I am honored to help Mary E. Cronin launch her upcoming poetry book, Trucks, Boots, and Bells: Firehouse Poems (Holiday House, 2026) illustrated by Aaron Marin and due out in early October. It's a collection of rich and engaging poems that grew out of Mary's own childhood experience growing up with a firefighter father. So special!
Drumroll... time for a cover reveal:
About the book:
Trucks, Boots, and Bells is a lively, playful poetry collection about the tools, tasks, and teamwork of a busy city firehouse, written by the daughter of a New York City firefighter.
Poet Mary E. Cronin brings the workings of a firehouse to young readers in poems that burst with rhyme, wordplay, and content knowledge. Poems in this collection cover the action of firefighting, such as climbing a high ladder, commanding the forceful pressure of a firehose, and rescuing a puppy from a smoky fire. Cronin also gives readers a close look at firefighting equipment and gear, such as the boots, helmet, and metal tools used for pulling down ceilings and busting open doors. Aaron Marin’s dynamic illustration style captures the action, the peril, and the camaraderie of the fire crew and their work. Detailed back matter offers curious readers and fire buffs even more information about the inner workings of a busy firehouse.
Mary’s inspiration for the book:
I grew up in the Bronx, the daughter of a city firefighter who battled blazes during the “Bronx is Burning” era. That planted the seeds of this poetry collection. Although we left the Bronx when I was 12 years old, my father continued his work there-- fighting scores of fires, believing in the borough even as it spiraled into the chaos of arson and financial peril. At the end of each shift, when my father returned home, we would hug him and smell the smoke of the blazes he’d helped to put out. We could see the remnants of ash and soot spiderwebbing across his fingers and knuckles, a reminder that his job was dangerous. Sometimes he landed in the hospital with injuries sustained in a fire. Yet he never lost his love for the job, his dedication to his firefighters and to the community he served-- that inspired my own career as a public educator. I had the pleasure of recently visiting the firehouses he worked in during his 30-year career: Engine 90 as a firefighter, and Engine 71 in the South Bronx as a lieutenant. The smells, the sounds, the energy-- it’s all still there. That’s what I tried to deliver to children in Trucks, Boots, and Bells-- a portrait of a group of people who work with hearts and hands, putting their bodies on the line each day to make their community safer. I worked closely with illustrator Aaron Marin; we wanted to make sure the fire crew was diverse so that all young readers would find inspiration and role models in the pages and poetry of Trucks, Boots, and Bells.
About the author:
Mary E. Cronin is a poet, author, and educator who writes books and poetry for young readers that shine a light on unsung heroes and the work they do to knit together their communities. Mary is a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts; her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies for young readers and in The New York Times. Trucks, Boots, and Bells is her debut book. Mary’s second picture book is slated for spring 2027 from Atheneum/Simon & Schuster. Like a Mother Bear, a picture book biography of PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford, is a stirring upstander story. A seasoned educator, Mary has worked as a kindergarten teacher, special educator, and Literacy Coach; she leads poetry workshops at elementary schools in Massachusetts and New York. She is represented by Lori Steel of SteelWorks Literary, and you can find her at www.maryecronin.com. You can pre-order Trucks, Boots, and Bells here, or at your favorite bookshop or online retailer.
Thank you, Mary, for this glimpse into this important book-- such a special, personal connection, too! Now head on over to Reflections on the Teche where Margaret is hosting our Poetry Friday gathering.
