Module 3: Officer Buckle and Gloria

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann

Book Cover Image:

Book Summary:

In Officer Buckle and Gloria, Officer Buckle does his best to share his collection of safety tips with all the students in the city of Napville.  Unfortunately his presentations lack pizzazz, and his audience is less than attentive.  All that changes when the Napville Police Depart dog, Gloria, joins Officer Buckle for his safety lectures.  Unaware that Gloria is acting out his safety tips in the background, Officer Buckle mistakenly believes that the audience’s enthusiastic response is due to his reading with plenty of expression.  One day, however, their act is videotaped by a news team, and when Officer Buckle watches the news that night he learns the truth behind the popularity of his safety presentation.  Hurt, he refuses to give any more safety lectures, and Gloria is sent by herself to the school.  This is a bust because there’s no one to read the safety tips for Gloria to act out, and the audience falls asleep.  As soon as Gloria leaves, Napville School has “its biggest accident ever.”  This causes Officer Buckle to realize that as a team, he and Gloria made a difference.           

APA Reference of Book:

Rathmann, P. (1995). Officer Buckle and Gloria. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 

Impressions:

Officer Buckle and Gloria is such an enjoyable read and so simply written that it’s easy for readers to overlook the book’s cleverness until highlighted by its award winning illustrations.  There’s foreshadowing in the form of Claire’s (a student at Napville School) initial letter to Officer Buckle where she states that he and Gloria make a great team and how she always follows his safety tip #7 to wear a crash helmet.  At the end of the story, Claire’s helmet keeps her from being injured by a flying hammer, and Officer Buckle comes to realize that he and Gloria make a real difference when they work together.  The illustrations throughout the book are hilarious.  My favorite is a picture of the accident prone students at Napville School where various students are shown tripping over shoelaces, slipping on spilled water from the drinking fountain, and knocking out unsuspecting students while carrying towers of books up the stairs.  Many of these humorous details are small and subtle, so I would recommend taking the time to point them out until the students begin spotting them themselves.  Also give students a chance to enjoy the additional safety tips printed on the inside covers of the book.  I spent a good five minutes looking these over with a permanent smile on my face.        

Professional Reviews:

Book Links

“K – Gr. 3. Officer Buckle’s school safety programs change from ho-hum to crowd-pleasing, thanks to the antics of his new police dog, Gloria.  Filled with both slapstick and subtle humor, Rathmann’s Caldecott Medal- winning artwork makes this a fun read for all ages.”

Lempke, S. D. (2004, March). [Review of the book Officer Buckle and Gloria, by P. Rathmann].  Book Links, (13)4, 40-41. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/offices/publishing/booklist/booklinks

Horn Book Guide

“Officer Buckle is a fine safety officer; the problem is that when he addresses school assemblies, he is so boring that he puts all the students to sleep and his wise maxims are ignored. Until the advent of Gloria, that is — a beautiful and affectionate police dog who accompanies Officer Buckle on his school visits When Officer Buckle says, "Sit!" Gloria sits. But when Officer Buckle turns his back on Gloria to address his audience, only the students see how Gloria acts out his hitherto deadly-dull safety tips. The children are ecstatic at Gloria's slapstick antics, but Officer Buckle thinks it is because of his expressive voice. Letters pour into the station, thanking Officer Buckle and Gloria and asking them to come to other schools. Alas, Officer Buckle's burgeoning career is dimmed one day when he sees a film of himself and Gloria on the news; he realizes that Gloria is really the star of the show. Sadly, he refuses to visit any more schools, but Gloria's solo show proves to be a dud. So they return as a pair, with a new safety tip: "Always stick with your buddy!" Besides the beguiling story, the affable illustrations of the smiling Gloria, the accidental mayhem in the background, and the myriad safety tips — such as "always pull the toothpick out of your sandwich" and "never lick a stop sign in the winter" — add to the enjoyment. A glorious picture book.”

Flowers, A. A (1995, November/December). [Review of the book Officer Buckle and Gloria, by P. Rathmann].  Horn Book Magazine, (71)6, 40. Retrieved from http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/

Library Uses:

Elementary School Library

Officer Buckle and Gloria can be used as an introduction to any kind of safety rules instruction.  After reading the story and going over some of the safety tips provided, librarians can review safety rules that apply to the library, the classroom, or the school in general.  Another activity would be to review common safety symbols and signs to ensure that students are familiar with their meanings (ex. stop sign, railroad crossing, and crossbones for poisonous materials).  A quick art project would be to have students create a funny safety rule of their own, complete with an illustration of Gloria.  Each student would receive a yellow construction paper star on which to write a new safety tip.  Then all the stars could be used to create a Safety Tip bulletin board just like the one that Officer Buckle has in his office.