FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/10/25
Cedar Pruitt, M.Ed.
https://cedarpruitt.com
Boston, MA. Fire Flight: A Wildfire Escape has been recognized by Bank Street College of Education as a Best Children’s Book of the Year.
Reviewers select books based on ‘literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers’ out of a field of thousands in order to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents and others seeking outstanding books for children of all ages across a range of categories. The honor for Fire Flight was in the category of Ecology.
Written by Cedar Pruitt and illustrated by Chiara Fedele, this lyrical nonfiction picture book is a true story of climate change and connection from the perspective of a firefighting helicopter pilot and one little owl as they fly high above a burning forest – together.
An ideal read-aloud for ages 3-8 with a rhythmic blend of rhyming, non-rhyming, and onomatopoeia, the book features the actual photo taken by the pilot which made headlines around the world. Capstone Editions is the publisher of this unique STEM book.
“Every child who builds knowledge of climate change through the humor, suspense and hope of this amazing true story is a part of the circle of the remarkable connection between that pilot and that owl. Recognition on this list is a tremendous honor, and being featured in the Ecology category is very meaningful, because empathy for and awareness of ecosystems is a vital characteristic in the next generation. In Boston, we are currently cloaked in smoke from Canada – a living reminder that wildfires have a broad and penetrating reach,” said author Cedar Pruitt.
Fire Flight: A Wildfire Escape is available in hardcover everywhere that books are found, and the paperback edition will release on 8/1/25.
The full list of books honored by Bank Street is a rich resource for excellent fiction and nonfiction selections. See the complete award list here.
As a work of easy-to-understand poetic nonfiction, FIRE FLIGHT: A Wildfire Escape is aligned with the recommendation from The National Council of Teachers of English, which urged an increase in nonfiction in the lives of children in grades K-12: “With so much to offer young people as readers and thinkers, nonfiction should play a far more robust role in the reading and learning lives of young people in and out of school.”
See the author interviewed a CBS morning show about how FIRE FLIGHT: A Wildfire Escape provides opportunities to build literacy, awareness, and empathy – while inviting discussion about natural habitat and climate change. Her second lyrical nonfiction picture book, WHAT MARCEL FOUND: THE INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY OF THE LASCAUX CAVE PAINTINGS, with award-winning illustrator David Litchfield (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, 2026), tells the story of four kids searching for treasure in a forest in occupied France in 1940 – who uncover exquisite 17,000-year-old cave paintings that permanently change our understanding of humanity.
FIRE FLIGHT: A WILDFIRE ESCAPE can be purchased wherever books are sold, in hardcover with library binding at $18.99. The ISBN is 9781684468867.
About Cedar Pruitt: Cedar Pruitt is the author of the children’s books FIRE FLIGHT: A Wildfire Escape from Capstone, about an owl’s real-life surprise ride in a firefighting helicopter, and the forthcoming WHAT MARCEL FOUND: The Incredible Discovery of the Lascaux Cave Paintings from Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster. Cedar Pruitt holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University and works as a consultant in culture and leadership. She lives in greater Boston, Massachusetts.
Website: CedarPruitt.com
Instagram: @CedarPruittBooks
Cedar Pruitt 