Friday, February 26, 2010
Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog Review and Giveaway!
He worked for the city of Detroit for many
many years before taking an early retirement.
He did so because at the time we thought
we were going to be moving out of state
soon for my son was getting closer and closer
to 16 and would soon be in collage or able to
move with us if he chose. We just wanted out
of Michigan winters and he needed to find a job
he could do once we moved for it isn't that easy
to get into a major cities fire department. He does
miss it for he was also one of the 50 Detroit firemen
selected for the Hazmat Team after 911 and got to
do some pretty neat stuff with that. I don't know
if you guys know what the Renaissance Center is
but to explain it is the largest sky scrapper in
Detroit and the Hazmat guys got to repel ( with
a harness and rope) down the side of it from the
top. The also got to crawl in underground places
that were built over years ago and many other cool
things for the Federal Government was training them and
SWAT guys to be able to handle whatever terrorist act
could happen so the city was prepared. There are also a lot
of things for he job he hated and I have spent a lot of
time among Firemen and I have to tell you they are
a rowdy bunch who I swear a lot of them are just mental
and even more of them that after speaking to for only a few
minutes I think there is no way these guys have a job that
has any responsibility for they are like a bunch of kids.
A bunch of Goofy kids with no self control at that but
then the bell goes off and they are all business then you
realize they are like that because their jobs are so intense
that they try to enjoy what ever time they are not working
or they would go mad with depression and some of the
things they see are just awful. Most of the time when they
speak of work they laugh and make light, even when John
had a house fall on him and it it were not for two beams
falling in a Tee Pee position he would have been crushed
they still find it funny. Then there are times when they
tell of a run so sad you see a bunch of grown, tuff,
seen it all men, break down and cry like babies. Other
times they are just disgusted at what they have seen.
John says the hardest time he ever had and it breaks him
down every time he speaks of it, was a house fire where
6 children were trapped inside and the Grandmother was
down the street visiting for all the kids were asleep. The house
was ruined and none of the children made it but the part he
said he will never get over is the wails of the Grandmother
when they had to tell her they could not save any of them.
The time he was most angry was when a Mother and her
three children died in a fire and when they were securing the
house in the light of day they found all of the family's
life insurance policy's sitting on the kitchen table. It seemed
that father set the fire before he left for work and wanted
to be able to find them when it was over so he left them
in easy reach. I can understand why that would disgust him.
I also have told you guys that I suffered a fire.
Andrew was five and at my Mothers for I was at work. My
neighbor called and let me know my home was on fire and
I ran out the door and flew home like a crazy lady and found
my street blocked off by the trucks. I jumped out of my car
and started to run to my house that was still in flames and
a fireman grabbed me in route and carried me over to the
truck and they had to restrain me while they explained how
bad it was and the total damage to my home was 2 thousand
dollars less then the value of the home. In hind site, we
were lucky. Had we been home and sleeping we would have
not made it. The fire started in the wiring of my bed room
and traveled straight up. Andrew had the master bedroom above
me. Both the back corner of my home and the roof were
completely burned through. My neighbors saw the smoke and
broke out a window and put the garden hose in while
waiting for a the fire department but all that did was add
more oxygen and sped the fire up. It seems it was smoldering
in my walls for a while and could have went up at any
time and I was thankful it did not go up in the middle of the
night. The bottom line is fire is no joke and you can never
be too prepared and you need to teach your children its
dangers and teach them young.
aid parents in just such a thing. Sparkles the Fire Safety
Dog. It is a cute book on an important subject. Sparkles is
nothing less then a Dalmatian and a real dog too boot!
The book is an easy to read for kindergartners on up
or even better it is easy to understand for pre-schoolers
on down and goes over everything a parent should with
their children. It is extremely important to have a fire
plan for in the case of my house had we been home and
awake Andrew would have needed to know since I might
not have been able to get to him because of the location
of the fire. Sparkles teaches your children the importance
of smoke detectors and and the sound they make to
warn you of trouble. Sparkles also lets your kids know
how to get out of a smoke filled house and explains how
it is good to have such things as a fire plan and a meeting
place and that the whole family should be involved in practice
fire drills. Sparkles is a darling guide through and important
subject and is the perfect pooch for holding younger kids
attention and if the Firemen themselves don't get your children
excited to learn Sparkles is more then happy to pick up
the slack.
we both agree this should be a staple in every home with
small children. It is non-threatening and the Doggie makes it
cute and a very useful tool when it comes to teaching your
children fire safety. There is a Tip sheet in the back for
reference and Sparkles even has her bio back there so they
kids have a chance to get to know her and relate. Hey, they
may have already met Sparkles and not even known it for she
has been on PBS Sprout and Fox and Kids with her Human
Firefighter Hilton and her friend Spanner. The Book also offers
web links to Sparkles own web page and lots of other places
to find useful information for your children. Just short enough
to read on a regular basis and still packed with everything you
need to know it makes a great addition to every library and
your kids will have fun as they learn a valuable lesson. Just
hope your kids don't glob onto things like Andrew did when he
was little. I promise you I have to practice a belly crawl
and Stop, Drop and Roll more times in during his year in
Kindergarten then he said the Alphabet. Andrew tended to practice
everything he learned to he could do it in his sleep and everyone
he ever met could do it too! Knowing this book by heart isn't
a bad thing though!
I have a copy of the book signed by the author for one
of my readers. To enter just head over to the web site,
with Sparkles or Firefighter Hilton's and take a look around
then come back here and post something you have learned
in a comment. The contest will start tonight and run to
April 14th at Midnight.
USA and 18 and older can enter daily and the winner
will be contacted by email and have 72 hours to
contact me with their mailing information. As always
you can earn a bonus entry by entering the contest of
the day and other ways to enter are posted below.
Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog
Extra entries.
Extra entries only count after the initial entry
is completed.
1. Become a follower of my blog or Twitter
and post that you are. 3 entries,
please post 3 times.
2. Enter any of my other contest. I entry
per contest, separate post for each entry.
3. Grab my button. 5 entries. Please post
5 times.
4. Blog about this contest somewhere else
and post the link here. 5 Entries Please
post five times.
5. Tweet about this contest elsewhere. 5 entries
please post five times.
Hey there, while you are here don't forget to enter
my Mommy Tool Box and Port a Pong Contests!
Posts
February 26, 2010 at 2:12 AM
sparkles has already been on PBS tv stations for kids Its a great way to teach children about fire
February 26, 2010 at 2:12 AM
follower
February 26, 2010 at 2:13 AM
follower
February 26, 2010 at 2:13 AM
follower
February 26, 2010 at 2:13 AM
handstand kids the contest of the day
February 26, 2010 at 2:14 AM
entered handstand kids contest
February 26, 2010 at 2:14 AM
entered photo fiddle contest
February 26, 2010 at 2:14 AM
entered damo momo contest
February 26, 2010 at 2:15 AM
entered revenge contest
February 26, 2010 at 2:15 AM
entered alight contest
February 26, 2010 at 6:42 AM
you should have an escape map
mverno@roadrunner.com
February 26, 2010 at 8:18 PM
I learned that you should crawl low on your hands and knees under smoke where the air is cleaner and cooler.
arobimom at gmail dot com
March 14, 2010 at 2:34 PM
I learned that they have activity and coloring sheets that you can print out for your kids.
danajewers6352 at msn dot com
March 14, 2010 at 2:34 PM
follower 1
danajewers6352 at msn dot com
March 14, 2010 at 2:35 PM
follower 3
danajewers6352 at msn dot com
March 20, 2010 at 9:39 PM
I learned that you should crawl low on your hands and knees under smoke where the air is cleaner and cooler.
March 23, 2010 at 7:52 PM
They link to fire safety games on Sprout. :)
misusedinnocence@aol.com
March 23, 2010 at 7:52 PM
I follow ( 1 of 3)
misusedinnocence@aol.com
March 23, 2010 at 7:53 PM
I follow. ( 2 of 3)
misusedinnocence@aol.com
April 9, 2010 at 8:02 AM
Already aired on PBS :)
ktgonyea at gmail.com
April 13, 2010 at 2:13 PM
I like the activity sheets that you can print out great website!
jandsfox_143@msn.com
April 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM
It is important to have an escape map. Know two ways out of every room.
April 13, 2010 at 7:37 PM
I'm a Google Friend
April 13, 2010 at 7:37 PM
I'm a Google Friend
April 13, 2010 at 7:38 PM
I'm a Google Friend
April 14, 2010 at 3:16 AM
I learned that they have activity and coloring sheets.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net
April 14, 2010 at 10:12 AM
I learned that there is an awesome Photos section (and Sprakles wears red toenail polish, lol).
msurosey@yahoo.com
April 14, 2010 at 10:13 AM
I follow. msurosey@yahoo.com
April 14, 2010 at 2:31 PM
An escape map is essential!
edgenemmers@gmail.com
April 14, 2010 at 8:57 PM
Firefighters are people who help us stay safe.
Firefighters are helpers because they have been
trained to put out fires and rescue people.