Freddie meets Andy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781913946807)

Freddie meets Andy is the second of a series of five books about Freddie, a fireman, and his friends. In this book, Freddie puts out a fire in a shed. But the water has made the path slippery, and a little boy slips over and breaks his leg. Freddie calls for an ambulance and meets Andy who is the driver. Andy carries the boy with the broken leg into the ambulance on a stretcher and drives off fast to the hospital. 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.