Helicopter Heroes (Roto and Roy #1)

When a lightning strike results in a canyon fire, the job of extinguishing it is tailor-made for green-eyed helicopter Roto ("fueled and ready, brave and strong./ Her shiny wings are tough and long") and brown-skinned human pilot Roy, who is the very model of broad-shouldered bravery ("With fists on hips, and massive height, / Big Roy Thunder blocks the light"). With a "Whup-Whup-Whup-Whup-Whup!" the two rise into the air; Rinker's (Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site) brisk, bouncy rhymes and Tate's (William Still and His Freedom Stories) crisp, curvilinear digital cartoons vividly chronicle the duo's firefighting heroics. The copter's hose sucks up thousands of gallons from a nearby lake and releases them on the inferno in a centerpiece scene that offers a worm's-eye view of water hitting the flames. In a crowd-pleasing finish, two vertical spreads depict Roto and Roy rescuing a stray dachshund trapped at the cliff, then returning home to Hangar One (the happy pup sits on Roy's lap as he steers the copter), where "The flying duo is now three." It's the ideal story for any reader who yearns for straight-up selfless heroism from people and vehicles alike. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary. (Feb.)

PreS-K--Told in rhyming couplets, this is a thrilling tale of an out-of-control fire, starring dark-skinned Roy Thunder and his green-eyed sidekick, Roto the Helicopter. A lightning strike in a canyon sparks an inferno that the pair have been called upon to quell. Bright cartoon illustrations reveal how Roto uses her long hose to suck up water from a lake to quench the blaze. Though the team has to swing between the lake and fire 10 times--the illustrations depict their path--they are victorious in extinguishing it. When the pair are heading home after completing their task, they observe a small dog in a precarious position, so they work together again to perform another heroic feat. Large digital illustrations set off sound words and onomatopoeia that add even more life to the exciting tale and increase the read-aloud quotient. Images appear in a variety of sizes. VERDICT Reminiscent of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Duskey Rinker's story of a human and a machine as a superhero team will be entertaining to youngsters.--Maryann H. Owen