Officer Buckle & Gloria (CALDECOTT MEDAL BOOK)

One of "Saturday Night Live's" funnier Chevy Chase skits involved his mimicry of Jane Curtain's news delivery. Sitting next to and slightly behind Ms. Curtain, Chase mouths her words and copies her gestures. Jane, suspicious and discomfited by the audience's laughter, turns around, and Chase looks at her innocently, only to begin anew when she faces the camera again. Gloria the dog emulates this act in Peggy Rathmann's delightfully funny "Officer Buckle and Gloria." In the sleepy, accident-prone town of Napville, Officer Buckle takes his safety lectures very seriously. No one else does. The students at the school auditorium are definitely not listening to him; various kids sleep, draw, and throw a paper airplane. One girl even has an accident while he's talking, spilling her yogurt on the floor. Things change dramatically (literally) when police dog Gloria begins to tag along. She accompanies him on stage, and copies his gestures as he delivers such zingers as "KEEP your SHOELACES tied." Gloria's antics spark the kids' interest, and when Buckle turns to Gloria to see what's up, she gives him a sweet and innocent smile. Gloria's talents extend beyond mere mimicry, however, as she proceeds to act out various accidents that Buckle warns against. She flies in the air, for example, when he states the always enthralling "NEVER leave a THUMBTACK where you might SIT on it." In one hilarious two-page spread, the increasingly renowned Officer Buckle warns a college audience-and a TV crew-to not swim "DURING ELECTRICAL STORMS," and Gloria leaps up, her air looking electrified. Later, while munching popcorn in front of the TV, Officer Buckle discovers the real reason that his safety lectures became so popular. He looks at Gloria, who does one of her best impersonations yet-she looks positively sheepish. Man and dog are temporarily estranged, but eventually Officer Buckle, in an acknowledgement of Gloria as partner, thinks of his best safety tip yet: "ALWAYS STICK WITH YOUR BUDDY." Rathmann's vibrant color selection, jokey pictures, and affection portrayal of officer and dog keep the interest level high. This very funny, well-structured book is another magnificent work by Rathmann. I recommend this very highly as a gift for yourself or others, especially for those who like mischievous, good-hearted dogs. For those who like mischievous, good-hearted gorillas, be sure to check out Rathmann's famous "Good Night, Gorilla."

Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone else. He gives talks about his tips to remain safe. Unfortunately his talks fall on deaf ears. Safety is just not interesting.But then the force acquires a new police dog named Gloria. Gloria accompanies Officer Buckle to a talk. While Officer Buckle recites his list of safety tips, Gloria performs tricks to illustrate them. But Officer Buckle does not know Gloria is doing anything.Suddenly the safety talks are a hit and Officer Buckle and Gloria are appearing everywhere. Then Officer Buckle sees himself on the news. He also sees what Gloria has been doing. He is not happy.But by the end of the book, Officer Buckle and Gloria have learned their lessons and that teamwork is key to the success of the safety program.Boy did my daughter love this book when I read it to her last night. She loves dogs and Gloria's antics were pure entertainment. She caught on to the teamwork message as well as some of the safety tips (most of which are visible as notes in the illustrations). She also liked the pictures (no gorillas or hamsters making appearances) especially Gloria signing autographs while Officer Buckle buys some ice cream.A fun book that teaches some good lessons in a way children will follow. Bravo! It deserved the award it won (and it deserves others as well).

Most of us learn best when we are laughing, and this book should provide lots of encouragement to learning through laughter. The humor is aimed just perfectly for the 3-6 year old set to be totally fascinated. The humor has a serious purpose. You learn many valuable safety tips, the benefits of teamwork, and the importance of communicating in an interesting way. "Officer Buckle knew more safety tips than anyone else in Napville." "Every time he thought of a new one, he thumbtacked it to his bulletin board." "Safety tip #77 NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR." Naturally, the book has the principal doing this all the time. There was a problem though. When Officer Buckle shared his tips with the students at school, they fell asleep. And there were more accidents than ever!One day the police department bought a police dog named Gloria. Officer Buckle took her to school. Whenever Officer Buckle would describe a potential danger, Gloria would pantomime the outcome in a humorous way. The children loved it! (and so will yours). Officer Buckle didn't realize why the children were paying attention until he saw a presentation televised. He grew angry. "I'm not giving any more speeches! Nobody looks at me, anyway!" So the school requested that Gloria come by herself. But that was a bad idea. She just "sat on stage looking lonely." Then "she fell asleep, so did the audience." After Gloria left, the Napville School had its biggest accident ever. "It started with a puddle of banana pudding . . . ." A letter comes to Officer Buckle saying, "Gloria missed you yesterday!" Officer Buckle and Gloria made up. Officer Buckle "thought of his best safety tip yet . . . ." "Safety Tip #101" "ALWAYS STICK WITH YOUR BUDDY!" This book won Ms. Peggy Rathmann the Caldecott Medal for the best illustrated children's book of 1996. Three elements undoubtedly contributed to that award. First, her people are very funny to behold in their bright colors and round features. Second, she creates motion exceptionally well (captured here with slapstick pratfalls and pantomimes). Third, every scene screams for you to giggle. This book should work better than antidepressant medicine for creating a sunny mood.After you finish enjoying the story, you and your child should discuss how learning can be made more fun for both of you. This book should give you some great ideas for skits as one way to express yourselves. Use laughing experiences to help bring home serious messages . . . always!

Officer Buckle & Gloria is great children's book for all ages. It is about a police officer that gets ignored by the children while he is reciting some important safety rules. But when he retrieves a dog named Gloria things change for Officer Buckle. This book is written by Peggy Rathmann. The new 2001 first lady (Laura Bush loves this book as well .She loves to take this book to schools when she visits. My favorite part in the book is when Gloria was imitating a safety rule while officer Buckle was telling the safety: SAFETY TIP # 99 DO NOT GO SWIMMING DURRING ELETRICAL STORMS.I also love the part when Gloria did a flip in air in a class room. I would recommend this terrific children's book to any kid in K- 4 gr.. Part of the book might need to be read to kindergartners and maybe first graders. Second and forth graders would love to read this hilarious book. This book also teaches kids some very important safety rules as well.

Primary age students in our school love to have "OfficerBuckle and Gloria" read aloud to them, and upper grade studentsremember this story fondly.While the story stands alone as a playful read-aloud, it can be an effective tool for opening a discussion on safety. Officer Buckle keeps thinking of new safety tips that he keeps thumbtacked to his bulletin board, like "never do tricks on the monkey bars without someone there to catch you." The endpapers of the book are also filled with stars containing more safety tips.Just as the students in the story are entertained by Gloria, the dog, and come away with Officer Buckle's helpful tips, children who read or listen to this book read will be entertained, yet come away with some great advice, such as "always wear a crash helmet."This one deserves the Caldecott Medal as the colorful, playful drawings are an essential part of the story.