Officer+Buckle+and+Gloria+2

__Bibliographical Data:__
Reading Level: K-3rd Hardcover: 33 Pages Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s and Sons Publication Date: 1995 Language: English ISBN: ** 0-590-76715-1 **

__Summary__:
Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone in the town of Napville. Although, when he tries to share his safety tips with children at Napville Elementary School, they always ignore him. When the Napville Police Department buys a dog-named Gloria, all that changes. Gloria begins going with Officer Buckle to the school for safety tip speeches, but she has her own way of demonstrating them that suddenly grabs the attention of everyone. Officer Buckle discovers the fame he thought he had was a lie. Instead, he realizes he is being upstaged by Gloria and decides to give up safety tips all together. When something terrible happens, Officer Buckle receives a letter from a student who inspires him to teach again and Officer Buckle and Gloria reunite.

__Review:__
__Officer Buckle and Gloria,__ written by Peggy Rathmann is a great children’s book that I would recommend for all young children. Its sense of humor and mischief will leave children engaged and laughing throughout the entire story. Rathmann’s ability to create an expressive, bright dog and hand-written safety tips is incredible. They way she incorporates the two in the story will be sure to grab the attention of children while educating them on real-life tips. Children will be able to relate to the boring speeches and also use their imaginations, which is always important for young children.

__Analysis of Literary Element:__
Throughout this book, Rathmann incorporates two big themes into her story. The first one is safety. Rathmann creates Officer Buckle to educate the students of Napville Elementary about safety and the importance of safety. She creates many safety tips in the story, which demonstrates to her readers that staying safe is essential. These safety tips all relate to young children and the possibilities of what could go wrong in schools if you’re not careful. This theme will allow her readers to connect to the story and learn about how to stay safe. This idea helps create a sense of purpose for the readers as well. The second theme Rathmann uses in her story is friendship. Officer Buckle becomes sad that his friend Gloria upstaged him and he decides to quit. When something bad happens to Gloria and he receives a letter, he feel awful that he left. He feels awful that he left his friend Gloria to do the speeches all by herself and realizes that they work best as a team. At the end of story when Officer Buckle returns, it embodies what friendship is all about. This central theme teaches the readers about the importance of teamwork in a friendship. It takes two to be a team and two to have a friendship. This idea can help the readers in the future if they encounter a problem with a friend.

__Author Biography__:
Peggy Rathmann, a Caldecott-medalist was born in St. Paul Minnesota. She grew up in the suburbs with two brothers and two sisters. Peggy graduates from high school and moved onto college where she changed her major quite often and attended different schools. Peggy is the author of many different children’s books like //Ruby and the Copycat// and //Ten Minutes Till Bedtime,// but it was //Officer Buckle and Gloria// that earned her the Caldecott medal in 1996//.// Peggy now lives in California on a ranch with her husband. She continues to write stories.

__More about the Author__