Review of
Magnus at the Fire,
by Jennifer Armstrong, ISBN 0689839227
Five out of five stars
One of the best animal books ever
Magnus is a
powerful horse, one of a team of three that live at the firehouse and when the fire
alarm sounds, are quickly hitched to pull the steam pumper to the fire. They
are fleet and fearless, standing steady amid the chaos around the fire. Once
the fire is out, they calmly pull the pumper back to the station.
One day, a
mechanical fire engine arrives at the station and the team of three are
literally put out to pasture. Still believing in his usefulness, when Magnus
hears the fire alarm go off, he jumps the fence and races after the fire engine
until it arrives at the fire. The firefighters do all they can to discourage
Magnus, but he persists.
One day the
alarm sounds and while it is on the way to the fire, the motor on the fire
truck quits. The firefighters and many men nearby try to push it the rest of
the way, but they can’t move it. Thinking quickly, one of the firefighters runs
to Magnus and brings him to the engine. Creating a makeshift harness out of a
hose, Magnus is hooked to the fire truck. Despite the heavy weight, with the
assistance of the human pushers, Magnus is able to pull the truck close enough
to the fire.
This is a great
story about animals and their sense of loyalty to the tasks they know. While
Magnus has been replaced by advancing technology, he still wants to do what he
has been trained for. At the end, he is retired to a happy life of eating well
and pulling children in a wagon.
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