I'm Brave! by Kate McMullan, illustrated by Jim McMullan Ages 3-5 40 pages Balzer and Bray September 2014 Hardcover     I'm Brave! is narrated by a fire truck. He’s confident (he calls himself “good lookin’”) and loud (he shows off his sirens and horns on the first page). He’s proud to name all the tools in his toolbox, including his water cannon, and then he asks the reader to “match them.” When the alarm goes off, the fire truck explains what he’s doing from the time he leaves the station to the moment he cleans himself off and heads back for the night for some “shut-eye.” Every vehicle in this busy city has a face, yet there are no people on the sidewalks, or fighting the fires. The tools and hoses do all the work by themselves. The typography is expressive. “Big red engine” is in red. “Sloosh, slosh” is in blue. Loud noises are in yellow. The word “break” appears cracked, and the word “pull” looks as if it’s being tugged apart. This book is filled with firefighter terminology and action. I’m not sure why the McMullans (I Stink, I’m Fast, I’m Dirty) did not include firefighters in the story, but they did consult New York firefighters when creating the book.     web reviews   Tanya Boudreau/2015 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)