what will happen on the trip, and/or reinforce what you learned after you’ve gone! It’s a bilingual text! **We found this one at our library!**
Download the printable list of these books here:
