Title: The Adventures of Billy Bog Brush! The Fire Brigade
Author: Ian Campbell and Tim Constable
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5462-8271-6
Pages: 24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Co-authors Ian Campbell and Tim Constable have created a fast-paced adventure story of Billy Bog Brush as he saves a child in a burning house. Billy, drawn with a bog-brush hairdo, which is commonly also called a toilet brush, is a comical way to identify a character. With a lanky body, he is capable of squeezing through cat doors in homes. So when a neighbor’s house catches fire and the front door is locked, it is Billy to the rescue to get inside to get the key on a hook, open the door and save the young boy trapped upstairs. Well, at least he got the door unlocked so the firemen could do the dangerous part of going upstairs and carry down the boy.In the story, The Adventures of Billy Bog Brush! The Fire Brigade, Billy is challenged to figure out a way to reach a key which is on a hook inside the burring house. The key is too high for him just to take it, so Billy conjures up a method of movements, climbing, balancing and jumping so he is able to solve the problem. This demonstrates a real problem-solving behavior to youngsters, who will be faced with challenges of all kinds as they grow up. It is the confidence of Billy, saying to himself, “I can do this,” while in fact doing it which plays out to be a good role model for kids to witness. You don’t need superpowers or beyond-human capabilities to achieve remarkable success; just the will to do it along with clever thinking. This moral is a positive and healthy one for little boys and girls being read an adventure story at bedtime.
With a whimsical character, a strong moral and a fast-paced story, The Adventures of Billy Bog Brush! The Fire Brigade first in a series of stories will surely be a book children will pull off the bookcase to read at bedtime. The authors even included a series of blank pages along with ideas for youngsters to take out their crayons and spend additional time with their imaginations as they doodle and draw many details inspired by the story. In the end the firemen allow Billy to ride in their fire truck; a tribute to a well-deserved heroic young boy’s achievement. All in all, Billy becomes a memorable role model for kids to emulate with his problem-solving methods, even if his hair looks like a bog-brush!
