They Hold the Line: Wildfires, Wildlands, and the Firefighters Who Brave Them

Gr 2-5–This jam-packed picture book incorporates sidebars, captioned pictures, labeled diagrams, and extensive back matter, treating readers to a text both informative and exciting. Beginning with a lone figure “watching and waiting...she is watching as a dry thunderstorm rolls over the timbered horizon,” the narrative continues as the first spark creates a “finger of smoke,” and details the jobs of an extensive crew that includes smokejumpers, hand crews, and the burn boss (with definitions in sidebars) as they enforce the fireline. Vivid colors in deeply saturated hues of red, yellow, and orange convey the heat and danger of the situation; as the fire gains momentum, the illustrations grow increasingly dense and suffocating. Sweat beads dot the firefighter’s faces as the threat increases, with a breath of white space emerging only when the fire, finally, is contained. Back matter confirms that “some of the most elite hotshot crews are Native Americans.” The dense material covers fire ecology, conservation, environmental risks, fire prevention, and the role of science—all while reinforcing the goal of the firefighter: to be a steward of the land.