Surviving Deployment
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Author of The Good Fire Helmet

For the past twenty-five years, Tim Hoppey has worked as a New York City firefighter stationed in Spanish Harlem. When he's not fighting fires, he runs summer rafting trips on the Delaware River for inner city boys.

Tim is the author of several children's books, including the award-winning Tito, the Firefighter (Raven Tree Press) and Baseball on Mars (Pinata Books). An All-America lacrosse player, Tim is a member of the Ward Melville High School Athletic Hall of Fame. At Hobart College, he played on lacrosse teams that won two national championships. Tim still enjoys throwing the ball around with his three adult children. He lives with his wife, Ellen, on Long Island.

 

The Good Fire Helmet

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All About Helmets

What a fire helmet looks like can tell you a lot about where it works! In New York City (where Tim is a firefighter), the color of the leather shield on the front of the helmet tells you what type of company the helmet works in. A helmet with a black shield belongs to an engine company. A helmet with a red shield works in a ladder company. The big number on the front of the helmet tells you the company number (Engine Company 91) and the smaller number below it is the firefighter's badge number. The "flaps" in the front are eye shields. They flip down to protect the firefighter's eyes. There is usually a band around an active helmet that holds the firefighter's flashlight. The helmet in The Good Fire Helmet is retired and the band has worn off. The helmet in the story is modeled after Tim's real-life helmet.

Christian wearing fire helmet
 

Family Literacy Gift Book

McMillan Elementary in Muskegon, Michigan has selected The Good Fire Helmet as its literacy gift book for its McMillan Elementary Adopt-a-Reader Program. Illustrator Lori McElrath-Eslick will be present in May to hand out the book to each family in the school.

 

To arrange interviews, please contact pr@elvaresa.com.

Author Tim Hoppey received a warm welcome when he visited students at Kensington Road School in Glens Falls, NY. (Click images to see larger image.)

The Good Fire Helmet

Christian believes the helmet gives him courage to get a shot at the doctor's office and to ward off scary shadows at night. But Tommy has to look inside himself for courage when his brother, along with the helmet, falls into the creek and is swept downstream. Read more

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PRAISE for The Good Fire Helmet
"McElrath-Eslick adds to the story with her paintings of warm tones and lush brush strokes that capture the boys' emotions, taking young readers on a journey of loss and growing up."— The Grand Rapids Press