Except for the handsome-looking dalmations that appear in place of people, everything in this book is realistic. My 2 1/2 year old boy loves to repeat the sound of the water whooshing from the hose, and he's excited when he sees a pole he can slide down at the playground, because it's just like the pole in this book's firehouse. For this author, "Fire fighters" is the best hit in our house.