2024 Stuffed Animal Sleepover: Fun at the Fire Station!

It’s been a fun summer, but after watching our kids have all the fun learning to “Read, Renew, and Repeat” at the Public Library of Brookline and bringing home their prizes from spinning the prize wheel, we were excited when we learned that it was time for the annual Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the Library! After kissing you goodbye, we got to spend time in the librarians’ offices. 

Once all of the stuffies arrived at the Brookline Village Library and the library closed for the day, the librarians had plenty of activities to help us prepare for our visit to the fire station. Some of us got to build a fire truck puzzle before we went to bed! Snowy was the best at finding the pieces that fit and Alice helped put them into place! Blue Bunny and Hoppy were so excited when the puzzle was finished that they hopped all over the Rabbit Hole! 

We also read books like Firefighter Flo by Andrea Zimmerman, Fire Engine no. 9 by Mike Austin, and Firefighter Ted by Andrea Beaty. Elon read some of us a non-fiction book about Emergency Trucks! Pipo, Dory, and Kapy learned so much. Shark wanted to read more books, but unfortunately, it was time for bed. 

The Rabbit Hole was the perfect place to spend the night, and the librarians tucked us into bed and gave us each a kiss goodnight. When we woke up, we got to play in the Library before our adventure. It was so much fun to play with the new train table and to meet the Library Snake, Jake! Jake recognized Panda and their shiny backpack from the Stuffed Animal Sleepover last year. While there are lots of kids in the Library that play with him every day, Jake is always excited to see other animals and even let Shark balance on his head and Dila on his tail!

Finally, it was time to go to Fire Station 1– right down Washington Street from the Library! Gina was so excited to see just how tall the station’s tower was, and Chimpy directed our attention to the signs outside the building, including a memorial sign for Firefighter Joseph M. Tynan Jr. 

   

We were all surprised to learn that Woff Woff is an expert in Brookline history, and they taught us about the history of Fire Station 1. We learned that a fire station was first built at this location in 1870, and the current building was built in 1907-1908. Then, the firefighters opened up the bays and Siggy led us inside.

The first thing we saw inside the station was Engine 1! Azul hopped onto the handle and opened up the door so that a bunch of the bears could take a look in the cab. Peep noticed Taz, the Tasmanian Devil on the side of the engine! Panda and Jackie were ready to manage the pedals while Coolie and Nuni took the wheel. Winnie the Pooh was ready to relax in the seat while others did the hard work.

Unfortunately, the librarians reminded us that none of us had our driver’s licenses, and that we had to leave the truck at the station in case there was an emergency and the firefighters needed to leave quickly. Chimpy and Baby Monkey decided to monkey around on some of the dials and gauges on the truck, but they were careful not to disturb anything! 

Some of our oceanic friends were starting to get thirsty after our exploring, and found a hose right on the front of the engine! Dila and Going Wild were so excited to find a place to drink! The water was so strong that Dory nearly got blown off the truck. Kapy spouted water out their blowhole after taking a big drink. We were so excited by Engine 1 that we decided to take a group photo in front of the engine! Gina and Thomas loved being surrounded by all their new friends in such a cool place. 

   

There was so much more to explore in the fire station! We got to see the lockers where the firefighters store their gear. Vampire Cat, Wild, Woff Woff, Kitten, and Shadowy climbed right inside to get a closer look at the jacket and the helmet. The firefighters told us that they had a firefighter hat for each of us to bring home to give to our owners! Lemon took their hat outside to take a picture.

   

Pinokio found the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. The firefighters thought this was a good opportunity to teach us a little bit about fire safety. We learned to “Stop, Drop, and Roll” and that our homes and schools have smoke detectors and fire alarms to keep us safe. We even learned that the Town of Brookline has a Fire Prevention Division. 

We were so excited to see that there was also a pole in the fire station! Thomas flew around the pole while Kitten and Alice tried to climb up the pole! Miss Frog jumped so high that she could see the top of the pole. 

Tiger even found one of the firefighters’ bags for us to climb into! Big Bird suggested we hide in the bag! Grogu and Leace loved that idea, but Crocodile and Azul laughed so loudly the librarians found us! 

After hiding, we found two other vehicles at the fire station. Floppy and Big Bird found a truck and Kuppa went around the side and told us that it was the command truck!

   

Then Pikachu led a group of friends over to the big rescue truck! Miss Frog was surprised at just how large it was. Vampire Cat was glad to learn that the firefighters of Brookline are prepared to rescue anyone that needs help. Rescue 1 also had a huge horn on the front that Allie the Axolotl crawled right up next to to investigate. Luckily it didn’t honk in their ear. 

   

Just when we thought we had seen everything, the firefighters opened another door and we saw Ladder 2. Just like the name suggests, Ladder 2 has a huge ladder on top of it! Leace, Pinokio, and Winnie the Pooh had a great time sitting right up by the windshield. Crocodile found a really cool bell on the front to sit under. Pipo and Coolio wished they could climb the ladder, but the firefighters told us that we couldn’t do that without practice and special training.

   

Since the bears pretended to drive Engine 1, the bunnies thought they should get to play pretend in Ladder 2. Siggy, Floppy, and Peep all grabbed the wheel while Blue Bunny served as the lookout to give directions. Hoppy, meanwhile, was ready to push the pedals and get the truck going.

Dino, Gustave, and Jackie all hung out of the window of Ladder 2, pretending to feel the wind in their ears! Lemon, Allie the Axolotl, and Panda wanted to explore the back of the truck where some of the firefighters sit. Elon came along and saw the fire axe and a crowbar. Grogu, Bausby, and Tiger went all the way to the very back of the truck to take a break from the busy day exploring the fire station.

   

   

Baby monkey wandered along and found some firefighter gear on the ground. They love to climb, so they climbed right up a boot to take a nap. 

The librarians could tell that everyone was starting to get a little bit tired, so they gathered us together for storytime! We were so lucky that Firefighter Kevin was willing to read us a story. He read I’m Brave by Kate McMullan. Kuppa loved the pictures and Gustave thought the story was so much fun to listen to! Shadowy even watched from Firefighter Kevin’s shoulder.

We loved the story so much that lots of us wanted to give Firefighter Kevin a hug. Dino and Nuni hugged his legs, Snowy and Wild hugged his shoulders! Shadowy moved to his hands and Pikachu joined him there! At first, Going Wild was mad that there was nowhere for him to hug Firefighter Kevin, but then he realized he could sit on the very top– Firefighter Kevin’s head!

As we were ready to leave, Bausby reminded us that we needed to thank Firefighter Kevin and all of the firefighters that showed us around Fire Station 1. We shouted a big “Thank You” and the librarians took us back to the Library, where we were waiting when you came to pick us up!

We had such a good sleepover at the Library and such a fun trip to Fire Station 1, but it feels good to be back home with you. After trips to Halls Pond, the Brookline Arts Center, and now the Fire Station, we can’t wait to see where the librarians will take us next summer! 

Love, your stuffie and all the stuffies of Brookline!