Officer Buckle and Gloria - Book 3

Officer Buckle and Gloria, written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann, Copyright 1995. Caldecott Medal winner (1996).

Ok, this one isn't as much of a hidden gem--but it's a definite gem nonetheless (and it isn't out-of-print, at least not as of today, so bonus right there!)

When Rose was a little bitty girl, we used to play a game she'd invented inspired by this book where we'd go around the table and each give a "safety tip."  Now, before you chalk us up at the most dorktastic family ever to play a game (and I'm not saying we aren't, just that before you decide/realize that we are....) keep in mind that for some kids, Rose included, with their lack of experience the world can be pretty darn hard to understand sometimes, and tips, rules, guidelines to follow can feel comforting, like, "Hey, there's some order to this place after all!  Phew!"


Another thing I think most kids enjoy is knowing a secret, especially if they know it before the adults do!  Officer Buckle and Gloria is both written and illustrated by the same person, and Rathmann takes full advantage of her ability to let the pictures tell parts of the story and let us in on an unspoken secret!



Officer Buckle is a school safety officer with a lot of safety tips, and a sight problem--he visits schools, he reads his safety tips, and (almost) nobody pays the least bit of attention.  At least until the day he takes the new police dog, Gloria, along with him.

When Officer Buckle gives his safety tips with Gloria by his side, the kids in auditorium suddenly start to pay attention, full attention!  The text tells us Officer Buckle checks to see if Gloria is sitting at attention and the pictures show us that when he does, she is, but the pictures also let us in on the secret: when Officer Buckle isn't looking, Gloria the police dog is acting out every safety tip Officer Buckle gives!

At first Officer Buckle is delighted, he thinks he's doing a terrific job getting the kids' attention with his wonderful tips--he doesn't know what we know about Gloria's antics.  After his lecture, he gets an enormous pile of letters from the kids (we get to see them in the illustrations) and thinks their drawings of Gloria "showed a lot of imagination."

Officer Buckle enjoys having Gloria as his buddy and his safety tip presentations become enormously popular--sample of the hilarious way this is presented to us:

When he finished Safety Tip Number Ninety-nine, DO NOT GO SWIMMING DURING ELECTRICAL STORMS!, the students jumped to their feet and applauded.

"Bravo! Bravo!" they cheered.

Officer Buckle bowed again and again.

It isn't until many presentations later when Officer Buckle finally sees himself and Gloria on the 10 o'clock news that he discovers the secret we've known all along.

He's disappointed (and more than a little pouty) when he learns that it wasn't his brilliant safety tips  that the crowd loved so much, after all, (the pictures let us see safety tip #100 that he comes up with at this point, "NEVER turn your BACK on a STRANGE DOG").  He refuses the next request for a safety presentation and, at the school's suggestion Gloria goes without him.  But, without Officer Buckle by her side giving safety tips, Gloria isn't very interesting either.

And, without Officer Buckle's safety tips to inspire them to improved safety in practice, Napville School has its biggest accident ever (but don't worry, it involves banana pudding, a swivel chair, a flying hammer, and little Claire who always wears her safety helmet (Safety Tip #7)--good thing, too, as the pictures adorably show--no major damage, thanks to the great safety tip!).

Officer Buckle misses Gloria, Gloria misses Officer Buckle, and neither one of them give a very good lecture without the other.   Again, the pictures let us read Officer Buckle's expression when he and Gloria happily reconcile, and the last picture shows us how they go on, giving more safety lectures and following Safety Tip #101: "ALWAYS STICK WITH YOUR BUDDY!"

This book is delightful and very funny.  Safety tip loving kids will get a kick out of it, but I think kids who never met a rule they didn't hate will also enjoy this funny, slightly zany, and just a bit over the top story of a Safety Officer and his very special Police Dog friend.

Rose's Take:

Now I'm not saying that this book isn't all about safety, because it is, but that isn't the only thing it's about.  There's also friendship, jokes, and wonderful letters.  The illustrations are wonderful, the words are great, and the plot is both easy to understand for younger kids, and interesting enough for older kids.  Of course, not every child in the world will enjoy it, but my advice to you is to pick it up the next time you're at the library, and give it a try.