KALMAN, Maira. Fireboat. The Heroic Adventure of the John J. Harvey. [NY]: G.P. Putnam’s Sons [2002]. Square 8vo, [40]pp. Color pictorial boards. Pictorial endpapers; color illustrations on every page. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket. Signed by the author/artist Maira Kalman with a small drawing of the boat’s ladder.

First edition. The moving true story of a 1930’s fireboat that had been put out to pasture in 1995 but was restored by a group of friends only to be called back into action from retirement to help NYC on 9/11. Released less than a year after the 9/11 attacks, Maria Kalman’s simple text and expressive illustrations broach the tragedy in an accessible way.